| July 08, 2007
You are welcome to reflect on this message
The enigmatic story of Esther is one of the most secular books in the Bible. Like Ecclesiastes. You have to wonder why it’s even in the Bible. God is never mentioned. Furthermore it’s a lousy story; full of appearances, manipulation and vindictiveness. Is this the kind of stuff you want your kids to learn in Sunday School? The Jews are once again on the brink of genocide; victims of hate and prejudice of an evil bureaucrat named Haman. Who knows how to work the system, playing political power games, pulling strings to gear the world more towards his liking. He also had the ear of a whimsical, irresponsible Babylonian king. Yeah, the story’s more about humans than God. More specifically it’s about a woman named Esther. She was a beautiful Jewish girl, in many ways like Haman; whose feminine charm attracted the king and landed her in his gentile bed.
I don’t care for the early Esther: she’s a selfish, privileged, preppy, Old Testament movie star. She’s obedient enough, but she also jumps into the king’s harem like a duck does water, without a twinge of conscience, except making a better place for herself in the world. I can’t blame her for that. When Mordecai notifies her of the impending Jewish slaughter, all she wants to do is slip back into the comfort of the harem, get a facial and have her nails done. So Esther’s no Joan of Arc. She had no moral compass, led no revolution and collaborated with her captors. She just happened to be at the wrong place at the right time. Mordecai reminded her if the law stands, all the Jews are to be destroyed, way before Hitler. This means her too! Having something to lose will get your attention when nothing else will. Esther grows up, once she starts thinking of making the world a better place, rather than a better place for herself in the world. Mordecai in that classic line, suggests to Esther, “Who knows? Maybe you’re in this royal position for such a time as this.”
Now a word about palace etiquette. It wasn’t easy to get a hearing before the king. Even the queen had to get permission. And if she showed up uninvited, she could end up being a dead queen. Esther pointed out to Mordecai these palacial “rules of engagement” but he sticks to his belief that she was the only one who could save the Jews. “On the3rd day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace” 5:1. Finally she decides to proceed saying, “If I perish, I perish!”
Now I’m starting to like this Esther. She’s more impressive, worthy of having a biblical book named for her. But I still waver because she lapsed back into her old ways, and let Haman go to the gallows under the charge of rape, knowing it wasn’t true and never whispered a word about justice. Her silent revenge is distasteful. So why is this book even in the Bible? Perhaps for one brief moment, Queen Esther embodies something we don’t want to forget: that selfish, shallow, wrong-headed humans are often used by God to transform death into life, against all odds.
There’s a long line of Old Testament feminine role models: Deborah, Hannah, and Ruth are the most well-known. The story of Esther is similar to Rahab the harlot, when the children of Israel were preserved by a savvy sinner, setting aside her own safety, speaking up on behalf of the people and coming through in the clutch. In the end, Queen Esther was a heroine, albeit a reluctant one. A draftee more than a volunteer. She was apprehensive about her role and assimilated herself into the dominant culture so that even the king couldn’t tell she was Jewish. So it wasn’t that she stood out, but one grand time she stood up by giving up her life as she knew it.
Esther was a beauty. A lot of folks like that know how to get their way. But being female, she was powerless. Yet she used her limited power and maneuvered skillfully within the constraints imposed upon her and the outcome was deliverance. It wasn’t particularly spectacular like Moses or Abraham. But that’s good too because how many of us are all that sensational? That’s what gives the story relevance, because it says a lot of what God needs to be done is not theatrical. But just do what’s right.
People get their “knickers in a knot” when I remind them of this. But I think it’s true: “If Jesus were as successful as Billy Graham, we’d never have known who he was.” I’m not picking on Billy. But isn’t it a good thing that Jesus was not a popular, notable evangelist? Jesus didn’t succeed because he was famous or successful. But because he failed. Unless you call getting yourself crucified with only a handful of followers a success!
Someday somebody here might be required to die for your faith. But I doubt it. Church just isn’t that important in people’s lives anymore. (Like it was in Providence 270 years ago). More likely we’ll face the dilemma of sharing our faith at an inconvenient time. Or just doing the right thing. Not huge. Not spectacular. But that’s what the story of Esther is about.
