Esther – Page 2 – The Noontimes

Esther 9: Reversal

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

*Ernest Normand: Esther Denouncing Haman*

Esther 9 – Reversal

Yesterday we reflected on how God foils perfect plots . . . today we examine the turning point in the story of Esther and look for clues about how we might expect the same reversal of evil when we place ourselves fully in God’s hands.

As humans we too often see or experience the hunting down and destroying of either an innocent or someone we believe “deserves what she gets”. Regardless of guilt or blamelessness, the brutal pack mentality of an attack on another human being is something to be avoided and we must work at turning others away from this ugly thinking. We may have been a peripheral or integral part of a plot to bring someone down and if this is the case then we must go to that victim to ask forgiveness. Association with those whose goal it is to establish an us against them mentality is dangerous for it sets us on a path that descends into darkness. Escape from these associations can be difficult and is always permeated with its own special fear; yet it is imperative that we escape because – as we see repeatedly in scripture and in life – God will always, later or sooner, reverse the plots that schemers have conjured in dark corners on their well-worn couches.

When the day arrived on which the order decreed by the king was to be carried out . . . on which the enemies of the Jews had expected to become masters of them, the situation was reversed: the Jews became masters of their enemies.

King Ahasuerus allows a great violence to erupt against Haman and his family and this is not the sort of outcome that the New Testament faithful will want to see. What Christ-followers will ask for is that light penetrate the darkness, that hard hearts be softened, and that stiff necks begin to bend. And so we pray . . .

Just yet merciful God, you give us the opportunity to ask for our enemies’ conversion, grant us also the charity to intercede on their behalf.

Gentle and beautiful God, you make each one of us in your loving image, make also in each of us the patience to wait for reversal at your hand.

Strong yet gentle God, you bless us with the capacity to forgive, bless us always with your constant guidance and care for without you we are too easily led into the darkness.

Wonderful and awesome God, you surprise us constantly with your merciful justice, help us to see that in each of our calamities we might anticipate your sweet reversal.

We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Spend some time with these characters and the scripture citations and study the characters in this story. What more do we see in this story that we might apply to our own lives?

Tomorrow, what ditches are we digging?

A re-post from June 10, 2013.

To learn more about the feast of Purim, visit: https://www.jhi.pl/en/blog/2019-03-18-purim-the-festival-of-lots

For another reflection on this story, go to the Esther – From Calamity to Rejoicing page on this blog at: https://thenoontimes.com/the-book-of-our-life/the-old-testament/the-historical-books/esther-from-calamity-to-rejoicing/

June 10, 2020

Ahasuerus, couches, Esther, Haman, inversion, justice, love, patience, plots, schemes

Obadiah 1:15-21: The Measure

Obadiah 1:15-21: The Measure

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

world_trade_center_01[1] — *THINK team commemoration design*

A favorite from September 11, 2012. Let us consider again the measure of our lives . . .

The measure that you measure with is measured out to you. John the Evangelist speaks of the measure of God’s joy which we will know when we follow Jesus. All three synoptic Gospels (Matthew 7:2, Mark 4:24, Luke 6:38) remind us that we are measured by our own actions; this is the same message we hear from the prophet Obadiah today; yet . . . Do we truly listen to these words?

Countless times in the Old Testament we hear stories of how people are done in by the plans they designed for their perceived enemies. The story of Esther is a wonderful example which I always recall because it illustrates this point in the person of Haman who is executed on the gallows he ordered constructed for Mordecai, the man he envied and wanted to eliminate.

Do we truly listen to these words?

Each time we find ourselves plotting to “teach someone a lesson”: Do we truly listen to these words?

When we worry about the schemes of others more than we place our petitions for change in God’s hands: Do we truly listen to these words?

If we engage in gossip or enable disrespectful or abusive behavior without saying a word: Do we truly listen to these words?

If there are times that we refuse to witness as God asks: Do we truly listen to these words?

When we have given up hope and cease asking God to intercede for those who harm us: Do we truly listen to these words?

When we allow our doubts and fears about God’s love for us and the goodness of his creation to overcome his love for us: Do we truly listen to these words?

When we examine the measure with which we measure others . . . will we want to be valued by this standard? Will we want to have others’ opinions rammed into our minds? Will we want others to lapse into mediocrity for fear of failure? Will we want others to give up entirely? Will we want others to speak in compassionate truth? Will we want to be measured with the norm we use when looking at others?

Do we truly listen to these words?

Notes from La Biblia de América: Can patience run dry? Does the capacity to lend support have a limit? Our Christian faith teaches us that the answer is, no. It is necessary to forgive seven times seven times – or infinitely. Love cannot have limits. Is this the only message Obadiah wants to communicate . . . is he merely acting to break a cycle of violence in his own day, or does he speak to us as well? This briefest of prophecies has as a target the Edomites, a people in constant conflict with those in Judah, the descendents of Jacob’s brother, Esau. The abrasive conflict reaches a height when Edom backs the invading Nebuchadnezzar to destroy Jerusalem and carry the Jewish people off into exile. Obadiah speaks to the remnant left behind after the Assyrian holocaust. Obadiah speaks to us now.

