For Such a Time as This: The Story of Esther Preached on September 30th2018 At Wollaston Congregational Church Scripture: The Book of Esther Over the past few weeks our Old Testament passages have been taken from the “Wisdom” literature, or “Writings” of the Hebrew Bible. The passages that we read each week are excerpts from the longer books that make up the Bible. The passage assigned for this week is from the book of Esther. This is the only time Esther appears in our lectionary readings, and to read only the excerpt would not make sense. The book, Esther, actually tells a story that is important to the Jewish people. In fact this story is remembered in the joyous holiday of Purim to this day. And so, I am going to start the sermon today by telling the story of Esther. Now, the story is set during the reign of King Xerxes, somewhere between 486 and 465 BCE, in Susa the capital city of the Persian Empire. The Jewish people live in diaspora. They have been separated from Jerusalem and the temple for 100 years now and live dispersed throughout the empire. There is quite a large population of Jewish people living in Susa. Some are assimilated into the culture, so that it is impossible to know they are Jewish. Others maintain their identity at the cost of appearing “different” from the Persians and risking persecution. Esther is a young and very beautiful Jewish woman who keeps her identity a secret. She has been advised to do so by Mordecai, her uncle and guardian. The story begins with the King, Xerxes, giving an absurdly extravagant banquet for dignitaries from all around. This banquet is a display of the “vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor of his majesty.” It goes on for 7 days. The furnishings are off scale: finest linen, gold, marble. Wine is served in golden goblets and the guests drink without restraint. This is an all male gathering, while Xerxes’ queen, Vashti, entertains the women separately in the palace. On the 7thday of eating and drinking, Xerxes calls for Queen Vashti to dress in her finest clothes and come to the feast. He wants to show his drunken guests what a great man he is, to have such a beautiful woman as his queen. Vashti realizes what a spectacle and humiliation this will be and refuses to come. Outraged and embarrassed, the king consults with law makers to permanently change the law of the land to keep wives from rebelling against their husbands. All women are required to give honor to their husbands - that every man in the empire would be master in his own house. In his anger, Xerxes banishes Vashti. But later decides he needs a new queen. He sends out his servants to gather all the beautiful young virgins of the land into a harem. Esther is one of those young women who are rounded up and taken to the palace to be prepared for presentation to the king. These girls are subjected to “cosmetic treatments” for months on end, until it is time for them to be sent in to “delight” the king. It turns out that Esther pleases the king better than all the other virgins and is chosen to be his new wife. Through all these preparations, Esther’s uncle, Mordecai, is worried and hangs around the palace gate listening for news of his niece. During this time, he overhears two of the king’s eunuch servants conspiring to murder the king. Mordecai tells Esther about this plot, which Esther conveys to Xerxes. The traitors are found out and they are hung on gallows. Now Xerxes owes his life to Mordecai. At this stage in the story we are introduced to the villain: Haman. Haman becomes King Xerxes’ viceroy and insists of obeisance of all the subjects. As a Jew, Mordecai does not bow to this Gentile ruler. This enrages Haman, and he turns his anger toward Mordecai and also Jews in general. He determines to “destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, women and children on a single day.” The day will be chosen by casting lots. He is plotting a pogrom! Mordecai appeals 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 maybe 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. Then, with a plan in mind, she finds the courage to approach the throne. The king spares her life and Esther invites both Haman and Xerxes to a series of banquets she is preparing. The men both enjoy the first banquet very much, as Esther plies them 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, perhaps suffering from indigestion, Xerxes cannot sleep. For a little light reading he reviews his records. He realizes that he has not paid Mordecai back for his loyalty in uncovering the assignation plot. At this moment, Haman returns to talk to the king about his plan to hang Mordecai. Xerxes asks Haman how best to honor someone who has shown great loyalty. Of course, Haman thinks that he is the person, and advises the king to dress the man in royal robes, give him a royal horse to ride and parade him through the streets. Haman is outraged when it is Mordecai who is given the parade. He goes home to sulk, until his next banquet with Esther. At the banquet, Xerxes asks Esther what he can do for her … he will do whatever she desires. She asks that he will spare her life, and the lives of her people from someone who is planning their annihilation. Horrified, Xerxes asks who is this person? Esther points to Haman, the villain: “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!” Haman attempts to beg Esther for mercy, but even this backfires. Xerxes thinks he is molesting Esther and has him taken away to be hanged. Ironically it is done on the same gallows Haman had set up for Mordecai. The story ends happily for the Jewish people. Esther inherits Haman’s estate, Mordecai receives his signet ring. The Jews are granted the right to assemble and protect themselves from assaults. It is a good day for the Jewish people. It’s only a story, of course, a pantomime. The characters are exaggerated, the men in power are buffoonish. During the holiday, Purim, Jewish people ham it up: lampooning the rich and foolish King Xerxes, booing and hissing at the villain, Haman. Esther is the one book in the Bible that does not mention God. The Jewish people are freed solely by the