Reputation and authority

Though Fr TV Thomas, the main celebrant of the Holy Mass chose to emphasise on some other aspect of the Gospel, I was perturbed by the readings of the day (from 1 Sam and Mark 1: 22-28). Hannah's grievance and lamentation was for a male child. But what was her motivation? I thought it was purely selfish on her part to crave for a male child. She merely wanted to redeem her own reputation. She wanted to get rid of the social stigma of being a barren woman. The child was only a remedy for that. Furthermore, she was willing to give up her son to the temple... why would she do that if she really wanted to be a mother?

To add to my dilemma, the gospel from Mark (1: 28) ended thus: “... with this miracle, the reputation of Jesus spread throughout the hill country.” Why this fixation with 'reputation'?

Or is it that I got the bull by its tail. Fr TV spoke of authority and power. He stressed that like Jesus, the real authority and power originates from within and not from outside. Only and only when the inner strength initiates, can the external power be additionally utilised appropriately and effectively.