Introduction to the reading:
The
story of Easter is one that you may not be familiar with. The people of Israel
were in exile. About 587 years before Christ was the destruction of Jerusalem
and in the 10 years following that the Jewish elite were deported to Babylon,
around the same time many Jewish people left the land and move to a variety of
places. the about 539 BC Cyrus the Persian king conquered Babylon, some of the
Jews went back home, but some did not.
The
book of Esther begins with King Ahasuerus throwing a banquet, he calls his wife
to come and show the people at the
banquet how beautiful she is, but Vashti refuses. Vashti is no longer a allowed
to be in the presence of the King, and a decree goes out that all the beautiful
young virgins to come to the King's harem, and one would be chosen to be the
new Queen.
Esther
was chosen to be the new Queen.
Esther's
uncle Mordecai overheard a plot to kill the King, he told Esther who warned the
King and his life was saved.
The
King's main adviser is a man named Haman, he does not like the Jews. Haman
tells the King that there are certain people who do not keep the King's Laws and
the King should proclaim a decree for them all to be destroyed. The King accepts
Haman’s word, and the decree is sent throughout the land.
We
then pick up the story:
Reading: Esther chapter 4
The book
of Esther is one of the disputed books in the canon by both Jewish and
Christian experts. There is no mention of God, the temple, the exodus, or the salvation
history of the Jewish people. It has been said that it's actually a very Jewish
story – they tried to kill us, they failed, let’s eat. The story of Esther is
read as part of the feast Purim. (working preacher podcast)
but I
believe there is more we can take from this story than another example of how
God has saved the Jewish people.
We read
the story of Moses and the burning bush;
and we
hear of the Angel Gabriel bringing news to Mary;
the time
of God speaking to Joseph in a dream, not once but twice; I wonder how many of
us here have had that kind of experience.
So often
God's action in our life, God's activity in the world around us, is hidden from
us; not because God is trying to hide, but because so much happens in what
looks like our ordinary life.
Most of us
will never entertain an Angel, most of us will not be able to tap a rock and
have freshwater flow from it, most of us will not lead a group of people out of
slavery. We still believe that God is present, that God acts, and that God
calls us to be part of that action. We are called to be part of what is known
as the Missio Deo, the mission of God. in the church when we talk about mission, it isn’t
our mission, it is about us being active with God in the world, being active in
God's mission, in the coming of the kingdom of God.
Chapter four,
which we heard read this morning, focuses on a time of crisis for the Jews
still living in Persia; it is also a crisis for Esther, she has to choose
whether she will reveal her Jewish identity to the King, she has to choose if
she will act for the good of the Jewish people, and in doing so she has to
choose whether she will break the King's law.
These
would not have been easy choices for Esther. Even though Esther was Queen, she was not
allowed to enter our into the presence of the king unless she was invited. But
she could not risk waiting for an invitation, because by then the Jews would be
killed. Esther, as with all women of that time, was at the mercy and whim of
her husband, or her guardian. In chapter 1 we hear what happens to Queen Vashti
when she disobeys the King's command. Esther takes the risk, in seeking an
audience with the King.
But notice
what she asks Mordecai, go and hold a fast for three-days, for Jewish people
prayer and fasting go together. Esther knows that she needs the support of the
entire community, and of God, if she is to take this risk, for she is risking
her life.
Poem
Esther – a woman of action;
a role-model for the ordinary
to be extra-ordinary;
a role-model who took direct
action.
The rabbis have considered her a
prophet,
who neither spoke a word with God
nor from God,
but who risked her life
to save her people.
Jeremiah
Amos
Jesus
Caroline Chisholm
William Wilberforce
Oscar Romero
Mother Theresa…
spoke out
against the wrongs in their
societies;
took action
to redress those wrongs;
to offer the world a glimpse
of the realm of God:
a community
of mutual relationship;
a community in which
trust, obligation, morality,
common good, tradition, goodwill,
co-operation, religious values,
neighbourliness
and more
are valued as basic to the good
health,
the wholeness,
of that community.
This alternative vision
is the realm we are called to
live:
to stand with those whose lives
are hurt by the prevailing systems,
to identify
not with the powerful
but the vulnerable.
This is our risky journey
of discipleship.
(Adapted
from a sermon from some years ago, which may have drawn on material from other,
long-forgotten, sources.)
© Jeff Shrowder, 2012.
Advent is
a time of waiting, of preparation for the kingdom of God to come in completion. But what if instead of
just waiting for God to waive some magic wand, what if we are being called on
to collaborate with God?
What if
instead of waiting for God to act, God is waiting for us to act?
The
kingdom of God is near,
the
kingdom of God is near when we live it.
The
kingdom of God is near when the hungry are fed.
The
kingdom of God is near when we act in solidarity with indigenous people
the
kingdom of God is near when we speak on behalf of people in detention centres,
on Nauru, Christmas island, and on the mainland.
The
kingdom of God is near when we advocate for the homeless
the
kingdom of God is near when we demand an end to violence
the
kingdom of God is near when we open our hearts to the transforming power of the
holy spirit
the
kingdom of God is near when we recognise the face of Jesus
advent is
a time of waiting,
waiting
for the completion of the kingdom of God,
the kingdom
of hope,
peace,
joy,
love;
the
Kingdom of grace and forgiveness;
the
Kingdom of liberation and freedom.
But when
all we do is wait for God to act, we deny the presence of the kingdom, we
become a barrier to love and grace.
For just
as Esther took a risk in coming to the King uninvited,
just as
Jesus chose to live with the risk of loving,
we are
called to take risks.
Just like
Esther, we may see ourselves as having no power, of having no position or place
from which to transform our community. But just like Esther we can act with
courage.
Just like
Jesus we can choose to love,
to offer grace,
to stand when others walk away.
We can
wait for God to overcome hunger and poverty and injustice; or we can live as
the people of God…
