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"For Such A Time As This"
Esther 4
A sermon preached by the Rev. Douglas M. Donley
July 22, 2001
First Congregational Church
University Baptist Church
Minneapolis, MN
It is wonderful to be here in this magnificent setting surrounded by two congregations with a combined history of over 300 years of Ministry in Minneapolis. I missed the first joint service last week because I was at the Baptist Peace Fellowship’s annual Conference in Oberlin, Ohio. The topic of the week of teaching and worship was, you guessed it, the book of Esther. In fact, the theme for the entire conference was "for Such a time as this." See, there’s a method to the madness of your two pastors looking at this enigmatic book during a sweltering summer month. I’m indebted to Baptist scholar bob patterson-watt from Toronto and preacher Cindy Webber from Louisville for many of my insights on Esther. Not only that, but the conference was not held at the college, not at the First Baptist Church of Oberlin which recently changed its name to Peace Community Church. It was held in the First Congregational Church of Oberlin. So, I have been getting ready for today’s worship experience for a long time.
The community of Oberlin and First Church know a lot about taking risks on behalf of God’s people. In the 1840’s Oberlin was stop number 99 on the Undergound Railroad. The last stop to freedom in Canada. But President Millard Fillmore signed the Fugitive Slave Act saying that anyone who harbored a former slave was subject to fines and imprisonment. That did not deter the Baptists and Congregationalists of Oberlin, Ohio. In fact when one slave was captured in Oberlin and taken nine miles south to Wellington, Ohio a young man on horseback came to Oberlin, interrupted the prayer meeting at First Congregational Church and told the people that a liberated slave was incarcerated in the next town. 500 people poured down to Wellington from Oberlin and freed that fugitive slave. 35 people went on trial opposing the Fugitive Slave Act and all but starting the Civil War. The former slave retained his freedom and the people of Oberlin knew that they had been put there for such a time as this. It’s amazing what can happen when Baptists and Congregationalists get together.
I know you got a good introduction to the book of Esther last week, so I won’t bore you with rehashing this tale. I want to focus this morning on the best known verse of Esther and see what we might be able to glean from its pages for today. The best known passage is 4:14: "Perhaps you were given royal dignity for such a time as this."
These are words faithful Mordecai says to his niece, Esther as he encourages her to stand up to the king and say, like Moses, "let my people go." It seems like such a no-brainer. Of course Esther is going to stand up and say the right thing at the right time. But at what risk? We remember that no one was allowed to speak with the King unless he summons her. The last Queen to defy the king, Vashti was banished and probably killed. Haman had it out for Mordecai and all of the Jewish people. If Esther revealed her Jewishness, then she could be killed, too. Suddenly this is not such an easy question. Esther, do you save yourself, or do you risk yourself to save your people?
Esther the reluctant Queen, winner of the Miss Persia Pageant, got a little taste of the good life and she was not about to get all messy. As the fourth chapter opens, Mordecai has just learned of the decree signed by the king written by Haman to kill all of the Jews. Mordecai went up to the King’s gate wearing sackcloth and ashes and giving loud laments. Esther, from inside the castle walls was oblivious to the situation. It took intermediaries to tell her what was going on. Esther never speaks with her uncle Mordecai. She has messengers and underlings do her dirty work. But not only that, she insults Mordecai. Trying to deal with the symptom and not the cause, she does what so many people do from inside the castle walls, she has one of her servants go and clothe Mordecai in clean clothes. "Here, don’t take it so hard. There, there. Don’t make such a fuss. Here clean yourself up. Don’t worry, be happy. It’s not so bad. Everything will look different in the morning." It was her tax rebate check to Mordecai. "Maybe I can get the King to fund a charity for you, if you would please stop making such a fuss." But as Pope John XXIII said, "What is owed is justice should never be paid in charity."
Mordecai knew what needed to be done. He had gone to the Saul Alinsky school of lamentation. And now that he had Esther’s attention, he would make her listen.
As Frederick Douglass once said, "Power concedes nothing without demand. It never did and it never will." Mordecai is a great organizer. He defines the justice, not Esther. Esther or anyone in power will do only what is comfortable for them. Mordecai made by his vigil, the status quo uncomfortable for Esther and Esther took notice.
In San Francisco, an old military base called the Presidio was recently transformed into a national park. It is the most expensive national park in a city, primarily because of the number of buildings. There are 3000 units of housing on the Presidio. So in order to save money, the Presidio Trust decided to destroy some of the housing and restore it to inexpensive open space. But San Francisco is in a housing crisis. There are over 5000 homeless people on the streets and the vacancy rates for overpriced homes and apartments is less than 1%. When an organization called Religious Witness with Homeless people got wind of the scheme to tear down the Presidio housing, we stood in front of the bulldozers and stopped the demolition. Some of this housing ought to be used for Homeless people, we argued. They said the housing was structurally unsound and would cost $85 million to repair. We got our own independent structural engineers to look at the housing and found that it would only cost $11 million to repair. We occupied one of the houses and found new appliances, hardwood floors and ocean views. Great housing. The Presidio Trust conceded that the housing was in fact in good shape, so they tried to put them on barges and ship them up to an Indian Reservation in Eureka or tot he poorer sections of San Francisco. Again the religious folks stood in their way and we succeeded in preserving the housing and even though it is not being used to house the homeless, it is being used to ease the housing crunch in San Francisco. All because people of faith stood outside the castle walls and made it uncomfortable for those in power to implement their plans.
