December 7, 2014: Esther

Esther 4:1-17

When Mordecai learned what had been done, he tore his clothes, dressed in mourning clothes, and put ashes on his head. Then he went out into the heart of the city and cried out loudly and bitterly. ² He went only as far as the King’s Gate because it was against the law for anyone to pass through it wearing mourning clothes. ³ At the same time, in every province and place where the king’s order and his new law arrived, a very great sadness came over the Jews. They gave up eating and spent whole days weeping and crying out loudly in pain. Many Jews lay on the ground in mourning clothes and ashes. ⁴ When Esther’s female servants and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, the queen’s whole body showed how upset she was. She sent everyday clothes for Mordecai to wear instead of mourning clothes, but he rejected them.

⁵ Esther then sent for Hathach, one of the royal eunuchs whose job it was to wait on her. She ordered him to go to Mordecai and find out what was going on and why he was acting this way. ⁶ Hathach went out to Mordecai, to the city square in front of the King’s Gate. ⁷ Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him. He spelled out the exact amount of silver that Haman promised to pay into the royal treasury. It was in exchange for the destruction of the Jews. ⁸ He also gave Hathach a copy of the law made public in Susa concerning the Jews’ destruction so that Hathach could show it to Esther and report it to her. Through him Mordecai ordered her to go to the king to seek his kindness and his help for her people. ⁹ Hathach came back and told Esther what Mordecai had said.

¹⁰ In reply Esther ordered Hathach to tell Mordecai: ¹¹ “All the king’s officials and the people in his provinces know that there’s a single law in a case like this. Any man or woman who comes to the king in the inner courtyard without being called is to be put to death. Only the person to whom the king holds out the gold scepter may live. In my case, I haven’t been called to come to the king for the past thirty days.”

¹² When they told Mordecai Esther’s words, ¹³ he had them respond to Esther: “Don’t think for one minute that, unlike all the other Jews, you’ll come out of this alive simply because you are in the palace. ¹⁴ In fact, if you don’t speak up at this very important time, relief and rescue will appear for the Jews from another place, but you and your family will die. But who knows? Maybe it was for a moment like this that you came to be part of the royal family.”

¹⁵ Esther sent back this word to Mordecai: ¹⁶ “Go, gather all the Jews who are in Susa and tell them to give up eating to help me be brave. They aren’t to eat or drink anything for three whole days, and I myself will do the same, along with my female servants. Then, even though it’s against the law, I will go to the king; and if I am to die, then die I will.” ¹⁷ So Mordecai left where he was and did exactly what Esther had ordered him.

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I will always think of this book of the Bible rather fondly because of my Great-Grandmother, Esther Steinkamp. Like the queen of this story, Esther was a wonderful woman.  Like the Biblical Esther, my Great-Grandmother was a person who had a place in two different cultures: Esther Steinkamp was born and raised in Indiana but learned her Small Catechism and hymns in German and spoke that language at home.  Esther Steinkamp raised a family during the Great Depression (which was certainly not easy) and was a faithful Christians her entire life.  Both had to be brave and plucky in some tough situations and both have left a legacy of faith.  So, when I think of brave women these two come to mind.

But perhaps some of what I said above doesn’t make much sense if you are unfamiliar with the book of Esther.  A little background will help.  The people of Israel had lived in the Promised Land, first under the Judges and then under the Kings. Even though the United Kingdom, eventually broke into two different entities, they lasted for hundreds of years.  Eventually, however, both the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah were destroyed and many of their people were taken into exile. The exiles from Israel (the “Lost Ten Tribes”) have disappeared from history, but the exiles from Judah continued to keep their religion and cultural identity. In addition to those forced from their homes, many people moved to other countries to pursue a better life for themselves. 

Life “in exile” was often a mixed bag.  Quite often exiles were able to carve out a good life in their new homes: some became successful merchants or government officials.  For others, things were much more difficult, but no matter what your economic situation, the cultural environment was very different. Languages, customs, food, and religion were different in their new lands.  Their new leaders often tolerated their worship of Yahweh (the Israelite God), but there were times when it was less than advantageous to be known as a “Jew” (a name that comes from the land of Judah).  The Exiles were always susceptible to attack, slander, or prejudice.

