Play audio file
Learning for Life: 9:30 am
Worship Service: 11:00 am
Bulletin: November 4, 2018
Newsletter: November 2018
Scriptures: Esther 1-3, selected verses
Songs:
- Praise to the Lord (lyrics & melody, video, acappella, philharmonic, background, 2, meditation)
- Behold the Lamb (lyrics & melody, video)
Rev. Joel Russell-MacLean
The man who ruled an empire which stretched from India, to Macedonia, to Egypt was comically(?) easy to sway. When his wife publicly humiliated him she was replaced with someone appropriate submissive, who still managed to steer him to her own ends.
There are several comic reversals but underneath, Esther is a dark story of kill or be killed. The Jews were dispersed in exile and at the mercy of pagan leaders everywhere. Enemies sought to use their influence to wipe them out. Centuries later, this ongoing tension between Jews and the Gentiles in power would play into Jesus’ crucifixion. By taking the place of a victim Jesus changed how we looked at hostility.
But where was God?
Perhaps the author of Esther meant to make a point all the more forcefully with God’s total absence. Even without saying a word, even without being seen, God’s purposes were accomplished.
