For Such a Time As This - September 26, 2021
Deborah Laforet
Esther 4:1-14 Selected Verses
For Such a Time As This
Let us pray. May the words from my lips and the meditations of my heart be guided by the Spirit and be words of wisdom for this day. Amen.
Martin Niemöller was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. He was also a supporter of Adolf Hitler and was a self-identified Anti-Semite, which means he had a prejudice against jewish people. In 1938, he was imprisoned for speaking out against Nazi control over churches. From 1938 to 1945, he was in concentration camps and narrowly escaped execution. After his imprisonment, he expressed his deep regret about not having done enough to help victims of the Nazis, and in 1946, he wrote the following poem, which has become popular in recent years:
FIRST THEY CAME By Martin Niemöller
First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists And I did not speak out Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me.
When I think about Nazi Germany, I think of evil. I think of bad people who did bad things. That’s partly because I’ve been inundated with messages from childhood from the media, in television, books, movies, portraying Nazi Germany as the enemy, the baddest of the bad, but also because it’s just easier to paint everyone with the same brush, simpler to explain the death of six million Jewish people by saying Hitler was evil and that Nazis were bad people. Because the Nazis were eventually defeated, the winners have been able to write the story of heroism and triumph over this enemy that wanted to take over the world.
But it’s more complex than this, as most things are. Hitler and his Nazis were saving the people in Germany. After the first World War, their nation and their economy was in shambles. People were hungry, people were destitute. Germany was a country that needed help, and it was ready for a charismatic leader to be their saviour. When people are scared, they will sometimes pin their hopes on policies that promise security and safety, on a leader who is confident and strong and has the answers. When people are scared, some will take advantage, use that fear, use those insecurities, as an opportunity to gain power, gain trust and loyalty, and then use that to their own advantage. This is scary stuff, and it did not only happen in Geramany. It happens today.
If you don't know the story of Esther, I would encourage you to delve into that story. It’s a book in our bible, one of the only ones that does not mention God. It’s a great story of a king with ultimate power, with powerful manipulative advisors, and one person who saved her people by taking a risk and standing up to that power. The story begins with a king who wanted to show off his beautiful wife to his friends, and when she refused, he banished her. Then he sent a declaration throughout all the lands that ‘every man should be master in his own house.”
Then, all the young maidens were brought before the king to find a replacement for the banished queen. It does not say that they went willingly. Esther, a young woman, with no parents, who lived with her cousin, Mordecai, was taken to the palace. We are told she was fair and beautiful and the king chose her and advanced her to the best place in the harem. We are also told that Esther did not reveal her people or kindred. We are to assume that she would have been at risk if found out she was jewish.
Then we hear about Haman who was the king’s most trusted advisor and was very powerful. Haman became angry when Mordecai, Esther’s cousin, did not bow down to him. When Haman discovered Mordecai was Jewish, Haman vowed to destroy all Jewish people. He did know that his king’s favourite was Jewish.
After reading Esther’s story, we might hear Niemöller’s poem in a different way.
First they came for Queen Vashti And I did not speak out because I wasn’t royalty.
Then they came for the young maidens And I did not speak out Because I was not a young maiden.
Then they came for the Jews, and I spoke because I was a Jew and because I wanted to protect my family.
Mordecai and the Jewish people were fortunate. Esther, though fearful, spoke out. She went before the king without permission and held Haman accountable for trying to destroy her people. She needed some encouragement, and this is where we hear Mordecai’s words: “Do not think that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.” (14:13-14)
For such a time as this. What might these words mean for today? If we keep silent at such a time as this, what are we allowing to happen? This is not about waiting until the last minute to speak up and stand up against injustice; it’s about speaking up and standing up now, before others are harmed and before we have to fight for our own lives and those we love.
How long before indigenous people are offered true repentance and given autonomy as nations? How long before black people are treated fairly by the police and the justice system? How long before immigrants are given the same rights as citizens? How long before seniors in care and those with disabilities are treated with respect and dignity? How long before all life on this earth is treated with respect and care.
Friends, we speak out now, because every person who hurts, every person who is trampled upon, every person who is not treated with respect or dignity, is an extension of ourselves, which means we are also being hurt, trampled upon and are not being treated with respect or dignity. We are all connected in this beautiful world. We all come from the stars. Literally, we all are stardust. Our essence, the smallest particles of all life, are the same. Paul’s words about being one in Christ, and being one body, where one part is hurting, the whole is in pain, actually have some scientific basis. Our world can not be safe, cannot be at peace, cannot be whole, until all life is safe, at peace, and and whole.
I am concerned that there is so much conflict and division. For such a time as this, when our earth is burning, when people are at war with one another, when pandemics are killing our most vulnerable, we need to come together. We need to hold on to one another. We need each other. Period.
As a spiritual people, as a people of God, we know this. Religion has been used in many harmful ways, but at its best, we know we are one with this world, one with all life, which means we cannot help from offering of ourselves to heal this world, love this world, and help create God’s kingdom on earth. I’d like to offer another adaptation of Niemöller’s poem.
First they came for immigrants and I spoke out because we are all immigrants.
Then they came for the imprisoned and paroled,
and I spoke out because we are all imprisoned and paroled.
Then they came for protestors and activists,
and I spoke out because we are all protestors and activists.
Then they came for those living on the streets,
and I spoke out because we are all living on the streets.
Then they came for those who wear religious symbols,
and I spoke out because we all wear religious symbols.
Then they came for the young, the old, the disabled,
and I spoke out because we are all young, old, and disabled.
Then they came for me, and because I spoke out,
we all stood together, shoulder to shoulder, as one, supporting each other,
holding one another, offering healing and wisdom and love.
One body, one creation, one in the Cosmic Christ, one in Spirit.
Thanks be to God. Amen.