Stories about Jews like Esther, Daniel (of Lions’ Den fame), and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (of fiery furnace fame) all depict the challenges that the Jewish individuals in particular and the Jewish people as a whole had to face in a foreign land.  When our lesson for today begins, a powerful official in the Persian Empire has just orchestrated an attack on the Jewish people, so that they would be annihilated and all of their property plundered.  This is why Mordecai is so distressed.

Mordecai’s cousin and adopted daughter Esther had recently won an empire-wide contest and had become a wife of the King of Persia.  The Bible says that she did not reveal that she was a Jew and was thus living “under the radar” in the King’s harem. Had her true identity been known, Esther could very possibly be in danger.

Esther and Mordecai had remained close and now he charges Esther to appeal to the king to save the Jewish people.  This is a very dangerous thing to do, of course, as the story tells us. Mordecai’s words to Esther must have rung in her ears, just as they ring in ours today. “Don’t think for one minute that, unlike all the other Jews, you’ll come out of this alive simply because you are in the palace…” Laying low and protecting herself will not ultimately save her: eventually she will be found out.

But his next line has great significance as well: “But who knows? Maybe it was for a moment like this that you came to be part of the royal family.”

Here again we have the theme that can found throughout Scripture: being blessed in order to be a blessing to others. Like Abraham and Solomon before her, Esther’s advantages have put her in a place to make a tremendous difference.  May we all consider that “It was for a moment like this that  fill in the blank in my life.”  What gifts, abilities, or situations of influence has God placed us in so that we can make a difference for the good? Are we able to recognize it?

In a world that has seen all-too-much violence against the Jewish people, this story comes to life right from the page. Esther decides to act bravely, just as Mordecai asks, and prepares to go to the king.  The safety of the Jewish people depends on her poise.  What happens next? You’ll have to open up your Bibles and start reading at Chapter 5 to find out.

November 30, 2014: Faith as a Way of Life

Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:2-4; 3:17-19

1:1-4:

Lord, how long will I call for help and you not listen?
        I cry out to you, “Violence!”
            but you don’t deliver us.
³ Why do you show me injustice and look at anguish
        so that devastation and violence are before me?
There is strife, and conflict abounds.
⁴         The Instruction is ineffective.
            Justice does not endure
            because the wicked surround the righteous.
        Justice becomes warped.

2:2-4:

² Then the Lord answered me and said,

Write a vision, and make it plain upon a tablet
    so that a runner can read it.^[a]
3         There is still a vision for the appointed time;
            it testifies to the end;
                it does not deceive.^[b]
    If it delays, wait for it;
        for it is surely coming; it will not be late.
⁴ Some people’s desires are truly audacious;
            they don’t do the right thing.
        But the righteous person will live by faith.

3:17-19:

¹⁷ Though the fig tree doesn’t bloom,
            and there’s no produce on the vine;
        though the olive crop withers,
            and the fields don’t provide food;
        though the sheep is cut off from the pen,
            and there is no cattle in the stalls;
¹⁸ I will rejoice in the Lord.
        I will rejoice in the God of my deliverance.
¹⁹ The Lord God is my strength.
        He will set my feet like the deer.
        He will let me walk upon the heights.^[a]

To the director, with stringed instruments

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I’ve already quoted Bob Dylan in these devotions and it’s now time to use the words of another great musician, Bruce Springsteen.  In one of his great songs, Reason to Believe, Springsteen says “Now Mary Lou loved Johnny with a love mean and true. She said baby I'll work for you every day and bring my money home to you. One day he up and left her and ever since that she waits down at the end of that dirt road for young Johnny to come back. Struck me kinda funny…funny yea indeed…how at the end of every hard earned day you can find some reason to believe.”

The other verses in this song tell of similar situations: a man who has run over a dog on the highway, gets out and hopes that it will get back up again.  A congregation who has baptized a little baby, and also buries an old man who has died. They wonder what it all means.  Finally there is a groom left at the altar when his bride doesn’t show up at the wedding.  All of these are times when a person’s faith and trust can be tested.  But throughout the ages, “…at the end of every hard earned day you can find some reason to believe.”

