Courage for Such a Time as This Preached on Sunday, September 26th 2021 at Wollaston Congregational Church Scripture: Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 In these early weeks of fall, just as the secular summer holidays end, the Jewish holidays begin. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah, all fall in September. Today we heard an excerpt from the biblical story of Esther, that is the focus of the Jewish holiday called Purim. Purim is not a fall holiday, it’s observed before Passover, late winter/early spring. Next year Purim will fall on March 16th and 17th. But the story of Esther only features once in the Revised Common Lectionary: the three year cycle of scripture readings that we follow. As Esther will not reappear for another three years, I think we should pay attention today. Esther is one of the books of the Bible that falls into the category of writings or wisdom literature. Unlike our previous two weeks’ texts, Esther does not describe the various qualities of God’s wisdom. This scripture has very little to do with those soft qualities of tenderness and gentleness. No, Esther is a hard story. It’s a story of courage in the midst of oppression and the threat of genocide. If Esther demonstrates wisdom, it’s the wisdom Jesus talks about in Matthew’s gospel, when he sends the disciples out like sheep among wolves. He says to them “be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.” This is smart wisdom, not naïve, it’s the kind of wisdom that requires courage. Esther and her uncle and guardian Mordecai are Jewish. They are descended from the Israelites who were exiled to Babylon in 586 BCE. They live in Susa, the capital city of the Persian Empire, some time between 486 and 465 BCE. The King at that time is Xerxes, a petty, petulant, egotistical ruler. It appears that Esther and Mordecai live in close proximity to the palace. Mordecai is a devout Jew, but he is also mindful of power and influence, wise enough to protect himself and his niece, and later his whole people. Mordecai advises Esther to disguise her Jewishness. The outcome is a mixed bag: she avoids stigmatism and oppression, but instead she finds herself in a pool of young girls rounded up to become a part of Xerxes’ harem. Xerxes has banished his own beautiful wife, Vashti, because she refused to parade her beauty at a banquet where Xerxes hosted many dignitaries. Xerxes was embarrassed by his wife’s refusal and sent her away. Now he is on the lookout for a new wife. Over the course of a whole year, the virgins are prepped in the harem which is guarded by eunuchs. These are men who were enslaved and brutally dismembered as young boys. One virgin from the harem is brought to the King each night for him to determine who will be his next queen. Esther succeeds in pleasing King Xerxes to the extent that she is chosen. Now, she is in a tenuous position. She is very close to power and also at the mercy of Xerxes’ fragile ego and temper. Mordecai is wise, like Esther, and keeps his ears open for opportunities to gain leverage. He overhears some of the eunuchs talking about a conspiracy to murder King Xerxes and so he relays this information via Esther. Now Xerxes is in debt to Mordecai. Fortunately this incident is logged in the royal records, because Xerxes’ memory is poor. Now, there is a second villain in the story who is even worse than Xerxes. Haman is Xerxes’ advisor and henchman. He has a fragile ego too, and becomes enraged because Mordecai, a faithful Jew, will not bow down to him. Mordecai only bows down to the God of Israel. Haman decides it is beneath him to punish Mordecai alone, and so he conspires to destroy the whole Jewish people. He persuades King Xerxes to issue a decree to annihilate all the Jewish people in the kingdom. It is a genocide, a pogrom. Xerxes is oblivious to the fact that his own wife is Jewish. Mordecai is mortified when he hears about this plan. He rushes to action, appealing to Esther to use her influence with the king. This is a terrifying prospect for Esther, as she knows that the king has the right to put to death anyone who approaches his throne without a summons. But Mordecai persists with her, suggesting that “perhaps” she has “come to royal position for such a time as this.” Esther asks all the Jews in Susa to fast with her for three days, so as to be certain of what she will do. Finally she decides “if I perish, I perish.” What will be will be. She summons the courage to approach the throne. The king spares her life and Esther invites both Haman and Xerxes to a series of banquets. At the first banquet Esther plies the two men with wine and compliments. Xerxes is so pleased, he guarantees Esther he will grant whatever she asks. Haman is proud to be invited to this private banquet and yet he is still angry with Mordecai’s failure to honor him. He decides that he will set up the gallows for Mordecai’s execution at his own house. Later that night, though, Xerxes is unable to sleep and so he goes to review the royal records. He realizes that he never rewarded Mordecai for his loyalty, and so