Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 33:1 (Winter 2019)
Article: Hannah: More Than A Mother
Author: Tracy Stringer

PP 33:1 (Winter 2019) p. 3

Hannah: More Than A Mother

Tracy Stringer

A sermon by Tracey Stringer preached on Mother’s Day, 2018

Tracey Stringer is Pastor of Spiritual Formation at New City Church of Los Angeles, Director of Apprenticeships at Fuller Theological Seminary, and a Certified Personal Development Life Coach. She holds an MDiv from Fuller, where she will soon complete her DMin in Urban Studies. Her doctoral project focuses on identity and self-recovery for black women as they navigate the dynamics of race, class, and gender. Tracey resides in southern California with her husband and two children.

Today, we are going to turn our attention to a passage about a mom, a mom many of us know very little about. We’re going to focus on Hannah, who was the mother of Samuel—and who, before she became the mother of Samuel, was a wife to Elkanah, and before she was a wife, was someone’s daughter, but before she was a daughter, was God’s beloved. We are going to take a closer look into Hannah’s story to see her. Hannah was unseen, she was unknown, she was taunted, and I believe, even depressed. She lived under the societal pressure to fit into this role of motherhood, something she had little or no control over. As we walk with Hannah, we are going to see how she encounters and discovers who God says she is. This is a message not just for moms or women, but for all of us. Every single day of our lives, we are asked to fit into a certain shape, but we don’t always fit the mold. If we listen closely, we will be able to identify with Hannah in her struggle to figure out who she is.

In 1 Sam 1:1–2, we encounter three individuals: Elkanah, Hannah, and Peninnah. Elkanah was an Ephraimite who had two wives. Hannah, more than likely the first wife because she is listed first, had no children, but Peninnah, likely the second wife, had many children. These women were also Ephraimites, a group of people who had received a special blessing from their ancestor Israel right before he died. Genesis 48 says:

“I pray that they will grow to become great families and nations on earth. . . . But his younger brother will be greater than he is. And the younger brother’s family will be much larger.” So Israel blessed them that day. He said, “The Israelites will use your names whenever they bless someone. They will say, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’” In this way Israel made Ephraim greater than Manasseh. (Gen 48:16b, 19b–20 ERV)

Under this blessing, these three individuals grew up knowing and hearing over and ov...