When Dale and Dick came to visit me during
the search process a bit more than a year ago, Dale commented on the number of my
sermons that were on the Old Testament.
I had explained to both of them that the OT makes up nearly two-thirds
of Scripture. If I had my druthers, I
would preach on the OT about 2/3 of the time.
Events in parish life, like Baptisms, and our calendar make that hard to
do. In Christmas, Epiphany, and Easter,
I think we clergy ought to be focused on the Incarnation, the work and person
of Christ. That is not to say that the
OT does not look forward to His Coming.
But it is to say that the people are more clearly focused on Jesus and
His redeeming work during those seasons and, I suppose, we are right to spend a
bit more time in discussion about them.
That all being said, I think it has been
nine weeks since I preached on the OT.
Nine weeks. Thankfully, we get a
good story this week that speaks to all our ministries in the world around
us. Those of you paying close attention
may have thought Leslie mispronounced the king’s name. Those listening closely would have heard her
say Xerxes instead of Ahasuerus. In
truth, they are one and the same. And
let’s face it, Xerxes is much easier to say than Ahasuerus. Xerxes rules Persia or Babylon, if you
prefer, some 100 years after Nebuchadnezzar.
The Jews are a dispersed community within the empire. It was common practice in those days to take
a subjected, conquered people and spread them out throughout an empire. If numbers were small enough, no group would
have the critical mass necessary to foment rebellion. They would be too busy trying to scratch out
a life. And, if three or four or more
subjugated peoples were in an area, so much the better! It is really hard for people to plot and plan
rebellion if they cannot speak to one another.
In this case, though, there had been
rebellion. Mordecai, we learn in chapter
2, is of the tribe of Benjamin and has been carried off to the capital of the
empire, Susa. Through the trials and
hardships of being settled in another land, Mordecai becomes the guardian of
the girl Esther, who Scripture tells us was beautiful and had a lovely
figure. This last bit was important
because, Xerxes was later enraged by his Queen Vashti’s insolence. You see, during a state dinner, he had
commanded his wife to appear before him and those at the dinner. We are given no reason; we are told only that
she refused.
Well, Mel Brooks is right in this respect
at least: It is good to be the king. I
know we modern men are used to our wives’ coming to our every command, so we
can understand just why Xerxes put Vashti away and decided to choose a new
king. Wait, why are you laughing? In typical kingly fashion, there was a beauty
pageant held to determine the next wife.
Not unsurprisingly, the beautiful virgin Esther, with a lovely figure,
was chosen to be queen.
Flash forward a bit. Mordecai is working and becomes aware of a
plot to kill the king. He tells Esther,
whom he has raised, who, in turn, warns the king. The king places in the annals of the king,
the official record, if you will, that Mordecai, through Esther, had preserved
his rule.
Flash forward a bit more. Haman is now the second-in-command in the
kingdom. Everyone bows to him, except
this old Jew named Mordecai. Though
those in his family and those who advise him tell him to forget the old man,
Haman refuses. The perceived arrogance
of Mordecai gnaws and gnaws at him. He
has no idea who Mordecai is. He does not
know that Mordecai has been favored by his boss, Xerxes. He certainly does not know that Mordecai
raised the queen, as she kept the details of her birth secret so that she would
be eligible to be chosen queen. Eventually,
he plots to kill Haman and all the Jews in the empire.
Over time, the plans become known. It’s hard to keep such a secret when you are
building scaffolds in view of the public and sending letters to the reaches of
the kingdom declaring a date of execution for a people previously favored by
the king. Eventually, the likely success
of the plot causes Mordecai once again to seek out Esther and have her
intercede on behalf of the Jews with the king.
Esther is understandably nervous.
Queens today are rather imperious.
Back then, and especially with this king, being a queen was dangerous
work. A queen could only approach Xerxes
if she was summoned. This idea of
interjecting herself into the daily regimen of the palace ran the risk of
causing him to think of her as a bit too arrogant to be his queen. Vashti’s insolence, whatever it was, had
given Esther the opportunity to be queen in the first place. And Esther’s presentation, as Scripture
points out, is illegal. Nevertheless,
she bids Mordecai to tell the people to pray and to fast for three days, that
she might figure out a way to do what he asks.
I should note here that God is not
mentioned in this book. Nowhere in the
text of this book is a name of God mentioned.
It seems strange to those of us who study Scripture that He would not
include His name in a book about Him.
But that is precisely how He inspired Esther to be written, edited, and
recorded in Scripture. It is a problem
that dogged Rabbis and scribes for some time, but that is another tale. The book seems so far removed from God that
the only particularly religious activities mentioned are the praying and
fasting asked by Esther of Mordecai.
Eventually, Esther decides that a meal
will serve her purposes best. She
invites the king and Haman both to a meal.
Haman is beside himself with glee.
