Esther 8:1-17 A Minority Story

 

Observation: The Book of Esther takes place in Susa, the capital of the Persian empire. Esther and Mordecai, who are Jewish, have just averted an evil plot from Haman, a court official, to kill all Jews throughout the Persian Empire. Instead, the King sends out an edict that Jews are allowed to defend themselves from any and all attackers or enemies, and to plunder their property. This great victory for Jews living in this foreign land is celebrated to this day as the holiday of Purim. 

Application: Even though the book of Esther is one of the only Biblical books that does not mention God, it is a book close to the heart of many Jews in recent centuries, because they know what it is to live as a minority ethnicity and a minority faith. Tragic history has shown that a victory like the one Esther and her cousin Mordecai celebrate is not always the way things turn out. Living as a minority, Jews have too often faced persecution, violence, and even genocide. The book of Esther celebrates survival against all odds.

Christians in America today are not a minority faith. It's just a fact. Even amid the decline in church attendance, we hold a majority in most every state of our nation. Yes, we have denominational differences, and no, we don't share ethnic ties in the way that many Jews in our country do, but in no sense can Christians be considered a "minority."

Yet that was not always the case. The first few generations of Christians were found in small, tight-knit groups in majority pagan cities. Many of our ancestors in faith lived in cities whose  whole culture, economy and civic life were built around the worship of Greek and Roman gods. Confessing that there was only one God, whose Son was Jesus Christ, was considered very odd indeed, and often opened us up to ridicule and worse. In many places throughout the globe, Christians remain a minority, sometimes even facing the kind of persecution the first Christians faced. 

As I read the book of Esther, the simple message to me is compassion for those whose faith and culture are different from the majority. That means being aware of privilege that Christians may enjoy in our society without even knowing it, and making sure we do not repeat the mistakes of our past. 

Prayer: God, for your children, the Jews, who first shared with us your Word, I give thanks. Help us to honor them and be kind and considerate neighbors to them. Amen.   

Isaiah 49:4-6 Thinking Too Small

 

Observation: This is one of Isaiah's famous "Servant Songs" which were very important to early Christian understanding of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. They have guided our thinking, especially in Holy Week. In this song, the anonymous "servant" despairs because he feels his work is in vain. Instead of letting the servant "off the hook," God says, "It is too light a thing" for the servant to raise up and restore the people of Israel from exile. God has bigger plans. The servant will be "a light to the nations." Wow!

Application: As I'm thinking through my long to-do list for Holy Week, I'm actually feeling okay. Dare I say, I'm even excited! This will be a really meaningful week of worship. But this servant song does hit home for me often, when things don't go as planned, and I get discouraged. What I take from this servant song is a very important but strange truth: sometimes, when you're weary, it's not because you've taken on too much. It's because you're thinking too small. Now PLEASE understand that's not to say you should have a longer to-do list; in fact it might have to be shorter. It doesn't mean you should be working more hours; in fact, it might work out to less. But just like the servant, we may be weary and exhausted from focusing on the small stuff. From the stuff that we know, deep down, doesn't matter. We might be too focused on every detail that isn't right, every little complaint we've ever heard, all the nits that need to be picked (I hope my family will forgive me if that metaphor hits too close to home!). Instead, what God may want is for us to zoom out, and see the huge story of which we are a part, and take joy that we get to play a unique, though tiny, role within it. This week, we'll hear an epic love tory between God and humankind. We'll hear about the outworking of God's plan to save, heal and reconcile all creation, on the cross. The work was done on Good Friday, but the fruits are still being born with each passing day, until the final Kingdom of God. This is HUGE! And it's already DONE! All of it! Yes, we have lots of work ahead, because we get to be part of that ministry of reconciliation, the peace-making that flows out from the crucified and risen Lord. But it's not our job to do all of it. However this week goes, it's already done, It is finished. And we will shine brighter, as a "light to the nations," if we abide in that story for a while, and let some of the details fall by the wayside. 

Prayer: We adore you O Christ, and we bless you, for by your holy cross your have redeemed the world. Amen. 

