A Never Ending Story

The texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary for today reinforce the continuity of the history of salvation from the earliest understanding of the Presence of God in the lives of humanity to the intimacy offered today with the Divine through the indwelling Spirit. The texts celebrate miraculous birth as a sign of great moments in the history which have shaped trust, faith, hope and action. The situation of Hannah is steeped in an intimate prayerful relationship with the Lord (HaShem). She is supported by a righteous husband, Elkanah, who attends to the worship at Shilo, even though the state of the priesthood in control of the holy location of the Tabernacle was in decline and was accused of acting in hypocritical ways relative to the beliefs of the faithful. Luke relates the prayer of Mary who in her visit to Elizabeth, a devote temple of the blessings of the Divine who is carrying another miracle child who like Samuel, Hannah’s child, is destined for service of the Lord. This prayer, the Magnificat, echoes the psalm of Hannah and reviews the action of God in salvation history as well as predicting the action of the Word Incarnate, Jesus Immanuel, the miracle birth which is her acceptance of the mission offered her through her intimate relationship with the Divine and her righteous husband Joseph. The Covenant with God is about to be presented to humanity through Incarnation in Human flesh!