Today's Meditation - Wednesday, September 23, 2020

 Today's Meditation

Read Esther 3:1-4:3

After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the officials who were with him. ²And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and did obeisance to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or do obeisance. ³Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” ⁴When they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would avail; for he had told them that he was a Jew. ⁵When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or do obeisance to him, Haman was infuriated. ⁶But he thought it beneath him to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, having been told who Mordecai’s people were, Haman plotted to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.

⁷In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur—which means “the lot” —before Haman for the day and for the month, and the lot fell on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. ⁸Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and separated among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not appropriate for the king to tolerate them. ⁹If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued for their destruction, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, so that they may put it into the king’s treasuries.” ¹⁰So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. ¹¹The king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, and the people as well, to do with them as it seems good to you.” ¹²Then the king’s secretaries were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king’s satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language; it was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s ring. ¹³Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces, giving orders to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. ¹⁴A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation, calling on all the peoples to be ready for that day. ¹⁵The couriers went quickly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.

4When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went through the city, wailing with a loud and bitter cry; ²he went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one might enter the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. ³In every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and most of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.

    After Bigthan and Teresh are hanged on the gallows for their assassination plot, King Ahasuerus promotes Haman, who becomes the most powerful guard and defender of the king.  At the king's command, all the other servants were ordered to bow down and pay homage to Haman.  Mordecai, however, refuses to do this.  Haman is so infuriated that Mordecai refuses to pay him homage and obeisance, he plots to destroy all the Jews in the whole kingdom.

    Haman goes to the king and rather than tell the king that Mordecai refuses to bow down to him, therefore making it a personal issue between the two of them, he tells the king that there are a small group of people separated and scattered throughout his kingdom that refuse to obey the king's laws.  He tells the king that it isn't appropriate for him to tolerate such behavior and that they should be destroyed.  The king trusts Haman and basically tells him that he can do anything he wants with "those people".

    Haman then sets the plan in motion to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews - young and old, women and children - and to plunder their goods on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of Adar.

    This story evokes so many other stories in the long history of the Jews.  From times before Esther and the multiple exiles from Jerusalem to more recent times with Hitler in Germany and the Jews.  And yet, this behavior continues to be tolerated the world over with many different groups of people.  One group of people hates another group of people for their differences.  All it takes is for one person to gain power; and a call for destruction or annihilation is just a pen-stroke or nod of agreement away.  We know this intimately here in the US with our own history of hatred towards people who are different by the color of their skin or the shape of their eyes or the beliefs and customs that they hold.

    We, as fellow human beings must do better.  We are called by God to do better, to treat one another with equality and justice.  Esther's story continues to be our story if we allow such behavior to continue throughout the world.

    How can we be more equitable to others?  What can we do to combat hatred and intolerance of others?

You've Got to be Taught - scene from the musical South Pacific