Introduction to Worship
"Cometh the hour, cometh the man" - or at least that's what the old proverb says. Is it true? Well, it may be, yet it does rather show how male ideas are ingrained in our language. Yet today we look at Queen Esther in the Bible and we see that in this case we should say "cometh the hour, cometh the woman". As we will hear, Esther was a Jewish queen in a pagan court and her bravery saved her people. Her example calls us to rethink our assumptions. Her readiness to act and use the opportunities given to her inspire us. Esther demonstrated faith and courage that most of us can only dream of. Her story is about sexual and racial prejudice and an early attempt at genocide. Her actions cause us to wonder if we are prepared to identify with the oppressed, exploited and outcasts of our world. Esther is revered even today within the Jewish faith as an example of heroic faith. Faith and life went hand in hand for her, as they should with us. Therefore, with faith we rise to sing our opening songs.
Sermon
Introduction
Every so often we get you to write to MPs or to oppressive governments on behalf of prisoners of conscience. You may belong to other organisations that encourage you to write to your MP; Amnesty International and Tearfund are particularly good at getting folks organised and campaigning. But most of the time we don't do as much as we should. We know we should have written a letter, but somehow we didn't get round to it. We know we should have signed that petition, but we didn't feel comfortable giving out our address. All kinds of reasons might explain our failure to act. We have had second thoughts about the matter, seeing that there are two sides to the question. We may have felt out of our depth, unable to comprehend the issues we were being asked to comment on. We may have felt bewildered by the complexity of the moral or ethical issues and we may not have wanted to give a stereotypical portrayal of Christians who seem to say "no" to everything! In short there may have been many valid reasons for keeping our thoughts to ourselves; yet I suspect that more often than not the real reason we say nothing is that we either can't be bothered to put ourselves out, or we are worried that making a stand may potentially count against us. We fear being labelled as an activist or a radical, or getting sucked into something deeper, so instead of speaking out or putting pen to paper we keep our counsel, suppressing the voice of conscience.
Esther's story
In many ways all these things must have played on the mind of Esther in the reading we heard Catherine read to us today. She was a Jew by birth but found favour with the King of Persia and he wanted to make her first his concubine and then wife. Eventually he made her queen. This was an opportunity to good to miss, but her cousin Mordecai advised her that in order to make the most of these opportunities she should conceal her racial and religious identity. If it had become known that she belonged to a different cultural, racial and religious group this would have counted against her. So she concealed herself without any qualms; minorities in hostile cultures are used to making do and getting by. Her faith and nationality became an issue only for herself and her conscience.
But then things got more difficult. A high servant of the King, Haman, wanted all the citizens to bow down to him and pay homage. Mordecai and the Jews knew that this was tantamount to idolatry and refused to do it, earning Haman's wrath. Haman secured the King's authority for this genocide - we see in the Book of Esther that the King is rather stupid and petulant which meant that clever administrators like Haman could do what they like.
The Jews under Mordecai's leadership were desperate. Could anything be done? Who would help them? There was just one possibility and it revolved around Esther. As wife to the King she would have unparalleled access and influence. Yet it was no small matter to be the king's wife. No one was allowed to approach him without permission - even the Queen (again the petulance of this King is beyond belief). By approaching the King, Esther was putting herself at risk; and by revealing her racial and religious identity she was risking her status and her life.
She must have been in an agony of indecision. She would have had her own inner fears on one side and her conscience and the destiny of her people on the other. She could keep quiet and perhaps save her neck at the terrible price of the death of her people, or she could plead their cause and risk the very real prospect of death - and still see her people killed. It must have seemed an impossible dilemma and only Mordecai's insistence that she should do the right thing kept her conscience in the ascendancy. His words show that he believed that God was at work in the midst of Esther's good fortune: "who knows, perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this". Perhaps God had put her here for a reason. Perhaps catching the King's eye and becoming his wife hadn't just been a quirk of fate, but part of God's divine purpose. Now she had the opportunity to put her position and influence to good use.
There were no guarantees but buoyed up by Mordecai's words and knowing what God required of her she decided to act. The time had come to fling aside her reservations and throw caution to the wind. This is not to say she didn't use her sexuality to make herself look good for the King - after all we have to use whatever we can!
And Our Story
None of us is ever going to be in a position like Esther; we won't have to make the same moral choices nor be in such an exalted position. But there may, nonetheless, be a time and a place in which God wants to use us. It may be among our colleagues at work, or the friends we mix with socially. It may be through words or deeds, through offering practical support or through speaking out. It may be through writing to an MP or local councillor, signing a petition or getting others whom you know to sign it as well. It might be joining a campaign, going on a march or joining in a protest rally. It may, above all, be through standing up for the oppressed, identifying with them and being ready to make sacrifices on their behalf. Whatever it is, there are times when God wants to use us and our situation towards the furtherance of the Kingdom and fulfilment of God's sovereign will.
We can tell ourselves that we are not needed, that God's purpose will prevail with or without our help, that we're better off minding our own business rather than interfering, but the trouble is we may be wrong. As with Esther, it may be that God is depending on us; we are those God is able to work through and with at a particular moment, if only we are willing to respond. For such a time as this we are called to respond. Cometh the hour, cometh us!
This
sermon was first preached in the Metropolitan Community Church of Manchester.
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