The reading
Esther 4:1-17
1 When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai
tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and
ashes, and went through the city,
wailing with a loud and bitter cry; 2 he went up to the entrance of the king's
gate, for no one might enter the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. 3 In every
province, wherever the king's command and his decree came, there was great
mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and most of
them lay in sackcloth and ashes. 4 When Esther's maids and her eunuchs came and
told her, the queen was deeply distressed; she sent garments to clothe
Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth; but he would not accept
them. 5 Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs, who had been
appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what was
happening and why. 6 Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the
city in front of the king's gate, 7 and Mordecai told him all that had happened
to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the
king's treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8 Mordecai also gave him a
copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might
show it to Esther, explain it to her, and charge her to go to the king to make
supplication to him and entreat him for her people.
Hathach went and told
Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and gave him a
message for Mordecai, saying, 11 "All the king's servants and the people
of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside
the inner court without being called, there is but one law—all alike are to be
put to death. Only if the king holds out the golden scepter to someone, may
that person live. I myself have not been called to come in to the king for
thirty days." 12 When they told Mordecai what Esther had said, 13 Mordecai
told them to reply to Esther, "Do not think that in the king's palace you
will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silence at
such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another
quarter, but you and your father's family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you
have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this." 15 Then Esther
said in reply to Mordecai, 16 "Go, gather all the Jews to be found in
Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days,
night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. After that I will go to
the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish." 17
Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.
The message
This is the first time I have heard the book of Esther read
at church, to be completely honest preparing for today has been the first time
that I read the book of Esther. Although
it is set at a historical time, this is not what we would call a true story or
a historical book. It is a story meant
to teach and tell of faith at a particular time and place. It is set in Persia
during the time of the exile (after the Babylonians destroyed the temple in
Jerusalem and forced many of the Jewish people to leave the area in 586
bc). The story centers on a conflict
between Haram, an official in the Persian royal court who hopes to destroy the
Jewish people on one side and Mordecai and his cousin Esther who find a way to
save them, Esther and Mordecai are Jews in exile and plot any way they can to
save their people from Haram. Mordecai serves as an official in the Persian
government who is rewarded when the king discovers a very important action he
did. Mordecai climbs to significant power.
Esther is rounded up along with other young women, put in the king’s
harem and manages to be become Queen. Although she hides her Jewishness, she can use
her position to protect and ultimately save her people. Today’s reading is the
time in the story when Morceadi appeals to Esther to take risks, to gain power and
use it to save the Jews. In Judaism, the
book of Esther is the source and story of the holiday Purim. Traditionally,
Esther is read in its entirety in the evening and morning of that celebration
I want to share some issues, let’s call it what’s wrong with
the book of Esther. It is one of the Biblical books that Martin Luther
criticizes, saying he “wished it had never been written”. People of faith have had serious issues with
Esther, for what it is missing. The book mentions the king of Persia 190 times
but does not mention the God of Israel once (It is the only biblical book to
not mention God). People also criticize
Esther for what it does include. In
chapters 8 and 9, the Jewish people are authorized by the king to kill their
enemies. What follows is a lot of violence, including the killing of women,
children, apparently innocent people and all the sons of Haram, The violence
falls somewhere between necessary self-defense and the ruthless murder of
people you don’t like. Criticisms of Esther are not new. Some years after it
was written, Greek jews, greatly uncomfortable with aspects of the book, added about
100 verses, to make it conform more to the expected standards of a Biblical
book. (the Greek additions to Esther are not accepted as part of the Bible by
Jews or Protestants)
Esther does have its defenders, people who see the presence
of God throughout the book, as the cause
of events that could go either way, but always seem to go in favor of Israel. God
is quietly guiding or influencing events that allow Mordecai and Esther to save
their people. It is written in a time and place where many people wondered:
Where is God. This was a time in history
when the prophets were quiet, the temple was destroyed, Israel was exiled and
dispersed, people wondered if God’s promises were still good. Perhaps the book of Esther teaches that God
was still acting in the world, even during that awful, apparent silence. In
terms of the violence, it is defended as necessary, as the only way to really
protect themselves in a very violent and chaotic time. There are times of great violence against the
people of Israel or their enemies, sent, approved or overlooked by God,
Putting those debates behind us, the question for today is Why
are we talking about it 2 weeks before Christmas (other than it happens to be
the assigned reading for today). The
drama in the book of Esther centers around reversals of fate and fortune. Haram seeks to destroy the jews and ends up
being destroyed, Haram is expecting great honors and power but ends up giving
them to Mordecai, Esther is essential taken as a sex slave, finds favor with
the king and becomes Queen. When
Moredecai first hears that Haram plans to destroy the Jews, he goes crazy with
fear and anger, but that news becomes the way to save everyone. Each and every decision Haram makes is very
rational, well thought out and turns out to be bad and works against him. Each and every choice goes in favor of Esther
and Mordecai, each and every decision of the king turns out in their favor,
each event in society helps them.
Through all this, Esther and Mordecai are set as examples
about being faithful, putting others first, leaving comforts for a greater
good, trusting the Lord. They make a
series of bold, difficult and brave decisions, which leave them in danger and
open to attack. Any decision could easily backfire on them, leading to their
deaths or even the destruction of the Jewish people
Christmas, what we wait for, is also about reversals and
bold decisions. A non-royal child grows to be king of kings, an executed
miracle worker is the long expected savior, the birth of a child born in a barn
to people nobody on earth knew is welcomed by a star in the night sky (like an
emperor), a child born to an oppressed people becomes Lord of all people, the
cross of humiliation becomes the way to glory, death becomes the way to life.
The words of lowly shepherds becomes the good news that Christ our savior is
born.
Esther is our invitation to remember God is present with us
always. Next week, as we hear part of second Isaish, we hear words of comfort
and future spoken to people who lost everything. God has a plan for the world,
for each of us and our communities. We
are called to trust. Esther is also an invitation to remember God works
through unexpected people, through us and God changes things.
Finally, Esther is our invitation be bold and wise. The
metro NY synod’s strategic plan, the complex but faithful work for the future
is subtitled: For such a time as this. I never realized before but that phrase
comes right out of the book of Esther, todays reading more precisely Mordecai’s
plea to his cousin: For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance
will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family
will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a
time as this
Today starts my 10th year as the pastor of my
first church, this church. I believe I am still here for such a time as this.
This church, finishing our 151st year of faith, life and prayer, is
still here for such a time as this. We
are invited to remember, we are children of the same God. You are in college
for such a time as this, in high school, in relationship, in retirement, at
work for such a time as this. we know
what time it is. Now. we ask what are our gifts, abilities, ideas, hopes and
vision, how do we save our people with the good news.
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