Apparently there's some debate among Springsteen's fans about whether this song has a pessimistic or optimistic tone. In fact, I read an excellent blog about this.  You can read it here.

The pessimists will say that the song looks at people like Mary Lou with derision or contempt. The optimists will point out that there is a certain nobility in the struggle each of the characters and hope in the middle of hard times.  I tend toward the optimist's camp (a fact that might surprise many who know me...)

The Book of Habakkuk is all about that “reason to believe.”  It was written during a time when huge empires pushed everyone else around.  They were big bullies who were nasty, mean, cruel and oppressive…but they always seemed to win.  It was also a time when it seemed dishonest people, underhanded, vicious and violent people were successful. At the same time, when people who did the right thing were suffering.  Sound familiar?

Spouses, parents, teachers, leaders abandoning or hurting the people they are meant to care for. Sound familiar? If not, just watch the news or read some police reports.

Habakkuk looks at all of this and says, “WHAT’S UP WITH THAT, GOD?  HOW CAN YOU LET THIS HAPPEN? I THOUGHT YOU WERE A GOOD GOD WHO FIXES THINGS? WHEN IS THAT GOING TO HAPPEN?”

These are all excellent questions.  And guess what? God answers. God says, (and I’m paraphrasing here) “Listen, it won’t always be this way.  There are people who are really doing the wrong thing.  It won’t last.  In the meantime, the righteous will live by faith.”  To be righteous means to be “right-related” or “set-up-correctly.” Think of a car engine that is humming and purring and will take you from zero to sixty in no time. That’s a righteous engine.  To live by faith means that you are basing your life on your trust in God.

Because of this answer, Habakkuk is able to do a “180 degree” change.  He is able to find faith, trust, or a “reason to believe.”  He says that his life circumstances won’t rule who he is. He will be free from what happens to him.  What can this look like for us?

The Toledo Mudhens (our local Minor League baseball team) will often hold a special event after their games: “Prayer at the Plate.”  Christian baseball players will give a talk about how their faith in Jesus Christ enhances and guides their lives and careers as baseball players.  On one such occasion, a player share how verses 17-19 have comforted and guided him.  At one time in his career he was in the middle of a major slump.  These are certainly not good for any player, and there was always the chance that he could be taken out of the line-up or even cut from the team. That is certainly the equivalent of a non-blooming fig tree or cattle-less stalls.

But he said these verses reminded him of his faith in God. They helped him to have trust, even when all the evidence pointed in the opposite direction.  In essence: they made a tremendous impact in his life. In essence, they gave him a reason to believe.

I can say that these words have done the same for me. Our first daughter was diagnosed with a severe heart-defect while she was still in the womb. We weren’t sure if she would survive. After she was born she faced three open heart surgeries: two weeks, six months, and three years after her birth.  Throughout that entire process, as I sat in hospital waiting rooms or at her bedside, these words from Habakkuk helped me. Being reminded that “the righteous will live by faith” and that circumstances did not have to govern my ultimate reality made all the difference. 

To paraphrase Springsteen, “at the end of every hard earned day, I found some reason to believe.”

May you do the same and may it come from the Lord.

November 23, 2014: Jeremiah's Temple Sermon

Jeremiah 1:4-10; 7:1-11

1:4-10:

⁴ The Lord’s word came to me:

⁵ “Before I created you in the womb I knew you;
    before you were born I set you apart;
    I made you a prophet to the nations.”
⁶ “Ah, Lord God,” I said, “I don’t know how to speak
    because I’m only a child.”
⁷ The Lord responded,
    “Don’t say, ‘I’m only a child.’
        Where I send you, you must go;
        what I tell you, you must say.
⁸ Don’t be afraid of them,
    because I’m with you to rescue you,”
        declares the Lord.
⁹ Then the Lord stretched out his hand,
    touched my mouth, and said to me,
    “I’m putting my words in your mouth.
¹⁰ This very day I appoint you over nations and empires,
    to dig up and pull down,
    to destroy and demolish,
    to build and plant.”

