Thursday, June 11, 2020
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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