Reflection on the Readings for 29 Dec 2024:

1 Samuel 1:20-22,24-28; 1 John 3:1-2,21-24; Luke 2:41-52

On this feast of the Holy Family, we are reminded that we are all children of God.
Without children, there is no family. We are often called sisters and brothers in Christ – and children of God. This concept of a family goes beyond an individual’s longing for a partner, a child or a family.

Hannah, in the first Reading, reminds us that Samuel was a child that was born after a long period of waiting and praying for a child.
The ‘child I prayed for’ – Hannah had prayed for a child. She had been longing for a family, and yet accepts that he is only with her for a while – he is ‘on loan’ from God.
God fulfilled her wish to have a son, and she hands him over to God for whatever plan he has for Samuel.

As a practicing Jewish family, Hannah’s husband and his family give annual sacrifice to the Lord.
This specific year, Hannah didn’t go to together with her husband – he and his family went first, while Hannah was looking after Samuel.

We don’t know what Hannah’s husband sacrificed, but when Hannah went to Shiloh, a bull was sacrificed. Hannah must have been much wealthier than Jesus and Mary who, in their time, brought pigeons to the temple.

Samuel – the answer to Hannah’s prayer. He is God’s child. Hannah takes him to the temple, and hands him back to God to look after him.

In the Reading according to John, we are all called God’s children. This idea must have been revolutionary for the early Christians.
Children are not only the vulnerable, small children who need to be looked after – but they are also considered their father’s heirs once they are grown up.

Created in the image and likeness of God, we are inheriting God’s kingdom. God has plans for us. While we don’t know these plans yet, we know that God created us for a reason.

In the Gospel Reading according to Luke, we see some parallels to the story with Hannah.
Hannah went to give annual sacrifice in Shiloh, an important place of worship before the first temple was built in Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph, many years later, went to Jerusalem on their annual visit to the temple. Now we learn that they go for Passover. This is the first detail that reveals God’s plan for Jesus: he went to Jerusalem for Passover, was doing God’s work, was lost for 3 days and was found – and even his closest company didn’t understand what had happened.

Hannah has given her beloved son Samuel into God’s hands, Mary knows that Jesus follows God’s will.

Advent is over, the calendar year is almost over – we are getting prepared for a new calendar year. What are the plans God has for us?

BM