He gets to dine in private with the king and the queen. His power and prestige are, in his mind,
confirmed. This type of invitation just
does not happen. Esther uses the slow
play. When Xerxes offers her whatever
her request is, even to half of his kingdom (sound familiar?), Esther asks the
king simply if he and Haman can return the next night. The king promises and Haman is overcome with
pride. He recounts to his family and
friends the honor shown him by the king and queen, though the lack of respect
on the part of Mordecai eats at him.
The next day arrives. As it happens, king Xerxes had been unable to
sleep the prior night. In a fit of
desperation, he had had the annals brought to him and read by the
attendants. They just happened to select
the passage that dealt with Mordecai and the plot of the eunuchs Bigthana and
Teresh. As he laid there unable to
sleep, he asked what he had done for such service. His attendants informed him that he had done
nothing. What kind of king fails to
reward those who save his life? The
question gnaws at the king.
Timing, of course, is everything. As he is contemplating that question, he asks
who is in the court. At that moment, we
are told, Haman had entered to have the king put Mordecai to death. The king summons Haman and asks what should
be done for one whom the king wishes to honor.
Haman, given last night’s invitation and this evening’s, naturally
assumes he is the man whom the king wishes to honor. Haman “suggests” that the king have one of
his most noble officials present the man, robe him, place a crown on his head,
and even ride a horse ridden by the king.
Xerxes loves the idea and commands Haman to do all that he has said to
Mordecai. You can imagine the stunned
expression of Haman. He came to court to
have Mordecai killed, and Mordecai is the one honored by the king. Talk about a topsy-turvy world!
Later that evening, Haman and the king
join Esther in her quarters for another meal.
Again, the king is overcome by Esther’s beauty and cooking. Once again he makes the offer of even half
his kingdom. This time Esther
responds. She begs the king to spare her
life and that of Mordecai and the rest of the Jews. Had her people only been sold into slavery,
she says, she would have said nothing.
But the threat of death is too much.
As we might imagine, the king is
enraged. He does value Haman, but he
also values Mordecai, and he at least lusts for his queen. He steps out for a moment to gather his
thoughts. Haman, of course, reads the
king mood. He knows that the king will
destroy him for his plotting. Haman’s
conspiracy against the Jews has made the king look double-minded and
ungrateful. He goes to plead for his
life from Esther when he trips and falls onto her couch. Just as the king is entering. Imagine the scene in his eyes. At best Haman is attacking the queen. So the king, with a little help from other
advisers, has Haman put to death and gives his family to Esther, who places
Mordecai in charge.
The story is not yet over. Haman’s letters of instructions to the
governors are still out there. The Jews
are going to be killed. So, the next
day, in spite of the dangerous mood of the king, Esther presents herself at
court yet again. He extends his scepter,
and she speaks. Esther tells the king
that she cannot be silent in the face of such death and destruction. The king agrees and says she can do whatever
she wishes with his seal.
Scripture relates that, in the turned
tables, the Jews in Susa killed three hundred enemies. Further, the Jews in the outlying provinces
killed nearly 75,000 people. Scripture
also relates that, although Xerxes gave the Jews permission to loot the
destroyed families, the Jews did not.
They left the treasures, presumably as a sign that this was a holy
war. The day has become a special day in
the life of the Jews. Those of you who
have heard of Purim now know the story upon which it is based. Haman had cast Pur, the lot, to crush them
and himself had been crushed.
But the story of Esther raises a number of
questions with which we Christians need to wrestle, particularly those of us
who have largely grown up in a country that has no kings and queens and courts
and those of us who have not really suffered the threat of death at the hands
of enemies. And, do not be ashamed to
wrestle so with Scripture. Rabbis for
some 20 plus centuries have argued whether it should be included in their
canon. And I have taken the time this
morning to fill in those details skipped by our editors. I understand why they skip the difficult
parts, but I think we do ourselves a disservice when we do. So what is going on? Why do we think God
thought this an important story to relate to us, as distant as we are in
political systems, miles, and whatever else we like to think?
One theological question presented in this
book is the question of violence. In
this book, we are presented with a real threat to existence. Haman had successfully manipulated the king
to be in a position to utterly wipe out the Jews in the kingdom. It was not a fanciful possibility but a
reality with a date certain. It would be
akin to somebody grabbing hold of Hitler’s diary and seeing that he expected
the last of the Jews to be killed on such and such a date in whatever
year. Just as he was determined to wipe
the Jews out, so was Haman. As American
Christians, we certainly do not live under that imminent threat, but we have
brothers and sisters around the world who do.
ISIS is doing its best to stamp out Christianity wherever it gains
control. The Muslim Brotherhood has
performed a modern Haman on our Coptic brothers and sisters, many of whom now
live in the dumps outside the cities. A
little more than a month ago, we celebrated with our Armenian brothers and
sisters. And they are here specifically
because of threat to life in their home countries.
Some modern commentators like to claim
that the Jews were exorbitant in their fight.
