Doing What You’re Asked

•September 24, 2012 • Leave a Comment

The story of Esther can be a controversial one.  There are those who see Esther as selling out as a woman, using her feminine wiles to get what she wanted, letting herself be used and manipulated by the men around her.  I wrote more about this in a digidisciple post over on BigBible.

But whatever you think of the character of Esther, it cannot be denied that she achieved what was required – safety and freedom for her people.

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10

Haman Is Punished

7 The king and Haman were dining with Esther 2 and drinking wine during the second dinner, when the king again said, “Esther, what can I do for you? Just ask, and I will give you as much as half of my kingdom!”

3 Esther answered, “Your Majesty, if you really care for me and are willing to help, you can save me and my people. That’s what I really want, 4 because a reward has been promised to anyone who kills my people. Your Majesty, if we were merely going to be sold as slaves, I would not have bothered you.”

5 “Who would dare to do such a thing?” the king asked.

6 Esther replied, “That evil Haman is the one out to get us!”

Haman was terrified, as he looked at the king and the queen.

7 The king was so angry that he got up, left his wine, and went out into the palace garden.

Haman realized that the king had already decided what to do with him, and he stayed and begged Esther to save his life.

8 Just as the king came back into the room, Haman got down on his knees beside Esther, who was lying on the couch. The king shouted, “Now you’re even trying to rape my queen here in my own palace!”

As soon as the king said this, his servants covered Haman’s head. 9 Then Harbona, one of the king’s personal servants, said, “Your Majesty, Haman built a tower seventy-five feet high beside his house, so he could hang Mordecai on it. And Mordecai is the very one who spoke up and saved your life.”

“Hang Haman from his own tower!” the king commanded. 10 Right away, Haman was hanged on the tower he had built to hang Mordecai, and the king calmed down.

Esther 9:20-22

The Festival of Purim

20 Mordecai wrote down everything that had happened. Then he sent letters to the Jews everywhere in the provinces 21 and told them:

Each year you must celebrate on both the fourteenth and the fifteenth of Adar, 22 the days when we Jews defeated our enemies. Remember this month as a time when our sorrow was turned to joy, and celebration took the place of crying. Celebrate by having parties and by giving to the poor and by sharing gifts of food with each other.

The king, along with many others it seems in the bible, is very free with his promises and giving away his wealth.  But it is not riches or safety that Esther is looking for, but safety and freedom.  She is offered personal enrichment, but is not interested.  She wants the best for her entire community.

Mordecai was the one who had found out the information about what Haman was planning, but it was Esther, because of her place and the respect she had earned, that was able to let the King deal with it, and so save the whole Jewish people.

Sometimes God asks us to do the strangest things.  Things that we cannot see how we could possibly be any use for him.  But use us he does, if we are willing.

How does Esther and what she was able to do challenge us?

Do we want to work along with God?  Do we rail against it?  Do we think we know best?  Are we listening and waiting for God?  Are we worried about our sensibilities?  Or ready to do what is needed to serve our community?

Lord,

sometimes I think that I know best,

I object to what you ask me to do,

because it doesn’t sit well with me.

Forgive me those times I fail you

because my opinions get in the way.

Help me to hear your call,

to trust you,

and obey you

– that you may work in and through me

Posted in bible, God, Lectionary, Religion
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Stop Behaving Like Children… And Start Behaving Like Children

•September 19, 2012 • Leave a Comment

Sometimes Jesus must have felt like he was looking after a bunch of children!  He’s trying to teach them the things they need to know – and they’re bickering about who’s more important that whom…

Mark 9:30-37

Jesus Again Speaks about His Death

30 Jesus left with his disciples and started through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know about it, 31 because he was teaching the disciples that the Son of Man would be handed over to people who would kill him. But three days later he would rise to life. 32 The disciples did not understand what Jesus meant, and they were afraid to ask.

Who Is the Greatest?

33 Jesus and his disciples went to his home in Capernaum. After they were inside the house, Jesus asked them, “What were you arguing about along the way?” 34 They had been arguing about which one of them was the greatest, and so they did not answer.

35 After Jesus sat down and told the twelve disciples to gather around him, he said, “If you want the place of honour, you must become a slave and serve others!”

36 Then Jesus had a child stand near him. He put his arm around the child and said, 37 “When you welcome even a child because of me, you welcome me. And when you welcome me, you welcome the one who sent me.”

The very fact that being important and honoured is still an issue shows how little they have grasped of what Jesus had to say.  Life is not about receiving the honour we think we deserve, it is about looking only to do what’s best for others, and finding our reward in that.  In point of fact, no one is the greatest.  We are all worthy of love, respect and honour.  We bring that about by seeking to bring it to others, not trying to gain it for ourselves.  In the grand scheme of ‘what goes around comes around’, if everyone looks to bring those qualities to the lives of others, it will come back to us anyway – not because we deserve it more, but because we deserve it the same.

The great thing about children is that they take things as they are.  They just get on with chatting and playing with other children.  They don’t want to know their postcode, parent’s wage bracket, where they do their shopping, or make of car they drive.  They just accept and meet on a level playing field (sorry for the pun!)

And so that is what Jesus invites us to do.  To stop worrying about our place in the pecking order, and start worrying about how we love others in his name.

Lord,

I pray that I may stop being childish

– wanting the best place,

 and things my way.

I pray that I may become more childlike

– accepting people for who they are,

not what they’ve got,

or have to offer me.

May I seek

not to serve myself,

but to serve others

and in and through them

you

Posted in bible, Jesus, Lectionary, life, Religion
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Living Wisely

•September 18, 2012 • Leave a Comment

So wisdom seems to be a bit of an ongoing theme (which shows the lectionary is not just thrown together, but building blocks).

The description of this picture is, Wisdom, mural by Robert Lewis Reid. “KNOWLEDGE COMES BUT WISDOM LINGERS”.

Whilst, wisdom is defined as,

a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgements and actions in keeping with this understanding.

Wisdom is a true understanding, something like I suppose common sense, but with added layers.  It is a depth of knowing what is sensible and right, and acting on it.

James 3:13-4:3,7-8a

Two kinds of wisdom

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbour bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

Submit yourselves to God

4 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

[4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

‘God opposes the proud
but shows favour to the humble.’]

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Wisdom is not just something you have.  For wisdom to be purposeful, you have to do something with it – wisdom is seen.  Wisdom should lead to a life of not just knowing the right thing – but doing it.  So it should be seen in good deeds and humble actions.  True wisdom is not boastful, but pure,

peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. (3:17)

James then goes on to another way of living wisely.  Of knowing your limits and sticking to them.  How much struggle in the world comes from people wanting what they have not got?  More power, prestige, “things”, status?  We don’t take the time to ask God what we really need, but get caught up in jealousies and power games.  And that is when things get torn apart.

So how to live wisely, to focus on what we really need, to rest in God and his ways?

Let’s draw close to him, hear his voice, and live by that.

Lord,

I want to live in true wisdom,

I want to live for you,

and through you.

May I draw close to you,

draw my strength from you,

and make decisions

from that place

Posted in bible, God, Lectionary, Religion
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