In the name of God- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
This
is a sermon on the Book of Esther. I’ve never preached on Esther before, and
chances are that none of you have ever heard a sermon on it either. This is the
only time Esther shows up in our rotation of Sunday readings, and it does so as
one of two options for the Old Testament reading. And the lectionary that we
currently use was first used in 2006, before then, Esther was completely absent
from Sunday mornings.
The
Book of Esther was likely written around the year 400 BCE and is a comedy that
tells the story of Esther, Mordecai, Haman, and King Xerxes of Persia. For
thousands of years, its inclusion in the Bible has been a point of contention.
For one, God never shows up in the book, either in name or as a character. Nor
are there references to Jewish customs or prayers. But through the Spirit’s guidance, this book
remains a part of our Bible, and I am thankful that it is included. As Holy
Scripture, this book has something to say to us about our faith, and it also
presents a woman hero. Along with the Book of Ruth, this is the only book in
the Bible that is named for a woman. Our faith tradition has lots of male heroes,
but we are unfortunately lacking in stories with strong women characters, and
so this passage is worthy of our attention for that reason as well. This story
also provides the roots of the Jewish holiday of Purim.
Esther
starts with a grand banquet given by King Ahasuerus, who is more commonly known
as the Persian king, Xerxes. The comedic hyperbole starts with this party that
would put make Mardi Gras look tame. The Bible says that the party went on for
6 months and that “Drinking was by flagons, without restraint.” It was intended
to be a flashy show of wealth. Well, as you can imagine, if you’ve been
partying for 6 months, things get a bit out of hand. One day, Xerxes decides
that put on a further show of his wealth by commanding his wife, Queen Vashti, parade
around in front of the guests, showing off her body to them. But she refuses to
be treated as an object or defined only by her appearance, and so she refuses
the King’s request.
This
enrages the King, and also causes anxiety in the kingdom. The Bible records that
many of the men of the kingdom got worried that if Queen Vashti was not put in
her place, that their wives might be emboldened to disobey their requests. This
part of the story is worth our attention, as still 2,500 years later, we still
largely judge women based on their bodies and they are treated as objects. It
was wrong then and it is wrong now.
I was recently back at my
alma mater, Wake Forest, and was speaking with someone who works in the
administration there and he was telling me of the epidemic that faces all
colleges around the country: sexual assault towards women. The findings of a
massive study were just released this week – 1 in 5 college women are victims
of sexual assault, and 10% are raped. Other studies have suggested that this
problem doesn’t start in college, but that it is an issue that many high school
girls face as well. Making the situation even worse is the fact that the
victims are often shamed or embarrassed by the crimes committed against them,
and only 25% of these crime are reported.
We’ve all heard the
phrase “Well, she shouldn’t have been wearing that,” or “She shouldn’t have
been drinking.” And the response has largely been to focus on teaching young
women how to be cautious and aware of their surroundings. While that’s a valid
point, we, as a society, need to have a serious talk with the young men that perpetrating
these crimes. The mercy and justice of God is never compatible with blaming the
victim. As the parent of a daughter, I can tell you that our culture sends
mixed and unfair messages to girls that it doesn’t send to boys. This aspect of
the story is a reminder that “no” is always an appropriate response, but we
also see the sin that a woman has to pay a price for exerting her God-given autonomy
over her own body. Queen Vashti ends up being dismissed for her refusal.
Another element of comedy
is that Xerxes has no idea what he’s doing as king. At every step of the story,
he has to ask advisors what to do. They recommend holding a contest with all
the women of Persia to see who would be a fitting replacement for the queen. A
young Jewish girl, Esther, was being raised by her cousin, Mordecai. Esther
eventually gains the King’s favor and becomes Queen, though she doesn’t reveal
her Jewish identity. One day, Mordecai was walking through the city and heard
two men planning an assassination against the King. Mordecai told Esther to
report this to the King, and in doing so, she further cemented her place as
Persian royalty.
I notice that you’re not
laughing, but it really is a comical plot twist. You’ll remember that Israel
was conquered by the Babylonians and many Jews were exiled to Babylonia. But the
Babylonian Empire was later defeated by the Persian Empire. The Persians
allowed the Jews to return to Israel, but some chose to stay behind because
they had come to realize that God wasn’t confined to the geographic boundaries
of Israel and the had become accustomed to their new home. Esther’s family was
one that remained in Persia. But to think that a Jewish girl would ever become
the Queen of Persia is outlandish, which suggests, though not directly in the
text, that through God, amazing and surprising things can happen.
King Xerxes then appoints
a man named Haman to be his top advisor. Haman is a xenophobic and
manipulative. As the King’s right hand man, he was to be honored throughout the
kingdom. But one day when he walked by Mordecai, Mordecai refused to bow down
to him, because as a faithful Jew, it would be idolatrous to do so. There is an
important question raised by this part of the story for us today – that is, how
do we live faithfully in an unfaithful culture? Mordecai lived in a non-Jewish
culture where he was expected to acquiesce to the Empire, but he also wanted to
maintain his Jewish identity and authenticity.
