September 29, 2024: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen.
In our first reading, from the book of Esther, we got to hear a small part of this incredible woman’s story. For the life of me, I cannot understand why our lectionary, the readings chosen for each week, and used by nearly all denominations, only gives us this little bit of this fantastic story. This is it – just this reading. Sure, we can have five weeks on a single chapter of the gospel of John every August in Year B (the year of the lectionary we are in at the moment), but we can’t give this story more than a single Sunday? Not only that, we don’t give you the full story, so it is hard to understand what is really going on here. So…let’s correct that error and give Esther her due.
Now, I am going to have to leave some things out, but here is the story: There are still Jews are living in the Persian Empire following the Babylonian diaspora. Hadassah, called Esther for the remainder of the story, was an orphan in the care of her cousin, Mordecai. They lived under the realm of King Ahasuerus, or King Xerxes I, depending on the translation. The King was in search of a new Queen after the current one, Vashti, refused to obey a stupid royal order to put herself on display before lots of people at a banquet of the King.
So, a royal beauty pageant of sorts was to take place to find this new Queen. Mordecai encourages Esther, who is young and beautiful, to enter this contest – but not to reveal that she is a Jew. She does, she wins, she enters into the harem of the King, and after a year of preparation, she is presented to him, and the king chooses her as his Queen. Mordecai keeps watch over her from the gate of the palace.
Next we hear that Mordecai discovers a plot to assassinate the king. He tells Esther, who tells the king – plot averted.
The king’s right hand guy, Haman, is a treacherous sort. Everyone bows and shows allegiance to Haman, but Mordecai refuses. This really ticks off Haman, so having been told that Mordecai was a Jew (but not knowing that Esther was his cousin), Haman tells King Ahasuerus that all throughout his kingdom are a people who don’t obey the laws of the king, and that they should be destroyed. The King authorizes Haman to do what he will with them. Haman issues a decree read far and wide that the Jews were to be destroyed and all of their goods to be taken.
All the Jews, including Mordecai, were distressed and mourning what was to come. Mordecai sends a message to Esther, warning about the plot of Haman against the Jews, and imploring her to use her influence to stop the King from allowing this to happen.
Esther reminds Mordecai that anyone who approaches the King without his invitation is killed, and the King has basically ghosted her – she hasn’t received an invite in over a month. Then Mordecai tells her that she herself will not be spared just because she is Queen. And he says, to her “Who knows? Perhaps you ended up where you are for just such a time as this.” Esther then tells Mordecai to have all the Jews in town fast and pray for three days on her behalf, and at great risk to her life, she goes in to the King without an invitation.
Esther finds favor with the King, he asks her what she wants, and she tells him she would like to prepare a banquet for him and for Haman. Haman for his turn, is delighted and is also looking forward to killing his nemesis, so he has a gallows built to hang Mordecai.
Meanwhile, back at the Palace, the King is having trouble sleeping, so he had the annals of the court read to him – well, that outta cure your insomnia, right? But instead, the King is reminded that a fellow named Mordecai saved his life. He summons Haman, and asks him, “What should be done for one the King wants to honor?” Haman thinks the king means him, so he says “Give him a royal robe, a horse to ride, and have him led through the city to be celebrated!” And here is the best part…so far anyway: The king then says “Great idea Haman…go do that for Mordecai!”
This, as you might guess, did not make Haman happy. But we aren’t done yet. After he does all that, he now goes to the banquet that Esther has prepared for him and for the King.
During the feast, the King asks Esther to name anything she might want, and it would be granted. And here is where it really gets fun: Esther begs for her life, and the life of her people, saying an evil man is plotting to kill them all. The King is furious, demands to know who it is that has done such a thing. And just like in a TV courtroom scene, Esther points to Haman and says “That guy!” And one of the Eunuchs tells the king that Haman even has gallows ready to hang Mordecai, the one who saved the king’s life!
Haman is executed on the gallows he built for Mordecai. Mordecai is elevated to the position Haman had. The Jewish people were saved. And everyone celebrated in a new Feast day – Purim – and still do to this day. The end.
Now is that a great story or what?
Apparently, playwrights, screenwriters, and authors through the years thought so too, as you can find movies, plays, books, poems, and more that tell it in their own unique ways. And there is also this little interesting twist, that in the original Hebrew text, the book of Esther is only one of two in all the bible (the other being the Song of Songs) that does not explicitly mention God by name anywhere in the story. The Greek versions changed that a bit.
Cool. But what does all this mean for us?
