Sermon Excerpt
I brought the message at my church on Sunday. This summer we're taking the opportunity to focus each week on a different Old Testament story. My story on Sunday was from the book of Esther. The whole sermon basically was a summary and retelling of the whole story. It's quite an interesting one. I won't quote part of that retelling as it would be out of context, but here is part of my introduction.

After a lifetime of education at school and lectures from family, TV, roommates and girlfriends about too much sugar, too much fats, and not enough fruits and vegetables, some of it is starting to hit me. Candy doesn’t sit in my stomach as nicely as it used to. I eat salads at buffets now. I usually only take one serving of dessert. The eating habits of my childhood and teenage years are giving way to the eating habits of adulthood.

In our lives, in our relationship with God, there are certain things, like prayer, acts of charity, and reading scripture that are nourishment for our souls, spiritual food. As a child we understand God in a certain way and as we age and mature, through prayer and study of the scriptures, we see God differently. God hasn’t changed, but we begin to see him in different ways. Candy-coated Bible stories that were once cute and cuddly still have meaning but they lose that cutesy charm that worked in Sunday School. Noah’s ark is a story about the drowning death of thousands even millions of people. David and Goliath ends with Goliath’s head being chopped off and paraded around the country. These gruesome details are ones that we keep from the children, but they are a part of the story that we as adults cannot ignore.

The story of Esther is no different. As a children’s story, it’s a tale of a virtuous young woman who honours the instruction of her elder cousin and faithfully saves the nation of Israel from extinction. An adult reading of the story paints it a little bit differently. The Bible is full of great stories like this, and we can keep reading them long after we’re not children anymore.

The story of Esther is quite redemptive, but there are a few problems with it, some that I mentioned during the sermon, and some that I didn't. I did mention how God isn't mentioned at all.
I did mention that the resolution to the royal edict declaring Jewish genocide is only resolved by making another edict whereby the Jews can fight back and kill their enemies. I also mentioned how Queen Vashti is quite justified in refusing to obey her husband's drunken demand that she dance naked at his little party.
I didn't mention that Esther becomes Queen by capitalizing on her sexual skills. I didn't mention the over-indulgence taken in the past in the name of the fest of Purim. I didn't mention the historical debate over whether it belongs in the canon or whether it even happened, or that no historical evidence of Vashti or Esther ever appear anywhere outside of the Bible.

I came to appreciate the story a lot more in my deep analysis of it in writing the sermon, as weird and improbable as it sounds. It's a great story of making the best out of lousy circumstances and it's way more interesting to read as an adult.

   [ posted by William @ 3:15 PM ]