We should never lose sight of the human reality which underlies the Biblical stories. Eli thinks Hannah is drunk because of the heartfelt passion of her prayer. He doesn’t understand the lifetime of pain that led to that moment. No doubt when Mary returned to Nazareth with a baby bump after three months in Judea with Elizabeth people whispered behind her back. Even though both women were striving to follow the will of God, they were criticized. We should expect no less. No matter what we do we can expect to be critiqued. Finding fault is a natural human condition. We can’t live dependent on what others think. Instead, we must seek the will of God in our lives and follow it with all our hearts.
