In 1 Samuel 2, Hannah gives a prayer of thanks when she takes her son Samuel to be dedicated to God. Some of the phrases in this prayer are similar to those in Mary's prayer when she is pregnant with Jesus and goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth - a prayer which is still used by many Christians today (often called The Magnificat after the opening words in Latin). Why do these two women, one mother and one mother-to-be, both praise God by saying that he raises up the humble but brings down the strong and the mighty?
Both Hannah and Mary have a child that they weren't expecting. Hannah had been married but childless for years and had prayed for God to help her. Mary was betrothed - legally married but not yet living with her husband - and should not have been pregnant yet. The theme of both prayers is that God is in charge. Hannah has a child after it was clear that she couldn't; Mary is going to have a child when she clearly shouldn't. Both women see their situation as an indicator of God's power. Mary refers to God as the Mighty One; Hannah says that the foundations of the earth are the Lord's - everything depends ultimately on Him.
But these prayers are not just about God's power. They are also about Hannah and Mary's relationship with Him.
Both women are in a position where they don't have much power. Although Jewish law gave some rights to women, there wasn't gender equality in a modern sense. So simply being a woman put them at a disadvantage in power relationships. In addition Hannah was ridiculed by her husband's other wife for not having children: she was seen as unable to carry out one of the basic functions of a wife, which was to provide children for her husband. What do Hannah and Mary do when the are powerless? Do they find ways of being more powerful? Hannah vows that if she can have a child - finally vindicating her as a wife - then rather than keeping him she'll give him to God. Despite being "highly favoured", Mary says that she is God's servant. Neither of these women respond to God's power with a "God is on my side" triumphalism. Instead they emphasise their powerlessness before Him.
This is why both prayers talk about God feeding the hungry and lifting up the humble and the poor. God turns things around for those who know that they are at the bottom of the heap. But rulers are brought down from their thrones and the bows of warriors are broken. Don't be confident in your own strengths and abilities, says Hannah, because actually all power belongs to God. It's Him who gives strength to kings, and they shouldn't forget it.
We should be confident in God; we should trust Him in everything. But that's not the same as thinking that we're better than those who don't rely on God. We're not special because God has chosen us. In fact, God calling us to serve Him is good news precisely because we're not the kind of people that He would be expected to choose. Neither Hannah nor Mary think that they are anything special because of what God has done. When we attempt to follow God, we're not better people than those who don't follow Him: people who think they're better than others, say Hannah and Mary, are precisely not the people God chooses.
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