The first reading from Samuel (1 SM 1:1-8) begins with giving us the lineage of Elkanah. It strikes me that knowing who our ancestors are is important to knowing who we are. The story goes on to tell about Elkanah’s two wives. One had children and one had none. Hannah struggled with her lack of children. This tells me something that I already know, kids are important to parents. Elkanah at the end of the story asks Hannah “Why do you grieve? Am I not more to you than ten sons?” I see this as a parallel to God’s relationship with us. We are important to Him and no matter your parental status here, with or without human parents, you can always count on God.
In the Gospel from Mark (MK 1:14-20) we hear about Jesus calling Simon, Andrew, James and John to be His disciples. They immediately leave their family and family business to follow Jesus. I see this as them trusting Jesus to guide them in a fatherly way.
GVW4U 