1 John 2:24-28 Abiding

 

Observation: The writer of 1 John is likely either the same person or closely related to the writer of the Gospel of John. In both books, the word "abide" is essential. Even in this short passage, it shows up many times. God's teaching and God's anointing abide in believers. Believers abide in the Son and in the Father. Abide means to dwell, to live, and also to rest. I think of abiding as our default or home base: where we first wake up in the morning; what we do when there's nothing to do; where we go when there's no other place to go. 

Application: I'm having a lot of memories coming back from two years ago, when much of the world first went on lock-down in response to COVID-19. We all had to "abide" at home for a few weeks, and even after that, getting out into the world was a slow process. It continues to be. We couldn't venture out to work, to socialize, or even to worship. During that time, I think we learned about our "abiding place." Not just the physical space of our homes, but of where our hearts and minds automatically go in times of trouble, which tends to be where we spend the most time when things are normal, too. It could be a fearful and anxious place. It could be faithful and loving place. But it tends to be our home place in normal times. A funny example of this instinct is from the horror comedy "Sean of the Dead," starring Simon Pegg. The title character and his friends fin themselves in the midst of a Zombie apocalypse, and for no logical reason, they decide to hide out in the pub where they spend much of their free time. It's their abiding place. 

If God is our abiding place, that means God is kind of our mental and spiritual home base. Prayer and Bible study, worship, acts of service and love, sharing faith, advocating for vulnerable people, become more instinctive than forced. When our world gets turned upside down--like, for instance, in a huge unprecedented public health crisis--one who abides in God finds a way to continue doing that, even when they can't do it in the way they're used to. Of course, it always takes intention to create that kind of innate response: nobody but Jesus abides in God by their very nature. We have to work on it. But as we work on it, we find that god also abides in us, and we do find ourselves reacting in surprising ways under pressure. 

Prayer: God, abide in me, and help me to abide in you. In Jesus' name, amen.  

Revelation 19:9-10 Testify

 

Observation: Near the end of his vision, John, a first-century Christian leader, hears an announcement from an angel about the "marriage supper of the Lamb," a beautiful image of God's final celebration in which heaven and earth are wed together. John is overcome with emotion, and falls down to worship the angel, but the angel corrects him. "Worship God! for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Revelation talks a few times about the "testimony of Jesus," and I'm not sure if it means the words and teachings that come from Jesus, or the stories about Jesus. I'd guess both. Either way, who the angel is doesn't matter. What he says about Jesus is the most important thing. 

Application: I give myself way too much credit sometimes. When something goes well in my ministry, I feel good. When things seem to be going wrong, I feel bad. Those are just feelings, and like the weather, they come and go. But when I attach thoughts to those feelings--thoughts like, "this is going well because I'm awesome," or "this is not going well because I'm useless"--it's time to take a look at those thoughts, and ask whether they are accurate, or welcome in my mind. And the unequivocal answer, based not just on sociology or national trends but on the true Word of God, is no. Those thoughts aren't welcome because ministry is not about me. I'm a messenger. The One really doing the work is the "spirit of prophecy," AKA the Holy Spirit. The more we focus on the message--the testimony of Jesus--the less it's about us, and the less of our self-worth we invest into how our lives are going in this fleeting moment. In any task worth accomplishing among Christians, the testimony of Jesus--his words, his teachings, his story--is going to do all the heavy lifting. 

Prayer: Jesus, testify in my life and in my community. Help me be attentive to your words, and ready to share them. Help me stop focusing on me and start focusing on you. Amen. 

Romans 2:12-16 Apart From the Law

 

Observation: Paul is making the case to Roman Christians that no one, Jewish nor Gentile, is exempt from sin; therefore no one is exempt from God's judgment. Even Gentiles, who have no special covenant or "deal" with God, and who don't even know God's commandments to the people of Israel, still know right from wrong and go by their own conscience. Those who do have the benefit of God's law have a better roadmap for what God expects of them (not necessarily everyone), yet we still all need grace. 

