Esther
There are books in the Bible that make fabulous short story reading great fun. Esther is one of those books. The setting of the story is in the fifth century B.C. The Jewish people are in captivity. Esther was a young orphaned Jewish girl. It was her uncle who raised her. When the queen insulted King Ahasuerus, the king demoted her and put out a search for a new queen. Esther’s uncle brought Esther to the king and like any true fairy tale, he was smitten by her beauty. She was made queen.
The villain is Haman. He was antagonistic towards the Jewish and tricked the King into proclaiming that all Jews would be killed on a particular day. In the first reading today, Esther takes her case to God. Neither the King nor Haman know Esther is Jewish. It seems apparent that Esther only walk into the King and ask him to change his mind. But at that time the law was you could only talk to the King if he summoned you into his presence. With one exception. If you appeared before the King and He extended the royal scepter to you, you could approach the King. If he did not, then you were dead. I imagine Esther witnessed this scene played out many times.
Esther turned to God. It says she and her attendants laid on the ground and prayed fervently to God for deliverance. For Esther, she must have thought she would die either way. I see in her prayer words we probably use in our prayers. Lord, I have nowhere else to turn. I so desperately need your help, your guidance in my life. People are trying to harm me, or they’re gossiping, or destroying me. Save me Lord. Teach what to do. Give me the words I am to use.
Although we may not be in the same dire situation as Esther, we can turn to God. Esther teaches us how to be fervent in prayer, hungry for God. God does answer our prayers. Oh, by the way, I will let you read the rest of the story on your own.
May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen