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“Esther” Sherry Lohman - Sept. 27, 2009 Esther 4:1-16 Today you will be hearing a story about Esther. It’s not a story you may know. Within our OT, the book falls between Nehemiah and Job.// It came into existence almost 500 years before Jesus was born, in the area from India to Ethiopia. But before we begin to talk about Esther, we need to hear a little bit about Vashti; Queen Vashti. So settle in and let me tell you a piece of the story. Once upon a time… King Ahasuerus, in the third year of his reign, decided to give a banquet for all his officials and ministers. The armies, the nobles and governors were all present (all males, of course), and the king displayed all the wealth, the splendor and pomp of his majesty. The party, itself, continued for 180 days! And after that party, the king gave everyone in the citadel of Susa (everyone, regardless of class), a banquet lasting for another seven days, in the court of the garden of his palace. Imagine, there were curtains and hangings tied with cords of fine purple linen against marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of mother-of-pearl. Drinks were served in golden goblets and the royal wine was lavished upon them. Drinking was without restraint. Meanwhile, the king’s Queen, Queen Vashti, gave a banquet for the women in the palace. Finally, by the 7th day, after the king had had more than enough to drink, he commanded that Queen Vashti be brought before him and his guests, wearing the royal crown. He was quite enamored with her beauty, and wanted to show her off. (Some accounts claim that he insisted she wear only the royal crown—that’s not included in our history, but it’s been told). Queen Vashti had a mind of her own, and flat out refused to be paraded around the court like a little show piece, which you might imagine, absolutely outraged the king. And so he consulted with the sages about what should be done to Queen Vashti for refusing his request.// These men agreed, that what the Queen did not only wronged him, but also set a poor example for all the other women who might look with contempt on their husbands. They didn’t want her setting any female standards.// And so the king replaced her, declaring that every man should be master in his own house. But you know how it goes; one problem is resolved, how another one surfaces. And so, the problem became finding another queen; one who would be less rebellious./ This took a great deal of time and preparation, but to make a long story short, alas, this is where Esther enters the story. No one would have guessed that Esther had been orphaned at a young age. Her older cousin, Mordecai, had adopted her as his own daughter, caring for her in every manner as her father. Esther was admired by all who saw her./ The king, too, was smitten by her, set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen. The young fair and adorable Esther had won his favor and devotion. Hence, another banquet was given, in honor of Esther—there was no mention of the king repeating his request to make Esther a showpiece. Perhaps the king was still burning about his former queen. For awhile, all seemed to be well….or so it appeared. But Mordecai did not rest so easily. He knew something the king did not---and that was, that Esther’s roots were sunk deeply in her Jewish heritage. This, he cautioned Esther, must not be revealed. It might cost her her life. The plot thickens with the arrival of another character: the king’s right hand man, Haman. You might say Haman held a rather high opinion of himself, looking down his nose at everyone except the king. He reveled in his own glory to the point where he expected everyone except the king to bow down to him. Everyone, including Mordecai. Like Queen Vashti, before him, Mordecai had been pushed to his limits. He would bow down to his God; but refused to bow down to Haman. He simply couldn’t bring himself to do it. Probably none of us have ever experienced this type of oppression, and yet it continues to run rampant in our world. Oppression, as defined in the dictionary means to “press against, to weigh heavily on the mind, spirits, or senses, to crush; trample down, overpower; subdue.” Though we may have never been oppressed such as Mordecai, we have surely, sometime in our lives, brushed shoulders with it, whether it was due to something small and insignificant, or with a highly moral issue. There comes a time in our lives where we stop and say, “no more---I’m not going to be a part of this.” And that’s where Mordecai was. This infuriated Haman, and so, he set out to destroy, not just Mordecai, but all Jews in the kingdom. He would use his power, which he did, by going straight to the king and proposing that the Jewish people were not obeying the king’s laws…that they had their own laws. The king was convinced, a decree was issued to destroy, kill, and annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, and to plunder their goods. This decree was issued in every province, calling on all the peoples to be ready for that day. And then—well, then the king and Haman sat down to drink; while the city was thrown into confusion. And this is where our scripture picks up today. (read passage, Esther 4:1-16). This brings to mind the horrific stories of the holocaust. Genocide. That’s the extreme. We can’t begin to fathom what it must be like to be threatened with death for ourselves and our loved ones, or exist at the mercy of powerful people. Most of us probably really can’t comprehend the depth of flat, hard pressed oppression….the kind that beats the hope and heart to the pulp so that you really don’t care much about living anymore. Can’t you just picture Mordecai, stunned and crying bitterly about the circumstances of his life, frustrated that there wasn’t a darned thing he could do about it./ There may be those among us, in our community, who may know feelings of oppression on some level…who may just want to sit down and cry. Your spirits may be pulling you down. Maybe you feel subdued by the lack of control in your own life, threatened by a fear of unknowing or what the next day might bring. Perhaps you just feel the heavy, unforgiving weight of it all.// Meanwhile, Esther is put in the difficult position of looking out at the chaos from the safe haven, inside. Naturally, she’s distressed once she learns about the planned destruction of her people. She’s torn. She can sit back, keep the secret and watch her people be destroyed. Or, she can approach the king. There’s one little caveat, here. No one is to approach the king without his beckoning. So even with out the possibility of saving her people, she would be putting her own life at risk. What will she do?// Mordecai instructs her. He will do what he has always done, and tell her the truth, and hope that she will do as she has always done, and trust him. He tells her that her roots will be revealed, and that she will not escape any more than all the other Jews. And then he leaves her with this thought…. He says, in his fatherly wisdom, “Perhaps, Esther, you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.” Think about that for a minute. Their lives rest in her hands. It’s possible she has the power and potential to change the outcome. Perhaps, Esther, this is your purpose in life…. It’s a possibility. How would you respond, knowing that the lives of others were in your hands--that it’s possible you have the power and potential to change the outcome of others’ lives? What would you do, knowing your own life was at risk? Esther chose to seek the good of her people, and interceded for them, and her people thanked God for her voice, her courage and her commitment. Last week, Dave and I were in a city of chaos and oppression. We stayed in a nice hotel, in Vera Cruz, Mexico, but the airport ride, 12 miles between, displayed landmarks of empty shells; once dwelling places, covered with graffiti; a continuous cry, one empty decaying building after another, for miles and miles./ I don’t speak Spanish, but the written words spoke loudly, giving voice to the oppressed, perhaps their only way left of expressing the pain. Perhaps it is one of the only remaining ways they can express their pain. I can’t help thinking of the words from John’s gospel, where in the beginning was the Word, and that Word was with God and was God, and all things came into being through him….and the Word became flesh and lived among us. That is our story, and we are still working on it, aren’t we, helping the Word to come into being, accepting the word made flesh among us, even though we might not understand their graffiti or hear their cries. What we can learn from Esther’s story, is that we can use our voice, and our power, and pray for God’s courage, to bring new life to the crushed and broken spirits. Esther’s story can become a part of our own, if we use our voice, our God given power of compassion, and pray for God’s courage, to bring new life to the crushed and broken spirits. Thank God, we have a loving king of kings, one who rules with justice and truth. Unlike king Ahasuerus, our God counteracts oppression with freedom, growth and creativity. It is this God who counts on us to live peaceably among each other and to care for the good earth that God has provided, to seek justice for all…not dominate because we are bigger or have more power. Hope and pray that God will use us, empower us to keep shaping this world into the kind of place…well, a paradise, if we so choose…because it’s up to us, really…because we do have the power to choose, not just for ourselves, but to seek the truth and justice for the oppressed, too. Once upon a time, the earth and all the animals and people upon it, lived peacefully, happily everafter. It’s not just another story. It’s a hope, and God’s promise. Amen. |