Providence, Rhode Island - March 14, 2010
“The Woman Who Just Said No” (Esther 1:10-19)
Dr. Dan Ivins, pastor

I’d bet good money that most of ya’ll have never heard of Queen Vashti. Don’t feel badly, because hers is a “dangerous memory;” A story about a man who loves his wife’s body more than he loves her spirit. It’s a story about deliverance of the Jews, although neither Jews nor God are mentioned, at first. It’s about a prideful king, showing off. Queen Vashti’s only appearance in sacred writ is in the first Chapter of the Book of Esther. I’d bet good money all ya’ll have heard of Queen Esther. You will note it’s not “the Book of Vashti;” she’s been removed from circulation.

Her story isn’t appropriate Sunday School material, because it describes what has to be the biggest party in the Bible! If ya’ll think the “Inaugural Ball” or “Waterfire” is a blast, they pale compared to this! We’re not talking a mild fiesta or a typical wedding reception. I mean a long, huge drunken bash, hosted by the king himself. Think “Animal House,” or “Operation Tailhook.” 187days of utter debauchery.

King Xerxes (Greek name) ruled all the territory from Ethiopia to India. He must’ve been the guy Carly Simon sang about: “He’s so Vain,” he celebrated himself, by sponsoring a party for all the important people, princes, governors, noblemen who served him. Under the auspices of “thanking them,” but it was really to “impress them.” He meant to dazzle them and took 6 months to do it up right. This was an affair the “White House party-crashers” would want to be invited to. After half a year of this, alas, the King wanted more, so he invited fresh recruits for a week-long drunken gala for the climax. We can only guess how the rest of the people were faring, with the military and government on a 6 month vacation, nobody in charge and all the tax dollars going to the entertainment budget. This was a king whose priority was to do the flippant thing, not the right thing.

It took nearly 200 days for him to get to it but it hit him; after all this time and money, he still had not shown off all he had, namely his wife. That would top it off like nothing else could do. Bear in mind in those days men and women lived separately and no one and I mean no one was allowed to look upon the king’s harem but the king and his eunuchs, who, as you could imagine were no threat. So under the influence of the “fruit of the vine,” Xerxes flaunted convention and ordered his servants to go bring the ravishing Queen Vasti, adorned in her royal crown, so they could see her beauty. That meant, he wanted Vashti to come out in her “birthday suit,” wearing only her royal crown, and nothing else!

All these men, doing what they’re not supposed to be doing, but I don’t hear any of ‘em complaining! Drunker than a bunch of sailors on leave, they were going to get a chance to leer at the King’s wife, just so they can be reminded: this is the one thing they can’t have. Now comes the dangerous part of the story. The atmosphere is charged with expectation and testosterone, but here’s one gal with some character, that did her own thinking. She was given a direct order by the king and she turned him down! Whoah! Say what? She refused to shuck her clothes, or swallow her pride, or pretend she’s Demi Moore trapped in a strip joint for the good of her kids.

Vashti is the first feminist on record who “just said no!” I won’t show up and make a display of myself for your enjoyment. Nor will I lay down my decency, so that Xerxes can save face in front of his buddies. Especially when ya’ll have been “on the wagon” for so long! As you might guess, the king didn’t take too kindly to being openly dissed by a woman. To say he was mortified is putting it mildly. The story leaked out quickly and spread like wildfire. “Did you hear about Queen Vashti...?” And the ladies of Persia perked up their ears; women in Ethiopia and India learned about her telling the king to “go take a hike!” So wouldn’t you know these other ladies decided to give it a go, following her lead, and the men who snickered at the king’s ball, were no longer snickering. Queen Vashti set off a tsunami rebellion among the women of the empire, as they were discovering great potential in just saying no!

What a mess. So the big boys put their heads together after they sobered up, and checked out the by-laws. They decided to sock it to her and any other women who refused to obey their husbands. Their only recourse was find another queen. And please God let Vasti’s memory die with her. So she disappears from history and a cattle-call goes out for young virgins to compete for the vacancy. And eventually one of them distracts the king from the dangerous memory of his exiled wife.

Esther is crowed the new queen, and hers has been the real story remembered by the religious. And in that regard the church has concurred with the king and his revelers, by letting the memory of Queen Vashti rot. Yet what she did can’t be erased. Her courageous “no” echoes throughout the Bible because the King couldn’t forget her, nor could Esther. She was crowned only because she hid her identity and her religion, even though she did it at the risk her life to save her people from genocide. And then it hit her, perhaps she was responding to a calling “for such a time as this.”

When we read about Queen Esther, that’s the non-dangerous memory. But Esther couldn’t do what she did, if Vashti hadn’t done what she did. In a time when women had no purpose, other than being fertile and decorative, Vashti plowed new ground. “Nope, I’m more than a cheap thrill! I am a human being, created in the image of God, and worthy of respect. This is where I draw the line!” No way Hosea. Esther’s greatness is she had the opportunity to finish what Vashti started. Taken together, theirs is a heroic story of how women or any oppressed people can overturn a world ... by saying no. It reminds us of our connectedness, and how one injustice leads to another; one resistance inspires another. So, is it a “dangerous memory” or a “sacred one?” To me, it’s the latter.

