From There to Here
Between 450 and 500 years before Jesus lived a young Jewish girl. In a world controlled by men, her actions and words changed the course of a people - and the course of an empire. We will be talking together about the story of Esther on Sunday morning. The record of her story that we have in the Bible is fascinating because of the events that take place. But it is also fascinating because God, as a character in the story, is absent. This reminds us that our human stories - even the ones you and I are currently writing - are not insignificant as it relates to the bigger divine story of the world. God is working through our story even when we can't see him.
When one reads a Biblical story, written from within a very different culture and with very different ideas than what we have in the world, it prompts a lot of other questions in our mind. Too often we skip over those questions to "get to the point" of the text. But what if those questions are exactly what God wants to use to prompt us towards living better as Jesus people in this world? What if those questions and the wrestling and response that comes from asking them is the point?
On Sunday, we are going to talk about some of the questions that the story of Esther raises. In order to prepare, I would like to invite you to read the story of Esther. And when you read it, don't read it to "get the point." I would like to invite you to read it allowing yourself to ask questions about it. Questions like, "How is it right that Esther was chosen to be queen through a 'beauty pageant'?" Or, "This whole story seems to hinge in men putting women into lose-lose situations. Why is this something that God finds a way to condemn in this story?"
There are certainly many more that I can think of, but I would like you to read the story and ask your own questions. If you have some, please e-mail them to me at jon@covenantchurch.ca and we'll include as many as we can in our conversation on Sunday. We are going to learn together and from each other as we explore how the story of Esther challenges us to live better as Jesus followers today.