Esther: For Such a Time as This 

The Book of Esther, particularly chapters 1-4 

The king threw a party, and all his men were "merry with wine." The queen (she was the queen after all, and not a harem floozy) refused to parade through the banquet hall lined with lecherous men; hence, exit Queen Vashti. Enter Hadassah (Esther), a Jew in Persia who won the passion of the king. For such a time as this. Did God have a part in the deposition of Queen Vashti and in the choosing of Esther?

The drama of this story unfolds in Haman, a power-hungry, adoration-seeking aide to the king. Haman is infuriated because Mordecai (Queen Esther’s guardian) will not bow down to him. Mordecai knows that Haman is an Agagite, a bitter enemy of the Jews. Haman convinces the king that all Jews must die. Mordecai convinces Queen Esther that she must intervene.

As queen, Esther had a life of wealth, of ease, of power within her own court. Now Esther, as queen and Jew, was caught in the middle. The annihilation of the Jews in Persia, including herself, was at hand. Haman had the favor of the king. Esther enjoyed no such favor.

Esther had to plead for her people, but first she prepared. Esther and all the Jews fasted for three days. Then, approaching the throne room, she said, "If I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16), knowing that unless the king extended his scepter, she would be put to death.

Reflect on Esther. Was she naive? Was she devious? (She hadn’t told the king she was a Jew.) Was she brave? Was she chosen? If she had died, what would have happened to the Jews? And, where, oh, where is God in the book of Esther?

Think about women through history who stepped out of known lives into unthinkable roles. Mary Magdalene was a woman of unfavorable repute, yet she went to the tomb, she told the men of the resurrection, she bravely approached the "gardener" while the men were hiding.

Can you name other women who have stepped out? What made Rosa Parks sit in the front of that bus? Was it for such a time as this?

Where on September 11 and during the days following did Pastor Heidi Neumark of the Bronx find the words for so many people who lost so much in so short a time? It was for such a time as this that she went into those morgues and hospitals and homes where death stood all around.

Who in your life is an Esther? Who has willingly stepped into the fray? A historical person? A woman of today? For whom or what do you stand up?

Prayer
Dear God: Help me to be ready for such a time as this.

The author: Brenda Engelby is an associate in ministry who served the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as associate director for Lutheran Vespers, the audio ministry of the ELCA.

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.

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