Sermon for CT Conference Annual Meeting
October 17, 1999
Texts: Esther; Matthew 22:15-22
by Kate Latimer, Conference Chaplain

God's Image: Open and Hidden

Kate Latimer The name "Esther" is a perfect title for this surprising book of the Bible ... this book that almost didn't make it into the canon because it never once mentions God's name. 'Esther' is a Persian name, meaning probably "Star" or "Ishtar", the goddess of love. Although her Persian name suggests that Esther has become a compliant member of the dominant culture, Jews appropriate it almost immediately: "Esther is really a Hebrew name in disguise -- meaning 'Hidden'..... remember God's warning to Israel in Deuteronomy 31:18, [when you turn to other gods] -- 'Ha-ster, estir -- I will surely hide my face'".

So, while to King Ahasuerus and his court Esther is a familiar and friendly name, the Jews hear in her name a disguised threat to their oppressors -- who worship many other gods -- from whom God's face is hidden. Esther is a perfect name because the whole book of Esther is about the obvious and the hidden: the noisy, dangerous, exaggerations of the Persian court, so easy to ridicule and satirize; and the hidden hero (Esther), whose quiet loyalty, patience, and self-sacrifice bring God's saving power right into the heart of the unsuspecting Persian court.

Esther's true Hebrew name, we learn early on in the story, is Haddasah, meaning "Myrtle". Now myrtle, says the prophet Isaiah, is one of the shrubs God plants in the wilderness to signal the time of resurrection and new life for Israel, even as they are in exile and despair (Isa. 41:19, 55:13). The only myrtle I know is not the evergreen shrub in the Bible, but the ground-hugging plant that keeps its shiny dark green leaves all year round. It is the first flower to bloom after the crocus, a shy blue star-shaped flower. The flowers bloom beneath the leaves, a little bit of sky shining in the shade. If you go for a walk in the woods anywhere in Connecticut even far from any road or town, keep your eye open for a patch of myrtle and you'll probably find nearby the vestiges of an old well or chimney. For myrtle always tells us that once there was a gardener here, even in what is now wilderness. Myrtle is one of the toughest plants in New England. This past summer's drought didn't bother it at all. It grows vigorously in deep shade when the woodland closes in and takes over the abandoned farmyard. All it needs is for someone to have planted it long ago, generations ago. It remains faithful to its origins and continues to beautify its place even when no one is there to notice. Whoever chose to call this plant 'Myrtle' must have loved and admired Esther -- Hadassah.

Esther (Star/Hidden) -- Hadassah (Myrtle/new life). God's face is hidden from the Persians and God's name is absent from this story. But Esther shows us God's image at the heart of this story, just as the myrtle shows its shy blue blossom in early spring. You have to look for it. It is worth the effort.

Esther's way of going about things is in sharp contrast to everyone else's in this story. Everything the Persian courtiers do is larger-than-life, exaggerated to the point of being clownish. Imagine a feast 180 days long! Imagine the drinking feast that followed, with its almost obscenely gem-encrusted cups and bowls overflowing with wines. Imagine a king whose insecurity in his own household prompts him to send an official proclamation to every household in the country ordering all women to show proper respect for their husbands! Imagine a resentment so intense that it drives Haman to construct a gallows 75 feet tall! Their names sound like jokes to the Jewish storyteller and listeners: Ahasuerus; Bigta; Bizta; Carcas; Memucan.

Meanwhile, Esther understands from the beginning the real danger to her people who are living as aliens and sojourners in Persia. She fears that one day this impulsive, tyrannical King and his gaggle of advisors, will turn on the Jews. So Esther quietly positions herself to become queen. To do this, she endures unimaginable shame and loss. Her own people, kept unaware of her plan, assume that she has sold out for her own comfort and safety, when she enters the King's harem and then becomes Ahasuerus' wife. There is no keeping kosher in this palace, no observing Torah except in her heart and prayers. But she knows it must be so, if she is to be in a position of influence with this king. Unassuming, undemanding, she seems to fit into the royal household with ease. She has given up her life as a Jew in order to preserve her people. Her grief, like her Hebrew name and identity, hidden and private. Esther lives in Ahasureus' court on the world's turf but most definitely not on its terms.

Her uncle, Mordechai, lives openly as a Jew, and is called 'The Jew" through most of this story. He is impatient with the suffering of his people and the threat Haman poses. The opposite of Esther, Mordechai is an 'in-your-face' presence. While she, patiently and completely hidden, waits for her moment in Ahasuerus' own household, Mordechai sits at the edge of power, at the gateway, and with great courage makes his Jewishness obvious for all, especially for Haman, to see. In front of many witnesses, he wears sackcloth and ashes and refuses to show respect for Haman by bowing as he passes. It takes no more than that public defiance to stir this hornet of a man into a fury of lethal proportions. Mordechai makes the conflict between the faith of his people and the power of the monarchy plain for all to see. He brings it to the point of crisis Esther has been waiting for and dreading for so long.

It takes both Esther and Mordechai to bring God's power and love to light in this story. Mordechai speaks loudly, in broad daylight to all who will listen. Esther speaks at night, in a dangerous hushed conversation with the king, her husband. The overt and the hidden -- Mordechai and Esther -- each one bringing to God's saving love to light for all to see, in a time of great testing and fear.

Every congregation needs its Mordechais and its Esthers, and all kinds in between. We need those who feel called go to mourn publicly in Groton each time a nuclear submarine is launched, or in Hartford or New Haven when a police officer shoots an unarmed young man, or to protest at the state capital when our state budget gives too much to business interests and too little to our schools. And we need those who labor quietly and bravely in quiet pastoral ways to bring peace between friends or family members or community groups. The quiet speaking of truth to power can be brave and life changing, too.

Boat of symbols It is always "Time" -- always time to witness and risk for love. And God needs all of us, all kinds of us, to meet the tests and injustices of our own day. Caesar's image on every coin is exactly the same -- no imagination or joy there! God's image in each of us is unimaginably and beautifully unique. It takes us all, bound together as a church and as a conference, to be Esther and Mordechai in our own time: each church with its own personality and way of going about witnessing to God's love. A very small congregation on Fishers Island decides it's time to come back to full life with a called pastor living and working with them to heal divisions and bring a new sense of community and purpose. ( another brief example or two here from the Altar) God needs and loves us all. It's time, NOW, and always for us to live our faith -- as Jesus did -- on the world's turf, but not on its terms.

The meal we will soon share at this table is in such sharp contrast to that 6 month extravaganza in the Persian court. Just simple bread, one small piece of the loaf for each. Just grape juice. All of us together, bringing our courage and our fears, our wisdom and our doubts, wanting to be like Jesus, wanting to be the image of God we were made to be in our own way and time. Needing this food and drink for the day ahead, for the challenge of living in this world, so lovely and so troubled. It's time, friends one and all. Let us rejoice in the many images of God at this table in this time.

AMEN