Like our story, there’s an exilic feeling to our world, that neither worships nor obeys God. Just mostly doesn’t care, either way. Ah the museum stuff will draw them, but that’s about it. But Esther’s story is our story too. Because what she did, we can too. All organizations observe “Rules of Engagement” of some sort. It’s a military term used by the FBI in operations, abbreviated to R.O.E. In church the “rules of engagement” are ideally modeled by Jesus in the New Testament. Baptists at their best like to say “no creeds.” But realistically there’s the hymnal and by-laws. Specific procedures that provide guidance on how to deal with normal or sometimes extreme situations.
Consider Queen Esther’s R.O.E. She had no clear vision when she ventured into the king’s court. Her greatness lay in the fact that she didn’t back down from engaging the most powerful figure in the empire--but not without her own R.O.E. First, she is decisive. She called for a fast (4:16). Her idea was, this is big. I could get killed. Do nothing until we fast and pray and seek God’s guidance. Always a wise exercise. Next Esther realized the value of timing in attempting any risky endeavor. Mordecai points to the timing, suggesting Queen Esther was “put there for such a time as this” (4:14). Of course that could be said for any time. Even us in our time. Then a plan of action had to be devised. They must pull together to accomplish their goal; no room for negative loose cannons in the king’s court. Common-sense, cooperative stuff, like making sure that everybody’s on the same page, so that the proverbial left hand knows what the right hand’s doing. I think we know something about that. Finally, the time came to act. She made the commitment, took the risk, seen in her words somewhat reminiscent of St. Thomas in the New Testament: “If I perish, I perish!” That’s why Esther’s story belongs in the Bible: because she gave herself to a cause greater than herself.
What about us? We Christians who have become resident aliens in a secular culture, a pluralistic society that is uninformed at best and apathetic at worst to Christian values? “Patch Adams” is a true-life movie starring Robin Williams, in his typical resisting-the-powers-that-be role. Patch was an honest, funny-guy who did weird things that made the medical establishment look bad. It came with a price, but the patients loved it. And they got well, or at least ministered to in ways the medical profession was at a loss to help. It’s the story of Esther, the system vs. the idealist.
The elitist medical profession plays the role of Haman in our story and Patch, who had the gift of healing, parallels Esther the Queen. But it still shows up when the weak take on the powerful, and win. Always and forever, whenever the weak take on the powerful, it’s going to cost them. But because of one woman's willingness to sacrifice her life for a greater cause, we see what purposeful living is. This isn't just for the heavyweights: Moses, Esther, and Jesus. God has called each of us to a purpose greater than ourselves. What that is precisely, “Who knows?" as Mordecai put it. God’s will isn't for us to know, but to do. Most of the time we know what it is. We can safely expect it will be complex. But we can safely predict it’ll also be risky, fraught with danger, and surely will require sacrifice as we pursue our life's purpose. “Jesus paid it all” as the old gospel song goes.
I come back to Esther and Mordecai as models for us. Anytime we’re faced with a risky adventure like just being alive. As a church we have Esther’s R.O.E.: seek divine guidance, address the issue of timing, conceive a sensible plan of action, and then take the leap of faith. “If I perish, I perish." The good news is, it doesn’t have to be fatalistic. God is with us whenever we do what’s right. And the bottom line is, that's all that matters. And our life will be one that mattered. “Who knows? Maybe you've been put here for such a time as this.” I kind of feel like I have. I hope you do. Feeling put is not the same as just showing up. But God can sure pick some weird role models! Queen Esther and, her misgivings aside, what she did was perfected in Jesus. Against all odds, transforming death into life, conquering hate with love.
So let us take our stand and plant our feet on “the solid rock” of Jesus Christ, and do whatever it takes to remain faithful to God in our own time and place. God isn’t intent on us becoming spectacular, successful saints. Only that we live our lives quietly, and courageously, patterned after Jesus, when he gives us opportunities to share our faith. May God help us to be faithful in doing what’s right. Amen. Back |