They used the kings favor to wipe out some 75,000 thousand enemies. Who does that? The problem, of course, is that the
punishment was just. Haman and those who
plotted to destroy them planned this end for them. They were to be killed and their loot divided
as the spoils. What happens in this
narrative is just. The Jews only destroy
those who wished to wipe them out. The
text points out three times that the war was not for financial gain. Although Xerxes say and justice would say it
would be fair, the Jews leave the spoils.
It is their way of reminding themselves that they need God on their
side, an important lesson to an exiled people and an important lesson to
us. We may place our trust from time to
time in our health, our wealth, our whatever, but our real trust needs to be in
God. The judgment also serves as a
warning to those who would choose to fight against God and His chosen
people. For a while, Haman seems to have
the upper hand. All his schemes seem to
be falling into place, and then the unexpected happens. Xerxes cannot sleep. He listens to the annals and is reminded that
he shorted Mordecai. How might the story
had been different had Xerxes slept like a baby or the attendant read from
another section of the book?
There is another interesting detail in the
celebration after the killings. The
people feast and give presents to the needy in their towns. It is a curious thing to be shedding blood
for a couple days and then returning to feast and serve those in your community
in need. Those of us might recognize the
roots of the behavior in Deuteronomy.
The enemies of God and His people have been dealt with, but there are
still hungry and poor who need help. God
may not be mentioned by name, but His people act as if they believe and accept
His instruction.
Another lesson in the book for us, I
think, is the day to day nature of the book.
I mentioned earlier that God is not mentioned in the book. It seems weird that a book that reveals to us
the character of God somehow forgets to mention His name. But is it any less weird than the way we tend
to live our lives? How many of us go
through our daily and weekly lives forgetting God is there? How many of us find ourselves in odd
encounters, strange conversations, boring everyday life only to later realize
that God was really at work in an event?
I have shared with some the circumstances surrounding the death of
Clarence a couple weeks ago. What
connected us was me needing furniture for the rectory in January and Jane. From that tenuous thread some serious
theological discussions happened, as has some serious pastoring. Oh, and did I mention that Clarence had been
raised Baptist and then moved on to the Jehovah Witness. Some might say it was lucky for him that I
spoke Baptist and exclusion and understood the consequences of shame. Some might say that, but I think the
connection was far too tenuous to be other than the nudgings of God. And isn’t that how He works far more often in
our lives. A nudge here; a whisper
there. Sure, He parts the waters from
time to time; He does the incredible every now and again just to remind us of
His power. But far more often He is
simply whispering, encouraging, inspiring, and acting far more mundane than we
would ever wish.
The last lesson upon which I want to
touch, and perhaps the most important, is the obvious one. In this narrative, who is the Christ-like
figure? Who is the figure that is
presented as an offering, elevated, and then intercedes on behalf of God’s
people, thus saving them from death and destruction? I see the faces. The OT hates women, right? It is misogynistic, patriarchal, and written
by white European males to keep themselves in power, right? In a day and country where we marry for love
and believe in equal rights, it is easy to forget the context of Esther. The death of her parents meant that she was
likely consigned to prostitution or begging.
She had no value in the society of Susa.
Yet Mordecai fulfilled his obligations.
God may not be mentioned by name, but many of the Jews seem to be trying
to live in accordance with His teaching.
Mordecai takes in the additional mouth to feed. He raises her, educates her, and even
counsels her. Our modern sensibilities
might be offended by his willingness to enter her in a beauty contest, but who
could provide better for her than the king.
Yes, in a way she was an offering, an offering that pleased the king.
And look at Esther’s response to her
situation. Her predecessor has been
removed for being the kind of queen Esther will need to be to preserve her
people. When the time comes, though, she
chooses to act. She is willing to give
up all the cushiness of being queen to save her people; she is willing even to
lay down her life, not unlike the King whose ministry she foreshadows. She asks only for prayer and fasting. That is her “armor,” if you will. And though she is queen, she understands
humility. As part of an exiled community
she knows what it means to be on the margins.
Rather than forcing her position on the king, she waits for him to make
the request of her. And she does, twice,
knowing that each request could cost her her life. Can you imagine? An orphan elevated to become queen and then
used to save a people?
Brothers and sisters, the book of Esther
speaks to the everydayness of our existence.
Each and every day of our lives is consecrated to and lived to God, if
we are truly serious about being His people.
We may touch people outside the covenant in different ways, but our
lives should be no less an offering to the One who promises eternal life in Christ. You may be a teacher who straddles yourself
with extra, unpaid tutoring for a struggling student. You may be a doctor or nurse who gives a bit
more time pro bono than your colleagues because someone just needed it. You may be a worker, a paper pusher, or even
a priest. You may think your work is the
least glorious in the world. The truth
is that God is every bit at work in our daily, humdrum lives as He is in the
miracles. And you and I are promised
that one day we will share in that glory when He returns. Better still, you and I are called to be that
intercessor, that Christ-imitating person, who acts to point others to the God
where people really should be placing their faith, their lot.
Peace,
Brian†
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