Our situation is not all
that different. The United States is a nation that is characterized by a strong
emphasis on individual rights and a consumeristic culture. Those values stand
in opposition to the Gospel values of community and reliance on God. The way
that many Christians have adapted is that we’ve created a new, warped version
of Christianity that places emphasis on individual salvation over and against
communal salvation. As much as some want to claim that it is, the United States
is not, nor has it ever been, a Christian nation. The Constitution is not the
Gospel. Now, this does not mean that the United States is anti-Christian, but
no one thinks that the Constitution should be added to the Bible.
Being a Christian means
having dual-citizenship. We are citizens both of a nation and of the Kingdom of
God. This story reminds us that sometimes there is a tension in living
faithfully in our culture. Given his visit this week, Pope Francis has been in
the news a lot, and he’s a good example of this reality. Republicans and
Democrats seem to equally agree and disagree with what he stands for, and that’s
because the Pope is living, first and foremost, as a Christian – sometimes that
means he seems to be “conservative” and other times it makes him “liberal,” but
neither of those descriptions is accurate, as he’s chosen the more difficult,
but authentic path of being a follower of God. Mordecai could have made his
life easier by bowing down to Haman, but he made the difficult decision to put
God above politics. How do you handle this tension?
Haman was infuriated and
went to Xerxes to demand that all Jews be killed. Again, Xerxes was a weak
leader and he capitulated. Many Jewish writers have compared the character of
Haman to that of Hitler – both were deranged leaders who tried to wipe out the
Jews from the face of the earth. Genocides remain a part of our world, and this
story is a reminder to us that hatred can lead to terrible actions, especially
when power is concentrated too tightly.
Mordecai learns of the
order against the Jewish people and goes to Esther to ask her to persuade the
King to change his order. But Esther replies that the King as a policy that you
cannot appear before the King unless you have been summoned, and the punishment
for breaking this policy is death. Mordecai replies, “You can either die for
violating this rule, or you can die for being Jewish, but either way, you will
die.” And then in Esther 4:14, Mordecai states the thesis of the entire book – “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.”
Why is it that you have
come to such a time as this? Do you ever find yourself saying things like “This
is what our community needs” or “If our church just did this, we’d be the best
we can be”? If a miracle is a moment in which God’s grace is apparent, doesn’t
that mean that a miracle could happen at any single moment of our lives? This
doesn’t make God a puppet master who is pulling the strings of the universe,
but rather it means that God is present in every moment. Perhaps, in the
moments of your life, it is your time to show this grace of God. Maybe when you
ask “How in the world did I get into this mess?”, you might know that the answer
is “So that God’s grace might come through you.” Just like Esther, you have
come to the moments of your life for such as time as this.
Esther chooses to act,
and she goes to face the powers of the Empire in an effort to save her people.
And in offering to lay down her life for Israel, Esther prefigures the actions
of Christ. Having a female image for divine salvation is important, so this
should be pointed out and lifted up. Esther though was smart. She knew that she
couldn’t just burst into the throne room, so she put on her royal garments and
hung out in the hallway nearby. Xerxes saw her, and his interest was piqued. Sometimes
the “how” of our actions is just as important as the “what.” Esther is then
invited in and she convinces the King to hold a special dinner for just her,
the King, and Haman. Meanwhile, Haman continues to be enraged that Mordecai
will not bow down to him, so he builds a massive gallows for Mordecai to be
executed on.
This is where our reading
today begins. Esther, Xerxes, and Haman come to the dinner and the King pledges
to give Esther whatever she wishes, as she has won his favor. She asks that the
King’s command to kill the Jewish people be rescinded. The King grants the
request, and comically asks “who authorized such a genocide?” He had already
forgotten that it was Haman who came to him with this request. Esther reminds
him that it was the wicked Haman, who is then hung on the very gallows that he
had constructed for Mordecai.
My retelling of the story
doesn’t have every detail in it, but it covers the bases. It is a story worthy
of our attention because it speaks of God’s grace and mercy, even if God’s name
is never mentioned in this book of the Bible. Perhaps the central message to
walk away with is that even when it seems that God is absent, that God remains
a part of the story. Even if we don’t think to mention the name “God,” there
still exist opportunities for God’s salvation to come. God remains faithful to
promise to always be with us.
This afternoon, or
sometime this week, sit down and read the Book of Esther. And sit down with the
question, “Why is it, perhaps, that you have come to this moment in time and
space?” How might your actions show forth the miracle of God’s presence with
us? May we always remember that last verse of today’s Psalm, especially when it
seems as if God is not involved in our story: Our help is in the Name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
Amen.
