First Presbyterian Church
Value Added
Sermon for November 19, 2006
by Pastor Susan Barnes

Both our old testament readings are from the book of Samuel. We'll be reading from my translation, but you may follow along in your pew Bibles.

This morning's text explains the occasion of the prophet Samuel's birth. The editor of First Samuel views the idea of kings, the notion of a royal house, with suspicion, and looks to the prophet as the one to expose divine abuses of power. God's will is expressed through the prophets' words, not necessarily the kings' actions. 1

In our story, Elkanah is married to two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah, his second wife, had children, but Hannah, his first wife, did not.

In those days, the first wife would have the highest status of the wives. She would be their superior. Hannah was the first wife, and so would have the greater status. But typically a woman's worth was in the number of children she could give birth to, and so Peninnah was superior to Hannah in this way. Probably each wife had her own section of the house to care for. They had to be in more crowded quarters when they traveled to Shiloh. (Jerusalem was not part of their territory yet.) God's faithful people went to Shiloh once a year to sacrifice to Yahweh. Shiloh was a major sanctuary for the Israelite tribes. Elkanah's family made an annual trip to Shiloh. This was Peninnah's chance to flaunt her fertility in front of Hannah. Listen for the word of God as it is found in 1 Samuel 1:4-20.

4 On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; 5 but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though Yahweh had closed her womb. 6 Her adversary used to provoke her severely, to loudly irritate her, because Yahweh had closed her womb.

7 So it went on year after year; as often as she went up to the house of Yahweh, she provoked her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 Her husband Elkanah said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? Why don't you eat? Why does your heart shrivel? Aren't I more to you than ten sons?"

9 After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the honor seat beside the doorpost of Yahweh's temple. 10 And her soul was bitter and she prayed to Yahweh, and wept greatly.

11 She made this vow: "O Yahweh Sabaoth, if you will look indeed on your servant's misery, and remember me, and do not forget your servant, but give to your servant a male child, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and a razor will not touch his head.”

12 As she continued praying before Yahweh, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking with her heart, only her lips moved, but her voice wasn't heard; and Eli thought she was drunk. 14 So Eli said to her, "How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine."

15 But Hannah answered, " No, my lord, a woman of stubborn spirit am I; I have drunk neither wine nor liquor, but I have been pouring out my soul before Yahweh. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman 2, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and anger all this time."

17 Then Eli answered, "Go in peace; the God of Israel will grant the request 3 you have requested of him."

18 And she said, "Let your maid find favor in your sight."

Then the woman went her way, and she ate and her face wasn't sad anymore.

19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before Yahweh; and turned and went to their house in Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and Yahweh remembered her.

20 In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She called his name Samuel, for she said, "I have asked him from Yahweh."

This ends our reading from 1 Samuel chapter 1.

Elkanah didn't understand Hannah's despair. He asks if his love for her isn't worth more than ten sons. Apparently that doesn't comfort her.

One theologian noted that Elkanah does not tell Hannah that she is worth more to him than ten sons.” 4 To Elkanah, it's all about him.

But to Hannah, it's all about God. God, the Lord, Yahweh Sabaoth, the Rock, the Holy One. This God has given her a son. The rest of the first chapter tells how she brought her son Samuel back to Shiloh once he was weaned, and made a sacrifice.

Those of you who followed this in your pew Bibles will have noticed that we didn't read all the lines about Hannah offering him to God as a Nazirite. Those words are in the Greek translation of the old testament, called the Septuagint. Those words aren't in the Hebrew version. The Hebrew version is incomplete which is why you have lots of footnotes in your pew Bibles that say “meaning of Hebrew uncertain.”

Now Hannah is full of hope and loud with praise. Now that she has a son, she has “new voice, new power, new dignity, and a new presence.” She sings an ancient song about Yahweh as being without rival. Yahweh is the one who “governs and decides and assesses.” This God inverts social power. The first becomes last and the last becomes first. “The mighty and feeble trade lots, the full and the hungry change places, the barren and the fruitful trade destinies.” 5 God will take sides, to be sure conflict is settled rightly.

Listen for the word of God as it is found in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 (NRSV).