Application: I grew up in a Christian household, but I was pretty young when I realized my friends didn't all believe the same things I did. My best friend in elementary school was the son of a conservative rabbi. Some of my closest friends in middle school, high school and college were secular. I learned an awful lot about kindness and generosity from people of different faiths and belief systems. I also learned early that being a Christian doesn't necessarily make someone a more moral or compassionate person. In some situations, it can even get in the way. Faith should never be worn as a badge of honor, or a character reference. Faith shouldn't puff us up. It should humble us. If we had it all figured out, we wouldn't need God. And if we had nothing to learn from neighbors, God would never have put them in our lives. 

Prayer: God, thanks for teaching me through the lives of others. Amen. 

1 Corinthians 10:1-13 None of This is Magic.

 

Observation: Paul is writing a divided church in Corinth, including many members who are Jewish. He gives the church a warning from the time of Moses: even though the Israelites were as close to God as one tribe of people could get, they still strayed from God all the time. The cloud of God's presence moved overhead, the sea parted for them, and they had food and drink provided from God's own hand. Yet still, they went after idols, they sinned, and they tested God. If it could happen to the Israelites, Paul suggests, it can easily happen to this new community of Christians. 

Application: I recently read an article about a congregation with a number of members who fell deep down the rabbit hole into Qanon conspiracy theories. Though they were very active in the church, and though the pastor tried every way he knew to engage them in loving conversation, anything he said that contradicted their beliefs about politics or current events drove them further away. For some members, no amount of preaching or Bible study could undo the damage that had already been done. They eventually left the church. 

It's not just QAnon. There are all sorts of ideas and ideologies that try to replace God, and demand our total allegiance. There always have been, since the time of Moses. Paul's dire warning is that just taking part in religious activity does not save us from every kind of false idol. Being baptized, receiving Communion, hearing God's word, prayer and conversation with other Christians are all important and transformative. But they're not magic. They don't automatically make us good people, or protect us from every form of falsehood this world throws at us. They don't take away our free will to accept or reject God's love and guidance each day. If God's Word or the sacraments don't have any place in our lives, or only a marginal one, I do believe making more space is always a good thing. Yet even those who take every opportunity to turn toward God still need to be humble and vigilant, and know that we're not perfect. Sometimes we'll still realize we were wrong. Sometimes we'll still need to repent and ask forgiveness. 

Prayer: God, thank you for your Word and your holy meal, which spark faith in my soul. May that spark catch fire. Guide my heart and mind today. Amen.      

Zechariah 3:6-10 In a Single Day

 

Observation: The prophet Zechariah is writing from Jerusalem, after the people have returned from exile in Babylon. During that time, the community was concerned with reestablishing its spiritual identity and rebuilding the temple. In Zechariah's vision, Joshua, the high priest, is being accused of sin by Satan. But an angel comes to Joshua's defense, and takes off his filthy clothes, replacing them with festival garments. God promises, "I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day." 

Application: Every Lent, and especially near Good Friday, one question always creeps up on me: "Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? If God is able and willing to forgive our sin, why doesn't God just do it?" Reading this prophecy from Zechariah, that God will remove the guilt of an entire nation in a single day, it seems that God is both able and willing to forgive at a moment's notice. What needs to be overcome is the voice of the accuser--"the Satan", in Hebrew--which tells us it can't be that easy. No way. Our sin is too big, our shame is too deep, our distance from God is too far. God can't, or won't, just forgive us. 

It's not God's wrath that is overcome on the cross. It is our own.  Our wrath at God, at one another, at ourselves, and that wrathful voice, whether it comes from inside us our outside, that never stops bringing up the many ways we fall short. On the cross, the voice of shame goes to battle with the voice of God's love, and of course, Love wins. In a single day, all our centuries of missteps melt away like ice in springtime. When God enters into our shame, it cannot survive as it is. It must be transformed. It happened that single day--but it also happens every day. 

Prayer: God, silence the accuser in my heart. Come to me in the depths of my shame and show me your love. Transform my life by the power of your cross. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.