Mordecai presented Esther’s eunuchs with a copy of the edict, the exact amount of money was in the ransom, and a list of demands making sure that Esther knew what was expected of her. Esther responded like a politician. "My hands are tied. It’s the law. I can’t talk to the king. No one talks to the King. I have to wait my turn. I’m sorry that this decree is to be carried out soon, but you see, I just can’t help you right now. Are you sure you won’t take these clean clothes? It hurts me so to see you this way."
That is the response of those inside the castle walls.
That is the voice from inside the G-8 Summit ignoring and belittling the protesters outside.
That is the word from inside the Israeli Cabinet saying, "It’s a shame those Palestinians are being killed, but we have to expand our borders.
That’s the voice of the pharmaceutical companies still reluctant to use their AIDS-fighting drugs in Africa.
That is the voice from inside the halls of power who tear down low income housing promising sometime, somewhere to replace it, but years later still have no plans.
That is the voice from inside denominational power structures that say, "let’s not fight so much about gay rights. It’s dividing the church. Let’s talk about something else and it may go away. Here, put on some nice clothes.
That is the voice of Rachel weeping for her children refusing to be comforted.
That is the voice of the family member of the abuse survivor who does want tot upset the family by having the survivor confront the truth.
"Esther," says Mordecai. "Don’t insult me with your placation. Don’t insult your people with your excuses. You need to decide which side you are on. For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will arise 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 such a time as this."
We know the rest of the story: a reluctant Esther calls a fast and then invites the King and Haman to not one, but two dinners, where she finally chooses to reveal her secret Jewish identity and secures not only relief for the Jews but vengeance against Haman and his people.
Esther has a transformation.
She is a changed woman. Why?
Because of her faith? Perhaps.
Because of her fear? Perhaps.
But I am putting my money on Mordecai.
Mordecai insists that she remember who she is. His persistent truth telling wore her down and revealed who she really was underneath those royal garments and behind her protected fortress. All of that was a facade designed to shelter her from her people, from her own soul.
You and I, living in this part of the world, in this city, in this culture, we are the Esthers of this world. We are the ones inside the castle walls. We give our tithes and our offerings, we help out the poor, sure we even get our hands dirty from time to time, but by and large, we never let ourselves get beyond the comfort zone. We are Esther.
But we are kin to Mordecai. Mordecai is the persecuted, the outcast, the unfriendly, the homeless, the agitator, the one who makes us uncomfortable, the one who like wrestling Jacob will not let us go until we grant him a blessing. And this Mordecai is calling at us from the gates of the castle in sackcloth and ashes calling at us through emissaries, "don’t forget your kin. Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for such a time as this. Do you know what time it is?"
So the question I want to leave you with is this: What time is it? Who determines the time of your liberation from the throws of the places of power to the places of liberation? Who controls your destiny? To whom have you given your control? What truth needs to be told? What begs to break free from your soul? What time is it Esther? What time is it Mordecai? Think about that one. Pray about it. Write down the stuff that you might need to say. Think and pray about what truth you might be able to say to power. What passion might be unleashed.
In the movie Amistad, a great story of Congregationalist abolitionists coming to the aid of enslaved Africans, an old embittered John Quincy Adams speaks with Cinque before arguing his case before the Supreme Court: He says, "One tries to govern wisely, strongly. One tries to govern in a way that betters the lives of one’s villagers. One tries to kill the lion. Unfortunately one is not always wise enough or strong enough. Time passes and the moment is gone…We’re about to bring your case before the highest court in our land. We are about to do battle with a lion that is threatening to rip our country in two. And all we have on our side is a rock. Of course you didn’t ask to be at the center of this great historic conflagration any more than I did, but we find ourselves here nonetheless by some mysterious mix of circumstances and the whole world is watching us. So what are we to do?"
And Cinque (or should I say, Mordecai) responds, "we won’t be going in there alone."
Adams retorts, "Alone, indeed not, no we have right on our side, we have righteousness on our side."
Cinque corrects Adams: "I meant my ancestors. I will call into the past far back to the beginning of time and beg them to come and help me at the judgement. I will reach back and draw them into me. And they must come for at this moment I am the whole reason they have existed at all."
Sisters and brothers, whatever truth you need to tell, remember you do not do it alone. For not only is Mordecai and all of the Hebrew people fasting and praying for you, but all of your ancestors, too. Your time is the whole reason they existed at all.
So, what time is it for you?
Who begs outside the castle walls to be freed?
Who knows, maybe you have come to royal dignity for such a time as this.
Amen.