In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Lord closed Hannah's womb. She was afflicted with the burden of barrenness, the cross of childlessness. Her suffering was compounded by the rich fertility of her husband's other wife, who bore him many children, and received from Elkanah the recompense for her labor. Hannah was tormented not only by the failure of her own flesh, but by the taunting and despising of her own household. Though Elkanah her husband loved her, there was nothing he could do about her pitiable condition.
Why was this the situation? Why did our Lord choose to close Hannah's womb, and to open the womb of Peninah over and over? Why some and not others? This is the question that virtually everyone asks with respect to some desired state at some time in life. For the barren woman, or couple, this is a daily plea: “Why me, O Lord?” The Lord gives abundantly to some, and withholds from others. The answer, for those who live under the sun, is that we do not know. The Lord gives, and the Lord withholds – blessed be the Name of the Lord.
