#bookofsamuel

Saint Hannah, Mother of Samuel

12 C. BC

Feast Day: December 9

Patronage: Childless and infertile women, and poverty

Saint Hannah is an Old Testament (1st Book of Samuel) wife, whose marriage to Elkanah was barren. Even though Elkanah loved her dearly, he married Peninnah, who bore him many children. Hannah grieved bitterly and prayed fervently in the temple over her misfortune. The priest Eli learned of her story, gave her a blessing and she conceived and bore Samuel. (meaning; Asked from God, or God heard) Samuel served Eli and became one of the greatest of the Judges in the Old Testament.

Promises, even those made by Israelites to non-Israelites, are seen as sacred in the Bible. In the Second book of Samuel, there is a story about how the Lord curses Israel with a famine that lasts for three years as a result of a “blood guilt on Saul and his family because he put the Gibeonites to death. . . . Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites but survivors of the Amorites; and although the Israelites had given their oath [to not kill them], Saul had attempted to kill them off in his zeal for the men of Israel and [of] Judah” (2 Sam 21:1-2).

Promise made between people become the foundations of justice, specifically the kind of justice that we need in order to be able to live with each other. I promise not to kill you, and in return you promise not to kill me. A violation of your word therefore is actually a much bigger deal than you might think it is initially. If go back on your word than you are actually undermining the value of that justice itself; you are making it much harder for people to be able to live with you. Because at the end of the day your word is all you have, your word is sacred, and if other people cannot trust your word than they are not as likely to want to live with you. It becomes a “dog eat dog” kind of situation because they know that you are not interested in justice, you are just interested in getting your own way. This will then force other people to have to react in the same way against you and make it harder for them to trust others.

God loves us no matter what we do. No matter what sin we commit God still loves and accepts us. His love is truly unconditional and can wipe away any of our sins provided that we show Him that our love for Him, though flawed, is real. There is nothing a person can do which would make that person unlovable in God's eyes. David, who at one point kills a man so that he can marry his wife, is an example of this. David is a sinner, a human being like the rest of us. Yet, God loves him in a very special way, despite whatever sins David commits.

A lot of ink has been spilt regarding the relationship between David and Jonathan. Was it homosexual in nature or just the deepest of friendships? It says that when Jonathan first met David, while David was presenting the head of Goliath to King Saul, he became "as fond of David as if his life depended on him; he loved him as he loved himself. . . . And Jonathan entered into a bond with David because he loved him as he loved himself" (1 Sam 18:1, 3). And then later when Jonathan dies, David says "I grieve for you Jonathan my brother! Most dear have you been to me; more precious have I had love for you than love for women" (2 Sam 1:26).

Now to me, therefore, it seems like David and Jonathan had a homosexual relationship. Now before anyone accuses me of anything let me say this: whatever your personal views on homosexuality are, it is irrelevant for the purposes of this blog entry. If you think that homosexuality is alright, which I do, then this just provides an example from the Bible of two people who were gay. If you don't believe that homosexuality is ok, than this just highlights how much God loves everyone despite whatever sins they commit.

Regardless of your views on homosexuality, the most important message here is this: the fact that God loved David who was gay (or at  least bisexual) shows that God does love gay people and that they can play great roles within His plan of salvation. That this crazy, mindless persecution of gays that Christians sometimes participate in absolutely needs to stop. Gays are not automatically condemned to burn in Hell forever. God loves everyone and accepts everyone who has a real love for Him, like David did. Everyone has an important role to play in God's kingdom; God rejects no one. Not even gay people. How much does God love David? He makes him a promise that He has only made to one other person: Abraham:

And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins and I shall make his kingdom firm. . . . And I will make his throne firm forever. . . .I will not withdraw my favor from him as I withdrew it from your predecessor Saul  whom I removed from my presence. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne will stand firm forever. (2 Sam 7:12-13, 15-16). 

Only Abraham gets this kind of a promise from God. If that does not prove how much God loves David, despite whatever his sins are, then what does? The truth is that God loved the gay king David a whole lot and the real message here is that we need to stop condemning each other. No one is free from sin and yet God loves everyone and can use any one of us to do something great. God does not discriminate and neither should we.