Trinity Lutheran Church

Our story of focus comes from the Book of Esther, beginning in the 5th chapter-7 chapter

Let us Pray: May the words of my mouth and the mediations of all our hearts, be acceptable unto you O Lord our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

Edward Everett Hale once said, “I am only one, but I am still one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.” This past month we have been hearing the stories of four women in the Bible, who because of their willingness and their conviction to do something, to faithfully go where God was calling them, have played an important role in the faith and life of our ancestors and for us today. It only takes one person to make a change in the course of history and in the lives of others.

Our story for today is about one such lady who lived out this mantra in her own life, Esther, who became queen to King Xerses after a beauty contest. There was one big problem though, the King did not know Esther was Jewish. It never came up in conversation. Esther also had a close family friend- Mordecai. Who at one point informed the King that someone was after him and wanted him dead. The King took Mordecai’s advice and instead of him being killed, the two assassins were actually killed. The King though never celebrated or honored Mordecai, until Esther came into his life.

Mordecai later learned of a plan from one of the King’s top officials- Haman, to destroy all the Jewish people. Haman was not a big fan of Mordecai and therefore the Jews.  Now, this story of Esther and her family does not take place in Israel, but in Persia- these Jews were in exile. When Mordecai told Esther of this plan, she was scared for her family and her friends. Mordecai told her though that this might be a reason that she became Queen in the first place- to save the Jewish people from destruction. So Esther, in one of the greatest claims of willingness to do something, said that she would talk to the king and if she dies, she dies. She was willing to put herself out there in order to try to save her family and her friends.

Our lesson begins at this point for today- Esther goes into the King’s inner court. The King did not invite Esther and in fact he had not wanted to see her for the past 30 days, he had never called for her. So by going there, she was risking her own life in just showing up to the king. The King though was happy to see her and offered her anything she could ever want; she just had to name it. So Esther invites the King and his top official, Haman, the mean guy who wanted to destroy the Jews, over for dinner. When the two men arrived for dinner, Esther was still unable to express to the King what was going to happen to her family if the king did not do something about it. So instead of just letting it go, she asked the King if he and Haman would go back for the next night and have another banquet together. The King and Haman agreed to come back and have dinner with the Queen. So they all left that night and unfortunately the King could not sleep, so he had some of his officials read to him the history of Persia. In the reading of the history he was reminded of how Mordecai actually saved the king from being assassinated. The King was excited about this news and wanted to know how he helped to celebrate this great man, who saves his life. Well the king did not do anything, so he called in his buddy Haman to help him figure out what type of celebration they should throw for Mordecai. Haman being the mean guy that he was, thought the king was talking about him, and wanted to throw a celebration for him, after all Haman was invited to dinner with the king and queen.

Haman was upset to hear that Mordecai was actually the one that the king wanted to celebrate and just added it to another reason why he hated Mordecai and the Jewish people. The second night of the banquet comes around and again the Queen, King, and Haman gather for dinner. The king asks the Esther, the Queen, if there is anything she wanted. She tells the king, that what she really wants is for the King to stop the decree that is to have the all the Jewish people annihilated. In saying that this she also told the King that she in fact was Jewish. The King was so upset that someone would want his Queen dead he asks her who this person is, and she tells him it is Haman. The King at this point was furious and instead of sending Mordecai and the rest of the Jews to the gallows, like Haman originally wanted, Haman himself was sent to the gallows. The King also allowed for Esther to send out a decree on his behalf to save the Jews from being killed. In sending this decree it allowed for the Jewish people to protect themselves from being killed by anyone who attacks them. This meant the Jews were able to protect themselves from people who have been considered their enemies, especially since they were not in Israel, but in a foreign land.

This day of being able to fight for protection is still celebrated in the Jewish faith as the day of Purim, the last Jewish festival in the year. For the Jewish people they remember that God is with them and protects them even when they are not in the Promised Land. They also celebrate the strength and courage of Esther and her willingness to fight for those who are in her immediate family and her family through God. Esther knew that she could not do everything, she could not be the one to convince Haman that he was in the wrong or even save the Jewish people from all of their enemies, but she knew she could do something. As one person she was able to do at least one thing, and as she said, even if she were to perish from doing so then she would perish.

Esther is one of those women who was willing to give it all for something she believed in and for people she loves. She is a woman we can all learn from this day. Even though going to the king and telling him the truth, could have meant death for Esther, she was willing to risk it. She so strongly believed that what was going to happen to the Jewish people was an injustice she was willing to take a stand and fight against it. By believing that even if she could not do everything, she could do something. Often we stop ourselves from standing up against injustices or even in support of our family and friends because we feel as though we can’t do everything therefore we cannot do anything. Yet, all we have to do is look at the Bible or even in the course of history to realize that is not true at all. It only takes one person. It was one vote, which brought Texas into the Union. It was one vote that gave America the English language and not German. One vote saved France from a monarchy and gave them a democracy. It was one person who saved us from our sins.

We sometimes forget the strength and courage the people of the Bible had when it came to preserving their faith and the ability for those around them to believe in God, however best they express it. That is one of the reasons we decided to take a month to listen to these stories, to hear the strength these women possessed, and to learn their stories and use them in our own lives. These women were able to do more than others would have thought they could have done and expected them to do.

All of us have a part of these four women in our lives. We have the strength of Esther, the dedication of Ruth, the perseverance of Mary, and the hospitality of Lydia. When we allow for ourselves to realize and accept we cannot do everything, that we cannot save people from hurt or pain in this world, we cannot save people from the pain of losing a loved one, we cannot save them form the seemingly hopelessness of diseases, or the uncertainty of life, we may realize that we can do something. We can pray for others when they are going through a tough time in life, we can care them, provide them with support, words of comfort, cook a meal, or even a smile.  We can speak out when it seems as though someone is being treated unfairly. We can volunteer to help others, open doors, welcome our neighbor, or even share the peace with someone new. We can do something to help one another not only just make it through this life, but to fully live this life, to be who God has created each and every one of us to be. When we realize we can do something to help those around us, we may just find the best parts of Mary, Ruth, Lydia, and Esther in each one of us.