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Esther: Who are we? What do we do?

Posted in Feedback, Web site included, tagged , , , , on June 11, 2020| 2 Comments »


Thursday, June 11, 2020

Haman, Ahasuerus and Esther

Edward Armitage: Haman, Ahasuerus and Esther

The Story of Esther

What do we teach ourselves and others with our lives?

The triangle of Esther, Ahasuerus and Haman is a delicate one.  The young Queen has hidden her ethnic origin and fears discovery and death.  The King has followed the advice of his trusted vizier Haman and now finds that he has been betrayed.  Haman has allowed jealousy to consume him to the point of his own destruction.  Where do we see these characters in our lives today . . . and who are we in the scenarios that play out around us?

In the workplace, a plot slowly brews until an awful truth comes forward to appall or disgust us.   Betrayal, slander, back-stabbing, false accusations fly and we find that we have sudden choices to make.  How do we determine where we stand?  Where are we in this scenario?  How do we react?  What do we do? What do we learn?  What message do we teach with our lives?

A family member or close friend has become depressive and negative and looks not for companions in grief but for compatriots in gossip.  What do we do in this circumstance?  Do we gently rebuke?  Do we comply with this gentle slide into evil? What do we say?  What do we learn?  What do we represent with our lives?

We have recently been invited to join a group we have wanted to be a part of for some time yet now we discover the price of admittance is our unquestioning, fanatic loyalty.  What role do we play in this picture?  Do we quietly escape and think only of ourselves?  Do we warn potential victims and look for an authentic, loving response?  How do we decide? What do we learn? What do we embody with our lives?

As we allow this story to trickle through our thinking to reflect back to us little mirror images of who we are and what we do, is there some new idea that comes to us?  Some thought we want to share with others?  If so, enter your comment below.

To read this story in an edition of the Bible other than the one you already know, click on the scripture link above or go to: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Esther+1-10&version=GNT;NRSV;CJB;MSG 

Image from: https://www.jewishboston.com/long-live-the-queen

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As we make our 2015 resolutions, let us consider . . .

Posted in Feedback, tagged on January 1, 2015| Leave a Comment »


Fireworks[1]Each year on the first of January we traditionally have the opportunity to assess who we are and where we stand. If this year’s Christmas season calls you to a fresh examination of self, join other Noontime readers and go to the Poll for 2015 page above or at this link: https://thenoontimes.com/a-poll-for-2015-in-the-next-twelve-months-i-will/. Spend some time reviewing the last twelve months, consider the next twelve, and determine how, or when or why our relationship with God might call us in a new direction or call us to follow a familiar path with renewed energy. There is no need to enter a vote . . . simply considering the questions is enough to begin anew again. Best wishes and greatest hopes for 2015. Keeping each of you in prayer always at Noontime . . .

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