Who are the Edomites in our own lives today? We know the land of Edom well. It is the place where our constant adversaries live. It is the hard heart which envies who we are and what we have. It is the stiff-necked place from where schemes and lies and plots all spring . . . and these are the places we are asked to measure with the same measure we wish ourselves to be measured. We are asked to measure in faith, with hope . . . and through love. Let us go to Edom with a full measure of love in our hearts.

LA BIBLIA DE LA AMÉRICA. 8th. Madrid: La Casa de la Biblia, 1994. Print.

Adapted from a post written on May 11, 2009.

For more information on the THINK team design, click on the image above or go to:

October 1, 2019

Edom, Edomites, Esther, faith, forgiveness, hope, John, love, Luke, Mark, Matthew

Esther 7 & 8: Deceit and Retribution

Esther 7 & 8: Deceit and Retribution

Monday, August 5, 2019

We have no way of knowing what plans are schemed against us. We have no method of seeing into the private places where the covetous lie on couches to weave their plots that entangle others. We can be certain, however, that when the faithful find themselves the victims of these plots – as the Jews do in the story of Esther – that God will redeem his people, will release them from oppression, and will decide how the connivers are to be judged.

In the story of Mordecai and Esther, Haman becomes jealous because Mordecai does not play the game of courtier as Haman would wish, yet has influence and prestige – which Haman covets. Rather than find union with Mordecai, Haman builds a gibbet on which to hang his perceived enemies . . . only to see his family executed . . . and himself led to the scaffold on which he had meant to exterminate the Jew he so hated.

For several weeks we have been reflecting on honesty versus deceit . . . and today we find another clear lesson of what is expected by God of his faithful. Earlier in Chapter 4 when Esther tells her uncle that she is afraid to go to the king to tell him of Haman’s plot, Mordecai reminds her that the faithful must do as God bids . . . for if they do not, God will find another willing to do the work. Then Mordecai reminds his niece of the fate she will suffer if she goes against God’s will (4:14).

So when we read these later chapters . . . and when we spend time praying, meditating and reflecting on God’s word to us . . . we know that we, too, hear the words of Mordecai, we also feel the tremors which Esther felt when she saw a task looming before her that was too great to bear. It will serve us well to read this story from beginning to end, including the later insertions, and to ponder God’s plan for us as we move through our days.

We need not worry about plots schemed against us; nor do we need to create a plan of reprisal. We only need to be constant to God each day, to maintain our covenant, to lay all problems at God’s feet for resolution. For this is the only way we will find peace amid the noise of the world. This is the only path to a serenity that lasts and sustains. This is the only true Way in which to live the gift of Life.

Written on June 15, 2008 and posted today as a Favorite.

Image from: http://thingselemental.com/2012/03/cultivating-beauty/

For another reflection on this story, go to the Esther – From Calamity to Rejoicing page on this blog at: https://thenoontimes.com/the-book-of-our-life/esther-from-calamity-to-rejoicing/

For more information on Queen Esther and her story, go to: http://thingselemental.com/2012/03/cultivating-beauty/

August 5, 2019

constancy, Esther, Esther 4, God’s plan, Haman, Mordecai, plots and schemes

Esther 5:9-14: Retribution

Esther 5:9-14: Retribution

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

I love this story for its crystalline message: The measure that we measure with is measured out to us. (Luke 6:38). We need to hear this story today because lately we have been reflecting on convolutions and betrayals big and small, on expiatory sacrifices, on our complaints, on making a proper response to the call we hear from God, and on forming the alliances we will need to see us through our journey in this life. All of these themes are present in the story of Esther . . . and they can weigh heavily on us in this season when we want to participate in Easter joy.

Often we are exhausted from the many lessons of discipleship which we must learn. Often we grow weary of hearing the message that only God can pass judgment and exact retribution. Often we spend ourselves down to the bottom of our resources keeping up with both listening for the call and by managing our human desire to ask for revenge. Often our personal well runs dry after we drink from it more times than we replenish it.

Today offers us an opportunity to fill the well, to re-stock the granary, to rest a bit and to recoup. There are many psalms and stories in scripture in which humans petition retribution and violent revenge on their enemies who appear to skate through life unscathed by the wreckage they leave in their wake. What today’s story tells us is this: These enemies drown in their own wake.

Yes, we reply, we hear this . . . but when will we see it . . . and why does it happen . . . and how do we survive?

We can never visit this story often enough. We help ourselves if we read it several times a year because it has so much to offer and speaks to the basic human desire to judge and to enact our own retribution. Various Bibles order the inserts differently and the introductory commentary and the accompanying footnotes will explain the reasons for the jumbled structure of this book which ought to be important to each of. It is through this story that we are reminded of how our enemies fall. It is through this story that we remember that we doom ourselves by not answering the call we hear. It is through this story that we can assure ourselves that our reward will be certain, definite . . . and will flow from our own hands. It is also from this story we learn that our own actions wash back on us if we enter into the world of envy, fear, obsession and hate.