1 Hannah prayed and said, "My heart exults in the LORD; my strength is exalted in my God. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in my victory.

2 "There is no Holy One like the LORD, no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

3 Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

4 The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength.

5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry are fat with spoil. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn.

6 The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.

7 The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he also exalts.

8 He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and on them he has set the world.

9 "He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness; for not by might does one prevail.

10 The LORD! His adversaries shall be shattered; the Most High will thunder in heaven. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king, and exalt the power of his anointed."

This ends our reading from God's word. Let the choir sing Amen.

Some of you are familiar with the phrase “value added.” It's an agricultural and economic development term that helps ranchers and farmers improve their income. One man told me that “value added” is when you change what you are already doing so your agricultural product is worth more. Some ranchers start growing certified beef or raising premium breeds. One farmer I know grows just organic crops because she knows she can charge more for them. They've learned to market their produce and meat as “grown in Oregon” because consumers like to buy local.

I first heard the phrase “value added” when some winter wheat farmers in Oklahoma changed their decades old practices so the flour would be the right firmness needed by a local breadmaking outfit. They formed a cooperative to start a local mill. They found a way to work together, to keep their family farms, by doing things just a little differently.

Family farms are better for the land and better for the people. But in tough times they're hard to hang onto. God's people in Israel were experiencing a tough time in the days of Samuel.

This story of Hannah and Peninnah and Samuel and Elkanah made me think of ‘value added.' Hannah was valued by God; she was worth hearing out and answering with grace. One theologian said “The proper response to the gift of God's grace is to give it back.” 6 But not to give it back exactly as you received it; Hannah didn't bring the newborn to the temple. Instead, she named and nursed and weaned Samuel, then brought him to Eli the priest. She continued to clothe him and to visit him.

And she sang. The song Hannah sang suggests hope for the struggling nation of Israel. Israel's fortunes, like Hannah's can be reversed. They were not stuck forever.

I know some people today feel stuck - stuck in a job they hate, stuck in relationships that suck their souls away, stuck in physical illnesses that sap their strength, stuck in mental and emotional conditions that steal their spirit. God offers a way out for all those things. God does not intend for us to be stuck, but for us to be free.

God intends for the weak to become strong, the lowly to be lifted up, the poor to be rich, and the barren to be given children.

Those who are inclined to pride or arrogance have to beware. Hannah was the one who is provoked; I'm sure as she sang the song, she thought of herself as the one who deserved to be lifted up. But as I thought about how she sang of a God who doesn't accept the world's power arrangements, I thought of Penninah, who isn't mentioned again in the Bible. Hannah was the first wife; Peninnah was her subordinate. In God's providence, perhaps Peninnah too will be lifted up, and as a result of her new-found status she will stop taunting Hannah. That status system, where one is always better than the others, is one of the systems that God will change.

When we think of ourselves as weak and powerless compared to others, we often complain and gossip and speak spiteful words. When we recognize that we are graced, we can make room in our lives for other people who are not so fortunate, either because they are full of injured pride and spite, or full of woe and downcast.

And we come to this sanctuary, where we can find comfort for our woe and a community that will share our sorrows. We can find other people who are working on not complaining and gossiping and being spiteful; when we provoke one another to anger out of jealousy, this is a safe place to apologize. We get to be with people who have committed themselves to following Jesus and living out that commitment here in this church.

Not because this is the best of all possible churches, but because it is our spiritual home. And so when we make our pledges, we are promising to be a part of God's work here. We invest in this church building, so people have a welcoming place to come to hear the gospel. We invest in this congregation, so we will be empowered to be witnesses to God's great grace.

1Harper Collins Study Bible , P. Kyle McCarter, Jr. intro to 1 Samuel , p. 416.

2 Daughter of worthlessness

3 literally “the asking you have asked of him”

4 Yairah Amit, “Am I not More Devoted to You than Ten Sons?,” quoted in New Interpreter's Bible, II, p. 975.

5 Brueggemann, Walter et al, Texts for Preaching, Year B , p. 590.

6 Yairah Amit, “Am I not More Devoted to You than Ten Sons?,” quoted in New Interpreter's Bible, II, p. 978.