Esther 4:13-17 – Esther’s Call Story

Lectionary Readings for May 16, 2021        Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year B
Acts 1:1-11     v8 “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ~ Jesus
Psalm 47 Praise God, the Creator of the Earth and Ruler of Nations
Ephesians 1:15-23     v17 “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him...” ~ Paul
Luke 24:44-53 v45 Then Jesus opened their minds to understand the scriptures... [before He ascended into Heaven.]

But this week we’re digging into Esther 4:13-17 – The Call of Esther.

Peace through Leadership Quotes

“Be careful who you hate, it might be someone you love.”  ~ Anonymous

“Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy.”  ~ Saadi, Iranian Poet, 1184 – 1283

Let us not allow ourselves to be duped into hating people we love now or may love in the future. Creating peace from discord is not easy work nor is it quick work. Let us all have the patience to continue the good work to which God’s Spirit and Jesus’ life calls us.

Any time I preach or lead a group, regardless of age, I start the same way. I’m going to say three short sentences. Please repeat each sentence, with enthusiasm.
God made me.           God loves me.            God has plans for me.

Preface to Today’s Scripture Reading

If you’ve ever thought, “I’ve never heard God’s voice. I’m not even sure what I believe about faith and religion. Therefore, I could not possibly be part of God’s ‘plan’ or be ‘called’ by God...” if you’ve ever had thoughts like that, today’s story about Esther is for you.

One particular aspect of the Hebrew Bible’s (i.e. Old Testament’s) book of Esther is uniquely interesting and challenging: God is never directly mentioned anywhere in the story. Thus, the author invites us... pushes us to look for God’s activity within the story’s characters and events. Hopefully this will encourage us to do the same in our own lives.

Today’s story is filled with hyperbole – over the top exaggerations of the characters and events. Imagine Saturday Night Live doing a skit that has something for everyone – sex, money, power, deceit and murder.

Following the ancient Jewish tradition, as I give you this incredibly brief summary of the story leading up to today’s reading, cheer when you hear Esther and Mordecai’s names (our heroes) and boo when you hear Haman’s name (he’s the villain).
(If you’d prefer a 9-minute summary of the entire book of Esther, I highly recommend this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JydNSlufRIs )

About 500 years before Jesus was born, a community of Jews who survived the Babylonia Exile lived in Susa, Persia (now in modern-day Iran). The local king threw a 6-month party to show off his wealth. Drunk on both wine and himself, he ordered the queen to parade herself in public so everyone could see her beauty. She refused his order so he took the advice of Haman, his top advisor, and banished her as an example to all women that they should never refuse the orders of their husbands (no kidding!).

Needing a new queen, the king held a beauty contest and invited women from every part of the kingdom. Long story short, Esther won the contest even though nobody realized she was a Jew (the Jews often suffered great discrimination from the locals) or that she was Mordecai’s adopted daughter. Esther then left her family and joined the royal harem.

One day Mordecai learned of a plot to assassinate the king. He passed the information along to Esther who informed the king. The murderous plotters were executed, and Mordecai was hailed as a hero.

Some time later, Mordecai and Haman bumped into each other, but Mordecai refused to bow to Haman. Smitten with his status, Haman was incensed by this personal slight. When Haman found out that Mordecai was a Jew, he saw an opportunity for revenge against a race he hated.

Haman convinced the king to naively authorize Haman to issue an irrevocable decree – on the king’s behalf – that designated one specific day when Persians could kill every Jew. Haman even prepared a huge pole in the middle of town on which he intended to impale Mordecai.

Mordecai caught wind of this plot and told Esther to take advantage of her favor with the king to 1) reveal her Jewish identity and 2) beg the king to have mercy on the Jews. Esther pointed out that if she entered the king’s court uninvited, the king could have her executed immediately. Mordecai persisted.

Let’s open our ears, minds, and hearts as we read today’s Scripture.

Read Esther 4:13-17.

This week’s Bible Study group showered me with their collective wisdom. One person recalled Rev. “Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) [who] was a prominent Lutheran pastor in Germany. [After a transformative experience,] He emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler and spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps. He is perhaps best remembered for his postwar words,”
“First [the German Nazis] came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Each of us could adapt the spirit of that quote for today’s issues: the rights and safety of minorities, women, children, immigrants, etc.

With Mordecai’s now-famous rhetorical question, “perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” (v14), God used Mordecai to call Esther’s attention to both a problem and to the opportunity for her to get involved.

Notice that Esther and Mordecai worked together to 1) understand the problem, 2) develop a coordinated plan, and 3) execute the plan. Human beings are pack animals; God designed us to work together. We most effectively live into the Great Commandments (love God, love ourselves, and love others, Matthew 22:36-40) when we are working together. When we, as a church, pray about an issue or problem, we should expect God to lead us in a direction by speaking to us through each other. This is one reason why it’s so important for us to share our faith journeys and prayer life with each other.

Esther saved an entire community of Jews because 1) she was sensitive to God’s leading and 2) after much prayer and fasting, she was willing to risk her title, her status, and even her life to speak for and defend people unable to speak for and defend themselves. Following God’s call was not “safe” for Esther, but she trusted her faith and her loving Creator.

The Methodist church has a long and rich history of speaking out for people who are often ignored, abused, and oppressed by society. In 1908, the Methodist church – then known as the Methodist Episcopal Church – wrote and officially adopted what we call our Social Creed. This creed remains so important to who we are and what we believe that we include it in our Book of Discipline, our “rule book.” Over the past 100+ years, we have expanded the Social Creed into what we call our Social Principles. In the coming months, I plan to do a sermon series on these principles so that you all are aware of the people and issues for which we Methodists, for over a century, have passionately advocated.

One of the biggest lessons we can learn from today’s story is that “One person, through one action or one conversation, can change the trajectory of another person’s life – or the trajectory of an entire people or nation. [Names like Rosa Parks and Dietrich Bonhoeffer come to mind.] Such is the story of Esther. ... Even though God appears to be silent in this story, there is a palpable sense that God is present, working behind the scenes, in order to save and deliver God’s people. However, God needs the cooperation of human agents to stand up to, and speak out against, oppressive structures.” (Susan Robb, Called. Abingdon Press, 2019, p. 60, 68.)

Yes, we all have opportunities to make a difference. And as someone in our Bible Study group observed, “Just because we’re Christian does not mean we escape suffering.” We certainly see that in Jesus’ life. And, I might add, just because we’re Christian does not exempt us from being the abusers either.

As Methodists, we’re big fans of personal responsibility. 1) We’re responsible for our own behavior – what we choose to do or not do. 2) We’re responsible for listening for God to lead us through each other. And as we saw with Esther’s story, we believe God gives us opportunities to take meaningful actions on behalf of people who are or might experience neglect or abuse. This is not glamorous or easy work and it often requires us to risk our own safety and resources. How can we praise God for Divine provision and protection if we are unwilling to risk either as we follow God’s leadings?

Esther’s story pushes us in several ways. I encourage you to spend this week thinking about her story and how you connect with it. Think about how God has blessed you with resources, with skills and abilities, as well as with the relationships and influence you have with others. Even if you don’t audibly hear God’s voice, how is God leading you, calling you, to use these skills and resources to benefit others?

Using who we are and what we have to bless others is the work of being the hands and feet of Jesus; it is the work of building the Kingdom of God in our homes and in our community. Amen? Amen!