By: The Rev. Dr. Mark McDermott
The book of Esther is perhaps the least appreciated of all the books in the Bible. It is the story of an attempt by one pagan called Haman to wipe out all the Jews in the Babylonian Empire, and it came within an ace of succeeding. Esther, the Jew, comes forward by an incredible act of bravery (read the earlier chapters) to thwart the plot for the genocide.
As has been noted, the culture of death is widespread in the modern world. Within a century we have seen the massacre of Jews, white Russians, Ukrainians, Chinese, Africans, and the list goes on. We see on TV the beheadings of our fellow Christians in the Middle East, and there are still cries for the Jews to be driven from the face of the earth.
As noted, in the book of Esther it is Haman who is responsible for the bloody plot against the Jews. It would be comforting if Haman were a bloodied warrior, a violent barbarian, or a crazed mass murderer. But in fact Haman is a member of the royal court, an imperial advisor, a wealthy and cultured man, who enjoys the Good Things of life. As the master bureaucrat, Sir Humphrey Appleby of TV’s Yes, Minister, might comfortably say, “Minister, he is one of us!” And Haman set in motion the dastardly deed by a decree, a simple stroke of the pen. Others would do the actual dirty work, he just signed an order on a piece of paper, and then went home to a nice dinner with his friends.
Is it not true that many of the killings in the Western world today are brought about by a mere stroke of a pen by those in positions of power? A bureaucrat in a government office, a corporation, private charity, even in a position in a Church, signs a new policy, a
quiet procedure, or some matter considered of no importance, certainly not of public disclosure, and the culture of death has expanded. And we, who are quite comfortable with the Hamans of this world, do not notice or we stay quiet and quickly pass such
orders down the line. We do not want to Rock the Boat. After all, they are one of us, we will see them at the ballet tonight.
Let us be like Esther, who came forward with fear and trembling but stopped Haman’s plans and exposed the whole sordid business. It took courage, but she was born for such a time as this. And unlike the ending of the book we do not rejoice at Haman’s death and those of his ilk, we pray for them and seek their conversion and commend them to God’s mercy.