Well we better think twice before saying no to any monarch. What if everybody did? What if every woman, (but my good wife) said no to their husbands? The “principalities and powers of this world” don’t cotton to that kinda stuff in any era. But love and power are always at odds. Where there is power there can be no love, and where there is love, there’s no need for power. And doing the right thing sometimes causes us to lose power and status.

Vashti reversed Jesus’ saying: she “saved her soul but lost the whole world.” Xerxes didn’t ask her to go fetch his slippers! He demanded that she do something degrading. Yeah, we can do all we’re able to do, but should we? Even if it violates propriety and compromises our standard. Is this what we want to teach our youngsters?  This is not a story about some liberationist looking for a reason to rebel. It’s more than that. It’s a story for every person, male or female, who felt their ethics called into question; every person on the firing line who had to weigh the risks between their job and their self-respect; everyone who had to face an unjust situation and say: No I won’t cooperate with this!

I wonder what would happen if we put Vashti’s story back in circulation? Do we need a strong role model for those abused by others with power over them? Would teenagers be tempted to tell their boyfriends no, who keep pressuring them to have sex? The examples are countless: a boss tells an employee to hide money to fake an expense account; a colleague offers drugs that can get us hooked; or a pimp gives away cell phones and jewelry on us, to lure slaves into prostitution; a family member looks the other way at adultery or addiction that’s ruining everybody’s life. In this kind of world, such things happen every day that challenge our honor. Should I do all I’m able to do? Queen Vashti said no. And God bless her for it!

Saying no isn’t easy. There are always consequences. I find it striking that outside of Queen Vashti before Xerxes or Jesus before Pilate, we don’t have that many models for nay-saying. That’s because it’s much easier to say yes; fewer negative repercussions. It pays to please those who have power over us. But give me more Vasti’s who had enough of a self to stand up to power and say no when she felt like she had to. Not because it was easy, but because it was right.

Her story appeals to me because it’s not so clean and neat. In the eyes of the world ... she didn’t gain a thing from it or save the day with her refusal to cooperate. Instead she lost everything because of it. She paid the price for her no. She lost her crown, her position, her prestige, her good name. Her brave no got her exiled and ended up spawning a harsher law regarding husbands showing their wives who’s boss. But in the eyes of God, her courage inspired the next woman. And the next. And the next. And maybe the next man, who felt comfortable with his manhood! Vashti’s eventful no became Esther’s momentous no. And the Jews, God’s chosen people, are spared to fight another day.

This Queen encourages men and women to take up for themselves and not be somebody’s commodity or doormat. What she did didn’t change the world. But it set something in motion for somebody else to change the world. And some scribe thought her story to be worthy of the Bible. Queen Esther remembered it; so did the king, after his intoxication wore off, remembered his stupidity when it was too late.

The book of Esther is about providence and promises the presence of God at times that seem to be godless. She is an example of how to follow Jesus, how to act in life, how not to be used for somebody’s gratification. Do we have the ability to trust that that’s enough? I’d bet good money that from then on, at least this is one king who thought twice about ordering his wife to parade around naked in front of anybody!

I wonder if there are others in positions of power, wealth or fame, like Tiger Woods or John Edwards, who need a Vashti to tell them no? There are plenty who’ll say yes! Who’ll tell ‘em no? And who knows, some of you here today might even find yourselves in such a situation. And maybe ... you will have been “sent to the kingdom for such a time as that!”

Providence Prayers: (3-14-10)
We praise Thee Loving Lord, that Thou art also a God of “social justice:” Unapologetically prejudiced in favor of the poor. Our prayer today is for those who work to right wrong and champion the cause of the oppressed. For all whose faith cost something more than a Sunday morning pleasantry. Especially do we remember those who grow weary of the struggle and are tempted to step down, whose attempts at making this a better world often turn out to be worse than if they had done nothing at all. Losers in the eyes of the world, but elegant winners in Thy sight.

We acknowledge our preference for quick and easy answers to difficult questions. We are too accustomed to instant everything - breaking news, instant credit, instant resolution to the complex issues facing our world. Hold to their high aspirations, those who strive to play a part in Thy larger purposes, despite the pressures of apathy and antagonism they inevitably encounter.

“Renew the strength and mount up with eagles’ wings,” of all who work long and sleep little, who try to be responsible -- a lifter, not a leaner. Keep prodding our nation to become to all, what it has been to some. May this worship enable us to learn of Thee – who’s never in a hurry, yet never late. Bless us with that kind of poise; to live with the abandon of a child, and the focus of a surgeon.

We pray for our church as we try to be faithful to it’s unique calling; it’s fine people. Bless us individually and corporately according to our several needs. Vitalize our worship. Energize our hearts. Inspire our souls. For the sick, we pray for Thy healing touch. For the lonely, Thy companionship. For the weak, Thy strength. For the undecided, Thy wisdom. For the bereaved, Thy encouragement. We off these prayers in faith and with thanksgiving, through Christ our Lord..