The thing is, this story is sadly happening now. Each of these characters exist today – even in our own country.
King Ahasuerus is the very model of power without bounds, and the effects of that on vulnerable people. All over the world, there is a rise of authoritarianism – rooted in fascist or Nazi ideology, which itself has racist, antisemitic, and misogynist foundations. And we have seen throughout history what can happen when these dictators take power – genocide, enslavement, mass deportations, and wholesale violence against a people.
Haman’s also exist – especially within the inner circle of wanna be dictators. They guide the actions of weak leaders to their own benefit – and the people suffer.
Yet there are also Mordecai’s – those who work behind the scenes to subvert the plots of evil doers.
And lastly, there are Esthers and Vashtis – the ones who refuse to follow along, who stand up for their own dignity, and who risk their lives for others. Women like Malala Yousafzai, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Lucrecia Mott, Anna May Wong, Wangaari Maathai, Sherin Ebadi, and more. These were those who were meant for a time such as the one in which they lived – meant for our time now.
There are also many men of course, but their names and stories are told far more readily, so I won’t mention them here, with one exception – Nelson Mandela. Imprisoned for 27 years for fighting against the unjust apartheid of his country of South Africa, he later rose to lead his people as President. This was something most in his country thought impossible in the time of the oppressive apartheid. Yet Mandela once said “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
Now, that may seem only like we are asked to push through seemingly insurmountable obstacles until we achieve our goals, but think about that for a moment. Who has determined that the goal is impossible in the first place? The answer to that is the subject of a lot of philosophical and psychiatric work. It is the difference between objective and subjective reality, but more simply put – we are the ones who determine what we believe to be possible or impossible.
We assume we make this determination based on experience and rational thought, but sometimes there is more to it. Sometimes it is based on fear. Esther thought it was impossible to appeal to the King. It wasn’t. Haman thought his power and favor of the King would protect him – it didn’t. The South African government thought they could quell the voice of Mandela and others – they could not. Many suffering under apartheid thought it would never end – it did. And in the church, many have proclaimed for decades its destruction – we are still here.
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
The story of Esther is a story for our time. For we can feel overwhelmed by the dangers we see swelling up around us. As we witness the rise of swastikas and confederate flags, the blatant disregard for the dignity and welfare of others, we fear for the vulnerable – the poor, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, people of other faiths, women, and more. Perhaps we are among the vulnerable ourselves. This story reminds us that authoritarians, like the King, like dictators all around the world, and those that wanna be them, are dangerous because they use their power arbitrarily, and without regard for the consequences to anyone but themselves.
Yet one thing is clear from what we heard today about Esther and King Ahasuerus – those with absolute power are not invulnerable, nor are the vulnerable without hope. In other words – their current situation is not destined to be their future one.
And most especially we know, that despite the Hebrew version’s explicit omission, God most definitely is at work in those who become the change makers. They are those who, by God’s grace, are able to see beyond the boundaries of what many deem impossible, to do what they are called to do. They too had been brought into whatever situation they were facing for just such a moment.
And today, as we stand amidst the turmoil of our time in this nation and around the world, a voice is saying to each of us: “Do not think that those in power will not eventually turn on you – you too are in danger. Yet, who knows? Perhaps you have come to this place, in this moment, for just such a time as this.”
Indeed we have.
We, the Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement, are here for just such a time as this.
And now more than ever, we must not hide who we are and what we believe from those who wield power.
We must stand up to protect the vulnerable and speak for those without a voice.
We must break the bonds of injustice to free the oppressed.
We must proclaim to all the world the good news of Jesus Christ that all are children of God – loved just as they are – deeply and for all time.
We must protect God’s creation from the ravages of human greed, arrogance, and abuse.
We must do this even when we feel it may cost us everything.
Even when we and others think it is impossible.
For we, the followers of Christ Jesus, who gave his life for the sake of the world – we are meant for a time such as this.
Like Esther, we are where we are now, in this moment, that we might also save our people and our planet from the effects of unchecked power.
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
But one day we will look back – and because we did not remain silent, because we did not turn our backs in fear, because we believed in ourselves and the transformative power of Christ’s love working in us – we will be able to rest from our labors knowing that it wasn’t impossible at all. Not when we believe in ourselves and in the God who loves us.
And we will be able to say, “It is done.”
Amen.
For the audio, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here (also available on Audible):
The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge
September 29, 2024
Pentecost 18 – Year B – Track 1
1st Reading – Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
2nd Reading – James 5:13-20
Gospel – Mark 9:38-50