7:1-11:

Jeremiah received the Lord’s word: ² Stand near the gate of the Lord’s temple and proclaim there this message: Listen to the Lord’s word, all you of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Lord. ³ This is what the Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, says: Improve your conduct and your actions, and I will dwell with you^[a] in this place. ⁴ Don’t trust in lies: “This is the Lord’s temple! The Lord’s temple! The Lord’s temple!” ⁵ No, if you truly reform your ways and your actions; if you treat each other justly; ⁶ if you stop taking advantage of the immigrant, orphan, or widow; if you don’t shed the blood of the innocent in this place, or go after other gods to your own ruin, ⁷ only then will I dwell with you^[b] in this place, in the land that I gave long ago to your ancestors for all time.

⁸ And yet you trust in lies that will only hurt you. ⁹ Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, sacrifice to Baal and go after other gods that you don’t know, ¹⁰ and then come and stand before me in this temple that bears my name, and say, “We are safe,” only to keep on doing all these detestable things? ¹¹ Do you regard this temple, which bears my name, as a hiding place for criminals? I can see what’s going on here, declares the Lord.

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We often use words like ‘prophet’ and ‘prophetic’ and only think about predicting the future.  ‘Wow, those words ended up being prophetic…did you see what ended up happening?’ or ‘That sounds like a crazy prediction, let’s see if it ends up being prophetic.’  Speaking of prophets might conjure up images of strange seers examining chicken livers in order to find out whether a business deal should occur or if a journey should be taken.  That’s not what we’re looking at today.

The Hebrew prophets of the Old Testament certainly spoke of what was coming, but if we think they were only concerned with predictions and the future we’d miss the most important aspect of who the prophets were.  Verse 9 and 10 in our passage today gives us insight as to who the prophets really were (and are).  Jeremiah reports, “Then the Lord stretched out his hand, touched my mouth, and said to me, “I’m putting my words in your mouth.  This very day I appoint you over nations and empires, to dig up and pull down, to destroy and demolish, to build and plant.”

Prophets speak for God and they have just as much to say about the present as they do about the future. The overwhelming message of the prophets for hundreds of years was two-fold.  Jesus himself summed it up very well when he listed the two most important commandments:

#1: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul and all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

#2: Love your neighbor as yourself. (Leviticus 19:18)

Again and again the prophets spoke against the sort of thing Jeremiah is talking about today: the oppression of the poor, the immigrant, the orphan and the widow.  Again and again the prophets spoke against the sort of thing Jeremiah mentions: sacrifice to Baal and other gods.  For the prophets, it was really impossible to separate loving God and loving your neighbor: the two simply went hand in hand.

Jeremiah lived in the land of Judah as it was being threatened, once again, by a large empire that threatened to gobble it up, this time the Babylonians. (If you start to get confused by the various empires that rose and fell in ancient times you’re not alone.)  It can be hard to keep track of the Egyptians, Hittites, Mycenaean, Babylonians, Assyrians, Medes, and Persians. Let’s just say that empires were always rises, throwing their weight around and then falling.  Sometimes it took hundreds of years, but sooner or later they all fell apart.

In the meantime, little nations like Judah had to watch their step. Jeremiah’s prophetic careers spanned many years, but it all came to a head during the years of King Zedekiah: Judah’s last king.  Zedekiah wanted to rebel against his Babylonian overlords, but Jeremiah prophesied that Jerusalem would be handed over to the empire.  He spoke of how the rich oppressed the poor and how God was not honored or worshiped.  In 586 BCE, his words did indeed come to pass and Judah was no more.

As you can imagine, life for the prophets was seldom easy and they were rarely popular.  If you wonder why this is the case, read Jeremiah’s words from 7:1-11 and pretend he’s saying them to you. Would that make you feel all warm and cuddly inside? I’m guessing not.  Some prophets were killed, others were banished, and many more were simply ignored. Jeremiah himself will soon be attacked by his own brothers, beaten by priests, and thrown into a cistern.  People were often unhappy with the message of Jeremiah and it certainly showed!

And yet, the prophetic message didn’t end. Individual prophets were killed, but the message grew and strengthened.  Eventually their words became part of the Holy Bible and we read them today.  Present-day prophets are around us: taking up that important dual-message: LOVE GOD, LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR! Sadly, they meet with the same reception of Jeremiah, but the message still won’t die: nor will it ever.