the king plans a royal parade in Mordecai’s honor. Xerxes calls on Haman to put together this honorable parade. Haman is outraged, he had thought the parade was going to be for himself. At the second banquet, Xerxes asks Esther what he can do for her. She asks that he will spare her life, and the lives of her people from someone who is planning their annihilation. “Who is this person?” Xerxes demands. Esther points to Haman, the villain: “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!” The story ends happily for the Jewish people of Susa, but not so much for Haman and his family. They are executed one by one on the gallows he had set up for Mordecai. In today’s world, we probably would not think of Esther as a model religious woman. She hides her Jewish identity. She plays Xerxes’ game. She uses sexuality and beauty to manipulate him for the benefit of herself and her people. The outcome guarantees the survival of her people, but do the ends justify the means? Was Mordecai correct: had Esther come to royal dignity “for such a time as this”? Was God’s hand in Esther’s story, a story that never once mentions God? Even though Esther’s story comes from a completely different time and place, have we found ourselves in similar situations? Have we found ourselves in circumstances where we are able to act for the hand of God, even though we never planned for that to happen? A few years ago, I wrote an essay for a seminary class entitled my “Vocational Autobiography.” This writing tracks my life, including the role models, principles and influences that make up my ethical decision making. Writing the essay prompted me to notice that there have been times in my life when I had not used any kind of ethical decision, so much as I have “played the game.” I recalled that my training in engineering prepared me to be diligent in my work because lives might depend upon it. But there was an inconsistency. I tolerated a great deal of unethical behavior in the workplace. When I began work in the early 1980’s sexual harassment was very present in the workplace, even though it was not often acknowledged. Older male engineers let me know that being touched inappropriately and being subject to inappropriate talk was something I would have to get used to if I wanted to work in a “man’s world.” I managed this by being “a good sport,” priding myself in dodging the worst of it and not making a fuss. Essentially I “played the game.” When I came to the United States, my male colleagues often traveled to Japan and South Korea for technical support and sales. On these trips they were entertained, with nights out drinking and visits to “night clubs”. When the Asian contacts came to visit us in the US, the guys decided to reciprocate by taking the guests to a local gentlemen’s club. Female employees were excluded, of course. And these activities were tacitly approved by the management. I was disturbed by all this behavior, but wasn’t sure what to do about it. I saw my role as a young employee was to “play the game.” Sometime later a new hire, Anne, was more outspoken. When she learned about this behavior she objected and I agreed with her. My co-workers seemed puzzled. If I felt the same way, why hadn’t I spoken up sooner? Reflecting back, I realized that my tolerance and silence over the workplace issues may have enabled the abuse of women and others who did not have my voice. I was not as powerless as I thought. I was respected for my work by my managers. They would have listened to me. If I had spoken up, the abuse of female employees might have been avoided. I may have also educated the guys who were oblivious to the offense they were causing. With the benefit and hindsight and experience, my senses have been attuned to recognize sexist and predatory behavior. It is often disguised as playfulness. Those who are on the receiving end are supposed to “be a good sport” and not take offense. In one church where I worked, I was greeted regularly by one member of the congregation with reference my appearance: As I was so short why didn’t I wear heels? Had I lost weight recently? Could I please clip my hair back (with a guiding hand to demonstrate) because it fell on my face when I was preaching? Others brushed this off as idiosyncratic behavior. But I recognized it as something else. It was thinly disguised predatory behavior. Once I’d established that the person was cognitively intact, I called them out. This was not only for my own sake, but for concern that other less powerful attendees may also be targeted. Perhaps in your life, you have played the game in your working lives in your social circle in your extended family in your school or on you team. We may have tolerated racism, ageism, homophobia, xenophobia and perhaps now is not is the time to speak up. But, perhaps, as Mordecai told Esther we have come to this position for such a time as this. Yes, wisdom requires tenderness and gentleness, but it also requires courage. Courage, my friends, for such a time as this. May all God’s people say, Amen
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