THE PURIFICATION OF MARY AND THE PRESENTATION OF OUR LORD, FEBRUARY 2, 2025
Faith and Faithfulness: Text: 1 Sam. 1:21–28
Other Lessons: Psalm 84; Hebrews 2:14–18; Luke 2:22–32 (33–40) Sermon Theme: God used Hannah’s faith and faithfulness for her son to provide for all people through his Son.
Sermon Goal: That you find comfort and joy in being made worthy of the Lord’s house and be inspired to walk in faith. Based on a sermon in Concordia Pulpit Resources by Rev. Thomas B. Chandler
Sermon: It is hard to understand people—even ourselves. No matter how faithful, we are always being pulled in different directions by an inner struggle others can’t see. Hannah’s depression wasn’t caused by too many glasses of wine; she wanted a child of her own. She’d been married for years but remained childless. That’s not the only reason her tears flowed. At that time, people sinfully ostracized married women who were childless, as if they were not favored by God or some other such nonsense. If that wasn’t enough, her husband “fixed” the problem by taking a second wife to give him children. This solution always resulted in strife and jealousy. Her clueless husband made it worse: “Cheer up, Hannah,” he said. “Am I not worth more to you than ten sons?” (see 1:8). Although the Bible doesn’t tell us, it’s not hard to imagine the mess of conflicting emotions pulling at Hannah—disappointment, anger, jealousy, a desire for retribution. Whatever she was feeling, Hannah didn’t try to sort through the mess. She dumped the whole pile on God’s doorstep. And she made a vow that day, a solemn promise: “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life” (1:11). Hannah is an example of faith and faithfulness. We are at the same time saints and sinners, and because we live in a sinful world, our minds are a battleground of conflicting emotions and desires. Hannah shows us what it means to be faithful in the midst of these struggles. What happens in your mind when someone either carelessly or deliberately stomps on your foot, or cuts you off in traffic? Jesus says, “Turn the other cheek.” But there are other voices inside that want you to scream out in rage or even hurt the one who hurt you. What if this happened on the day you lost your job and your health insurance? What if there was a pile of bills on your desk that you had no way of paying? What if you knew your husband or wife had been cheating on you, and then you spilled hot coffee in your lap when that person cut you off in traffic? Despite it all, Hannah had faith. She sought comfort from God at his house in Shiloh. She went to worship; she let the tears flow. In the midst of her inner battles, she found peace at the Lord’s house. The burdens lifted from her shoulders; her smile and her appetite finally returned! In all these things Hannah is a role model. But the greatest test of her faith was when she kept her vow. Promises are easy to make but often hard to keep. Hannah is an example of faith and faithfulness. When we trust God’s promises and manage to do his will when we’re being pulled in different directions by our sinful flesh, that’s what it means to be faithful. Through Hannah, God poured out blessings on all his people. Her son Samuel grew to become a faithful priest, a fair judge, and a true prophet who would call people to repentance and faith. Even more, God used Samuel to institute the eternal kingdom of David, through whom God would provide us a Prophet, Priest, and King. It was a dark time, but like those candles burning on our altar, there was a flickering light in the heart of Hannah. In faith, she came to God’s house and prayed for a son whom she promised to give back to God to become his servant. Her prayer of faith was powerful and effective. God used her faithfulness to provide for all. Hannah had faith, and she was faithful. But faith doesn’t exist by itself; faith always has an object. Hannah kept her vow to God believing God would keep his vow to us. God made a promise. Hannah’s faith received that promise, and it guided the way she thought and lived in the world. She had faith, and therefore she was faithful. After Adam and Eve allowed sin to corrupt God’s perfect creation, God vowed that from the womb of a woman a son would be born who would undo all the damage they caused. Then, right before the gates of paradise slammed shut behind them, and right before they set foot on cursed ground for the first time, God covered their flesh with the skin of innocent animals. Those garments would be a reminder, not only of their sinfulness but also of the terrible price God would pay to keep his vow. As Hannah gave her little boy to live in God’s house, God gave his eternal Son to dwell in human flesh. God kept his vow when his innocent Lamb of God was slaughtered by sinful men and his precious blood fell on the cursed ground. By his death, the sins of the world are taken away; by his resurrection, the gates to paradise are open to all who believe. When you were baptized into the death of Christ, God forgave your sins, covered your sinful flesh with the robe of Christ’s righteousness, and lit the spark of faith in your heart by the Holy Spirit. Faith receives the precious gifts of God. Faith says, “God kept his promise to me. Jesus died and rose for me. The gate to paradise is now open to me.” Faith receives the promise from God and guides the way we think and live in the world. God’s people have faith, and therefore we are faithful. God still provides for others through his people. The need is great, even greater today than in Hannah’s day. The world is just as dark, but the need is more urgent. We are that much closer to the day of judgment. The world desperately needs people of faith to be faithful. When we bring our burdens to God’s house, when pastors speak the words God has given, when children are brought to be baptized, when parents and sponsors keep their vow to pray for them and raise them in the faith, when we remember our sin and the awful price God paid to forgive us, when our faith is nourished by the fruits of the cross, when we go out into the world and let the light within us shine by turning the other cheek and explaining the hope within us, when we pray for all people according to their needs, when we support the work of the church with our offerings, then, like Hannah, we are being faithful. None of those things will save you or make you worthy to live in God’s house—Jesus did that—but God does use them to bless all people through you. When you are faithful, you become one link in a long chain that stretches from the cross to God’s eternal paradise. Being faithful in the world is hard. It’s easy for me to say, but it is hard to do. We are saints and sinners at the same time, so our minds are a constant battleground of conflicting desires and emotions—pulling us away from where God leads. It’s also expensive. Jesus warned it might cost you everything you love in this world. All of this is true. But faith says, “The need is great! Do it anyway!” It is hard to be faithful. Very few worthwhile things are easy. Amen.