actions of Esther and Mordecai. God feels distant in this story. Perhaps the people may have been far away from Jerusalem for so long they have forgotten what God is like. Yet, without being named God is present. Esther acts with courage and wisdom that are God-given. We hear echoes of Esther centuries later, when Jesus says to the disciples "See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Esther certainly was a sheep among wolves: a young virgin rounded up into the King’s harem, and finding herself in the company of Xerxes and Haman. She was both an innocent as a dove, and grew to be as wise as a serpent. And Mordecai’s exhortation rings true, all these years later. As he implores Esther to do something about the threat to her people, he suggests that she has “come to royal position for such a time as this.” And I wonder, do we all have times and places we have come for such a time as this? Some years ago I attended a retreat organized by the women of an African Methodist Episcopal Church. I went with a small group of white women from my suburban church who had decided to accept the invitation from our sister church in the city. The setting was a resort on Cape Cod and the gatherings took place in a large tent set up for functions. For that weekend the tent had the feel of a revival meeting. There was loud praise music from a band, powerful preaching, and praying in tongues. As soon as our group arrived, we headed into the first prayer meeting. I felt as though I’d been hit by a tidal wave of holy presence – as I sat in the midst of these faithful, spirit filled women – and my tears began to flow. At the time of the retreat, the long-time and beloved pastor of our church, Ken, was dealing with terminal cancer. Our church was dealing with the repercussions. These circumstances had drawn me into church life in a deep way, and I had begun an email prayer circle for our pastor and our church. I was coming to the realization that the Spirit was calling me to an even deeper commitment. In my mind this was straight-forward: would I continue in my career as a software developer and do my church work in my spare time? Or would I look for a way to attend seminary and enter ministry as my vocation? But the Holy Spirit had bigger questions in mind for me. That morning there were break-out workshops and I attended one for women entering a new phase of life. This was intended for women over 40, and so I was at the younger end of the group. I barely remember the content of the workshop, although I’m sure it was helpful. At the end of the workshop the leader asked each woman in the room to find another women they had not known before and bless them. Often blessings, in the AME tradition are given in the name of the biblical patriarchs: Abraham, Jacob, Isaac and so on. The leader invited us to bless our sisters in the name of the women of the biblical stories: Sarah, Rachel, Rebecca. One of the women had blessed me, and I had blessed her. But then, one of the retreat leaders, a strikingly tall and elegant woman, turned and said– “Oh, I need to bless Liz.” She came and laid her hands on me … blessing me for what I had been and what I would become, I heard her say I had been called “for such a time as this.” I was blown away by this blessing, which has been so wonderfully channeled through this Spirit-filled woman. Such a time as this– in my world, at the time, meant the illness of my pastor. It meant preparing the church to say ‘good bye’ to him. It meant praying for and discerning who would become our next pastor. It meant ministering to people who could not imagine the church without Ken. And, yet, such a time as this actually means much more. As I proceeded through seminary and went into various churches and other settings, I experienced many more such times as this. At the UCC church in Stoughton, the Senior Minister had to step down very suddenly due to another serious cancer diagnosis. My seminary colleague, Mary, and I ministered at such a time is thisin that place, where I was able to bring my experience from my home church. Of course,such a time as this is always happening. It is not a finite event, over and dealt with. The times that my home church was going through seemed so momentous at that time, and yet the history of the world is filled with such times as this. The German pastor and theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one example of a person who found himself in a certain place at a certain time, and was called to act with courage. Bonhoeffer was born in Germany in 1906. At the age of 24 Bonhoeffer came to the United States to study theology at Union College. However, he realized very soon that his calling at that time was to be in Germany. When Hitler came to power in 1933, Bonhoeffer called for the church to resist. Ultimately, he became involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler. Bonhoeffer saw the need to remove Hitler from power, by whatever means, as greater than his own need for a clear conscience. The plot was discovered and Bonhoeffer was imprisoned, and in 1945 as the Nazi regime was collapsing, he was executed by hanging. Bonhoeffer truly saw himself as a person who was called for “such a time as this.” Have you ever wondered why you have found yourself in a certain place at a certain time? Perhaps it seems like a very simple coincidence: you go out at a certain time to run an errand and find yourself called upon to help a stranger in need. It just happens that you have the life skills that this person needs. Or perhaps, you find yourself in the proximity of someone in a position of authority and power. Could you influence this person, so that the needs of others can heard? Or perhaps you, or I, might be called to tell our story, to exonerate an innocent person, or to convict and bring down a guilty, mighty person from their throne. And if that time ever comes, may God grant you, or I, the wisdom and the courage of Esther. But where we are right now, who knows, perhaps we have come into the royal palace for such a time as this. May all God’s holy people say, Amen
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