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There is an uncomfortable moment in the Old Testament when a woman goes to the house of God to pray and ends up being accused of drunkenness by the priest.
Her name is Hannah, and her story is found in the opening chapter of 1 Samuel. She has been trying to cope with something that has caused her enormous distress, and eventually she finds herself sitting in the sanctuary, pouring out everything she has been carrying. She is so overwhelmed that her lips move, but no words come out.
The priest, Eli, watches her for a while before deciding that he knows exactly what is happening.
“How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”
It is a dreadful thing to say to somebody who is already struggling, particularly when they have come looking for comfort. Yet what interests me about Hannah’s story is that Eli is not the first person to misunderstand her. By the time she reaches the sanctuary, she has already spent years living among people who seem to have made up their minds about what is wrong with her.
And almost everyone has got something wrong.