200px-Rembrandt_-_Haman_Begging_the_Mercy_of_Esther[1] — *Rembrandt: Haman Begging the Mercy of Esther*

Today we read about how Haman is content and happy with the plot he is weaving. We see how he flatters himself and gets lost in his own distorted view of life. We cannot miss how Haman’s friends and wife misdirect him. These are such important lessons for us to read. We cannot hear them enough. These are lessons we must see and live because . . . in the living of these events, we become more like God. We respond to the call of our potential. We enter Christ’s Mystical Body. This is how we survive.

And so we pray: Help us to see, help us to live, O God.

When we are weary from learning the lessons of life: Help us to see, help us to live, O God.

When we tire from seeking and waiting and searching: Help us to see, help us to live, O God.

When we become lost in the webs we and others weave: Help us to see, help us to live, O God.

When we are exhausted from living on the edge: Help us to see, help us to live, O God.

Amen.

A re-post from May 21, 2012 .

Images from: http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/rembrandt/haman-begging-esther-for-mercy and http://christianrep.com/blog/2010/08/08/let-your-life-speak/

June 4, 2019

being measured, Easter joy, Esther, Haman, judging others, Luke 6:38, Mystical Body, revenge

Acts 13:44-52: Address to the Gentiles

Acts 13:44-52: Address to the Gentiles

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Yesterday we reflected on Paul’s Summary story of God’s constancy in his love for his people. God keeps his promises. God has good things in mind for his creation. God loves us more than we can imagine.

We first spent time with this portion of Acts on May 29, 2008 and we revisit that reflection today as a Favorite . . .

Because many of those Paul addressed in the synagogue refused to hear the story of Jesus, Paul took his message to the gentile nations. Many have ears but do not hear, eyes but do not see. I am thinking about how we humans form community . . . and how we also create obstacles to the formation of community. We conjure up sides, form alliances, close ranks and lock steps to keep out those who do not comply. We have the choice in this life to follow Mean Girl Queens and Playground Bullies which ultimately means that we must succumb to threats and insinuations. We also have the option to stand on Gospel Values . . . which means that we must work to become constant disciples of Jesus. And it also means that we must put down our old familiar weapons of separation to take up the arms of unity and peace.

The prophecy of Daniel and the story of Esther are worth remembering because they are where we learn that . . . the faithful need not fight, they only need to refuse to comply with anything which causes them to abandon their God. This is the same message that Jesus brings to us; this is how the kingdom becomes universal. This is how the Spirit abides and how the Gospel message spreads – through conflict resolved, through obstacles overcome, through pain endured, through reparations made and forgiveness granted. Where do we go for solace and comfort when we must squeeze ourselves through these Narrow Gate Experiences? How do we mature spiritually? How do we find and maintain the serenity we say we seek? Paul tells this in Pisidia who will hear him, and he tells us today . . .

When we suffer for Christ, we know that we have been chosen . . . we also know that we are loved.

When we live in the Spirit, we know that we live in God . . . and we also know that we live in love.

When we call on God, we know that we are heard . . . and we also know that we are rescued.

I am looking at the morning prayers and petitions from MAGNIFICAT.

The eyes of the Lord are upon those who love him; he is their mighty shield and strong support, a shelter from the heat, a shade from the noonday sun, a guard against stumbling, a help against falling. (Sirach 34:16)

You are a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in distress; shelter from the rain, shade from the heat. (Isaiah 25:4)

With confidence in the God who hears our prayers and protects us, let us pray: To our words give ear, O Lord.

You shield us from harm: teach us to protect goodness in ourselves and in others. To our words give ear, O Lord.

You guard us against stumbling and help us against falling: strengthen our reliance on you in every temptation. To our words give ear, O Lord.

You are the shelter of all those who are in need: make us a shelter to all who call upon our help. To our words give ear, O Lord.

O God of glory, you are our shelter against the burning heat of the day and the storms of life. Help us when we stumble, catch us when we fall, and guide our steps firmly in faith toward the promise of eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A re-post from January 8, 2012.

Images from: http://www.davincisartandcoffee.com/Metal/cross/Heart/default.asp and http://northwaystudents.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/wide-gate-vs-narrow-gate/

Cameron, Peter John. “Prayer for the Morning.” MAGNIFICAT. 29.5 (2008): 392-393. Print.

For a reflection on the Book of Daniel on this blog at: https://thenoontimes.com/the-book-of-our-life/daniel-god-calls-the-faithful-and-faithless/

For thoughts on Esther see: https://thenoontimes.com/the-book-of-our-life/esther-from-calamity-to-rejoicing/

January 8, 2019

Daniel, Esther, God’s promises, Jesus, Narrow Gate, Paul, Pisidia, the faithful

Tag: Esther

Esther 9: Reversal

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Obadiah 1:15-21: The Measure

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Esther 7 & 8: Deceit and Retribution

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Esther 5:9-14: Retribution

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Acts 13:44-52: Address to the Gentiles

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