Reading 92 • December 15
Today's Scripture
Esther 9:20–28
Mordecai recorded these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, enjoining them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same month, year by year, as the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor. So the Jews adopted as a custom what they had begun to do, as Mordecai had written to them. Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur — that is “the lot” — to crush and destroy them; but when Esther came before the king, he gave orders in writing that the wicked plot that he had devised against the Jews should come upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. Therefore these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. Thus because of all that was written in this letter, and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them, the Jews established and accepted as a custom for themselves and their descendants and all who joined them, that without fail they would continue to observe these two days every year, as it was written and at the time appointed. These days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every family, province, and city; and these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants. (NRSV)
Reflection
“We are in an Esther moment,” the speaker named Doc declared to a group of Chicago faith leaders at a breakfast a few months ago. “Our world needs a dramatic turnaround; it needs Esthers.”
During that week, ICE agents had surged into Chicago neighborhoods with controversial “Operation Midway Blitz,” arresting and harassing undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens alike, and it was Day 8 of the government shutdown, with millions at risk of losing health insurance.
Doc explained: Queen Esther, wife of powerful Persian King Ahasuerus, had kept her Jewish lineage secret. When she learned of a plot by the high official Haman to massacre all the Jews in the empire, Esther found her courage. She confessed her Jewish roots to the king and persuaded him to allow the Jews to protect themselves and execute Haman and the other plotters. Once the Jews were saved, Queen Esther urged them to celebrate the victory.
This is the history behind the Jewish holiday known as Purim. God, though never explicitly named in the book, was always in the background, having enabled the Jewish people to gain “relief from their enemies and … turned … sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday.”
The Purim celebration involves feasting and sending gifts to others, especially the poor. Esther’s courage showed us how one individual, and God’s faithfulness, can provide deliverance.
May we each be an Esther today.
Prayer
Dear God, you are the force behind any turnaround, every miracle. Please help me summon my inner Esther to turn anxieties and fears into opportunities for action, leading to joy and celebration. Amen.
Written by Phil Calian, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church
Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church
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