Tuesday - Fourth Week of Advent

“Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said: “Pardon, my lord!
As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD.
I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request.
Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.”
She left Samuel there” (1 Samuel 2)

There are a lot of similarities between the Hanna, the mother of Samuel, and Mary. Both gave birth to very special sons. Both became great in the service of God and people. Both mothers made a difficult sacrifice of love, when they gave up their son, so God could work through them. In both cases they also experienced a lot of joy from the Lord. With Hannah we see the same joy as Mary expresses in the Magnificat.

Although Hannah prayed for a long time to receive a child from God, as she was barren, she did not hesitate to sacrifice this precious gift back to God. So Samuel became one of Israel’s greatest priests. It was he who anointed King Saul, as first king of Israel, and later anointed David to replace him. And there is another result that came forth from Samuel. Jesus Christ, the Messiah,  came forth from the line of David! The same king that was anointed by Samuel. Mary did the same as Hannah. She sacrificed the precious gift of her womb right  back to God. First of all when he started his ministry and more important when he gave his life on Calvary.  We would not have been where we are if Mary wouldn’t have made that sacrifice. The message we take from scripture today is that we should not keep for ourselves the gifts that God has given us? Through his grace we receive talents that helps us to take care of ourselves and our families. We should use these talents to live the best life we can and in that way praise God with our lived.

He gives us family, children, friends to enrich our lives. But how generous and thankful are we with these blessings? We are called to, in all freedom, to be generous towards God and neighbor. We are called to have a great faith that opens our hearts to the gift of God’s love. We also need to share our gifts with others and in that way show our love and care for them. Blessings are a great blessing and are being multiplied when we share them with others. The things that are a blessing to ourselves, is also a blessing to others. We cannot even imagine how our gifts can bless the life of someone else. The question will be whether we are willing to sacrifice our talents, time or material blessings with others, for the sake of kingdom of God? Through the influence of our parents, family, friends we became what we are now. In that same way we can be of influence to others.

If we want to find joy in the God of our salvation so that we can give that same joy to people around us. Maybe future generations will call us blessed too. We will we get to know the great things that God can for us, like he did with Hannah and Mary. Mary’s Magnificat can be our song too. In order to make it our own we need to leave our own plans and agendas behind. If we give our time and assets to the things that benefit the world around us. The more effort it takes to live a life of sacrificial love, the more you entered into a life of faith, that walks in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. He will bless your footsteps and the world through your actions. Amen.