Kathryn Z. Johnston Faces of our Faith Esther May 16, 2021 Queen Vashti & Esther John 14:1-7

John 14:1-7 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.

And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

As we head into the Book of Esther, there are a few things to know: 1. The Book of Esther is in the Old Testament, but according to my brain, it’s not where you think it should be. Look it up, let me know what you think, because your mileage may vary on that.

2. The Jewish festival, Purim, is a celebration of this text. To mark the occasion, the story of Queen Esther is told and people cheer for her and her cousin and guardian, Mordecai, and boo whenever the name of the man who wants to kill them, Haman, is said.

3. Well, we’ll get to the third thing to know in a little bit.

The story opens in the court of the garden of the King’s palace in Persia – think of a Shonda Rhimes production – all kinds of opulence and riches and wealth are on display: There were white cotton curtains and blue hangings tied with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and colored stones. Drinks were served in golden goblets, goblets of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king. Drinking was by flagons, without restraint; for the king had given orders to all the officials of his palace to do as each one desired. Furthermore, Queen Vashti gave a banquet for the women in the palace… (1:6-9)

That’s right, the women and the men had separate parties.

On the seventh day of partying, the King called for the Queen to leave her party and come to his so that he could show off her beauty. Now Queen Vashti, was not having it. There are various Biblical interpretations out there – at best the King was being disrespectful by asking the Queen to come to his party and be gawked at by his drunken friends. At worst, he was commanding her to stand before them wearing only her crown and put her body and self at risk.

It is agreed upon by the majority of scholars that the King’s request is inappropriate, and Queen Vashti boldly and courageously stands up for herself and refuses to do as the King commands. Hannah Garrity, the artist who drew today’s illustration, represents Queen Vashti as a Adancer

A Sanctified Art Illustration 1 because she sees her as dancing alone. Hannah writes, “I see her living into her refusal with grace and beauty, exhibiting independence and strength in her solitary righteousness.”

It does quickly become a place of solitary righteousness as the King is advised by the counsel he seeks to remove Queen Vashti from the throne and seek a new Queen, lest other women in the Kingdom get any ideas about disobeying their husbands’ commands. (Ah, patriarchy)

And so a search begins for a new queen, and in what some call a Biblical beauty pageant, Esther “wins.” What is not known to the King or anyone else around him is that Queen Esther is a Jew who was raised by her cousin, Mordecai.

One day, Mordecai is hanging outside of the palace when he overhears two of the King’s advisors talk about their plot to assassinate the King. Mordecai tells Esther who informs the King and those men are hung for their betrayal.

Enter stage right: Haman. Haman is one of the King’s favorites and so he is promoted and everyone throughout the land is supposed to be obedient to him, they’re even supposed to bow down to him. Well, one day Mordecai and Haman cross paths and Mordecai refuses to bow down: And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down… to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down. Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” When they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would avail; for he had told them that he was a Jew. When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down… Haman was infuriated. But he thought it beneath him to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, having been told who Mordecai’s people were, Haman plotted to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom… (3:2-6).

Well, that escalated quickly. And unfortunately for Mordecai and all of the Jews, the King agrees to Haman’s plan.

So Mordecai is beside himself and queen Esther hears that the source of his distress is that all Jews are going to be killed by edict of Haman and the King. She then realizes it is up to her to intervene with the King. This, of course, is easier said than done: (Esther says) “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—all alike are to be put to death. Only if the king holds out the golden scepter to someone, may that person live. I myself have not been called to come in to the king for thirty days.”

When they told Mordecai what Esther had said, Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this” (4:11-14)

Esther accepts Mordecai’s counsel and asks that all of the Jews fast on her behalf for 3 days as a sign of solidarity with her before she risks her life by going into the King. After the three days of fasting, Esther does go in and it actually goes pretty well: 2

The king held out the golden scepter to Esther, and Esther rose and stood before the king. She said, “If it pleases the king, and if I have won his favor, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I have his approval, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote giving orders to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming on my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?” (8:4-6)

And so instead of the gallows being prepared for Mordecai, they are instead prepared for Haman, and all of the Jewish people are saved: Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along with the Jew Mordecai, gave full written authority, confirming this second letter about Purim. Letters were sent wishing peace and security to all the Jews, to the one hundred twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, and giving orders that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons, as the Jew Mordecai and Queen Esther enjoined on the Jews, just as they had laid down for themselves and for their descendants regulations concerning their fasts and their lamentations. The command of Queen Esther fixed these practices of Purim, and it was recorded in writing (9:29-32).

I’ve left out a few of the details, it’s only ten chapters, you should go ahead and read it, but even from the amount I told you, we can tell that there are a lot of plot points that we are used to finding in an Old Testament story where an individual is used by God to make a difference in their community.

This brings me to the third thing to know about the Book of Esther: in the entire book, all 10 chapters, God is never mentioned.

The book goes into great detail about how a person of faith takes personal risks to make a difference because there comes a time to stand up and be counted… but she does so without hearing the voice of God or seeing a burning bush or landing in the belly of a fish.

So often, this is how it must be with us as well. We have to make choices based on God’s commandment to love God by loving our neighbor, even when it sometimes doesn’t feel like God is right there with us.

I admittedly can struggle “feeling God’s presence” - the spiritual side of things. My personality means that if I go to a labyrinth for prayer and contemplation, I am usually just wondering what is taking people so long to move through it. I might be able to get myself to slow down and prayerfully move toward the middle, but then why meander all the way back when I can just walk across the stones or the tape or whatever and move on with my day? I stopped seeing a spiritual counselor because I got so frustrated with the question that ended every session, “Where do you see God in this?”

“I don’t know, that’s why I came to you?!”

It’s not always easy to see God in this; ALL of this.

Hopefully over this past year plus you have found our sermons and worship services to be places of encouragement for all of us to continue through this detour, knowing that we are being re-routed to new opportunities and change, to bring with us the fruit of the spirit, 3 because we are going to be challenged by the circumstances that we find ourselves immersed in.

Just like during Queen Esther’s time, our world is in a place that needs people of faith to cry out on behalf of the larger communities around us for which we are called to care, and sometimes it’s hard to step out in faith when we’re not so sure God is actually with us.

One of my favorite scenes from any movie is in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Indiana Jones and his father are on the path to the Holy Grail and are intercepted by the Nazis. In order to force Indiana’s hand and make him complete the last few tasks towards finding the grail, they shoot Indiana’s father so that he needs the healing that only the Holy Grail can bring. In this clip, Indiana must get from one side of a cavern to the other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-JIfjNnnMA

Although often not death-defying, when we take a stand for our neighbor – especially our weaker or poorer or immigrant or weaker or underserved neighbor – it can feel like a leap of faith. It can feel like we are out there all on our own.

Our New Testament lesson that Ken read to us is from when Jesus was gathered with his disciples around that meal in the Upper Room at Passover. His next steps would be out into the Garden of Gethsemane and to the cross. He makes sure that these people – his friends - who knew of his physical presence would be assured of his spiritual presence as well: ”I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid (John 14:25-27).

Queen Vashti and Esther made bold decisions based on their understandings of the times they were in. Esther doesn’t speak her God’s name, but we know by the choices she makes who it is that she serves. Much like Esther, we live in a time where God’s presence isn’t always clear, but our actions can speak volumes about who it is that we serve.

The timing is now. The world needs us to take personal risks in order to make a difference. Our lives are linked to larger communities for which we must care.

Now is the time to stand up and be counted.

In the name of the Creator, the Christ, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

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