Year B Proper 21 Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 Mark 9:38-50

The king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther.

This morning, our first reading comes from the book of Esther, one of the shorter ones in our Old Testament, and today is the only Sunday in our three year cycle of Bible readings on which we hear something from this book. What has been chosen for us is the story of Purim. “What,” you may ask, “is Purim?” Some of us know, others may not, it is the happy Jewish holiday that falls in March every year, and in today’s reading we learn why it is a day of celebration.

The story reads like the plot of a thriller. Mordecai, a Jew at the court of King Ahasuerus, exposes a plot to kill the king, but is left unrewarded. The king must choose a new queen, and Mordecai arranges to have his young kinswoman, Esther, selected. She becomes the king’s favorite. Esther, who is a Jew, learns of a plot to destroy all the Jews in the empire. It is the work of Haman, the prime minister, who bears a genocidal grudge against Mordecai.

One night, the king, remembers that he has done nothing to honour Mordecai for saving his life. He asks Haman what should be done for the man the king wishes to honour. Haman, who is supremely self-centered, assumes that the king wishes to honour him. So, he proposes lavish compensation, but he is deeply humiliated when Mordecai receives the honours.

Meanwhile, Esther reveals to the king that Haman has already issued a decree in the king’s name for the slaughter of the Jews. Haman pleads for his life with Queen Esther, falling down on her couch. The enraged king assumes that Haman is attacking his queen. So, he orders Haman hanged on the outrageously huge scaffold that Haman had prepared for Mordecai.

Esther then obtains a royal decree, allowing the Jews to defend themselves. They do so, and Mordecai and Esther proclaim that day as a great festival for their people. And there you have it – the story that serves as the basis for the Jewish feast of Purim, where the defeat of Haman is often presented as a play amid a joyous carnival atmosphere.

Whether this story is historically accurate, we do not know, but there is much to be learned from it. Shocking as it may at first seem, Haman, portrayed as the ultimate villain, is not that unlike each of us. He is proud of his position in society, he wants to be recognized and respected by all, and especially by those he considers to be of a lower standing than himself. He is arrogant enough to think rewards and banquets should certainly be about him, that he deserves such recognition. When life doesn’t fit the rosy picture he paints of and for himself, he loses his temper.

With the possible exception of the great saints, we have all, at one time or another, become self-absorbed and self-centered. We have all craved recognition and respect, and when we have mistaken as meant for us the honours paid to others, we have felt humiliated. Humiliation can lead to several human responses. The desired one is humility, but the more common one is anger. Granted, we have not plotted genocide as retaliation, but we can certainly try for small acts of vengeance, and/or carry a grudge for a very long time.

In our first reading, Queen Esther, like her cousin Mordecai, is a righteous person. When she tells the king of Haman’s plot to kill all the Jews, herself included, she is humble enough to say, If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace. And - she is brave enough, to plead for her people and for herself.

King Ahasuerus is a quiet figure in the story. Some have said he appears passive or eve dimwitted, but perhaps he represents something deeper, something quiet that exists always – the One who holds the real power of life and death.

The King is moved by the Queen’s plea, and in the end Haman is “hoisted with his own petard” – or, more accurately, hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. It should be a warning to us all.

John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”

One or more of the disciples has encountered a rival exorcist, a person not of their group, or of their following, who is casting out demons in Jesus’ Name – and they are outraged. That word “rival” tell us a lot. How much of an ego investment have the disciples in being the “chosen ones” of the Lord? Do they think they have a copyright on the use of Jesus’ Name? In this day and age we all understand exclusive club membership and copyright infringement, and we hear about court battles being fought over both. Things have not changed much in two thousand years.

But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us.

This is most likely not what the disciples expected Jesus to say. They probably thought He would rebuke the man, the outsider. Instead, Jesus puts the disciples on the line, turning the spotlight on them and their misconceptions and prejudices. Jesus understands that after all their hard work and devotion to Him, it was far too easy for the disciples to see themselves as members of a select group with special rights and privileges – much a Haman saw himself as a “special” person, much as we often prefer to think of ourselves as special. And Jesus’ brings them, and us, back to reality.

Jesus then tells the disciples,, For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose their reward.”

Suddenly the disciples are not only not special, if they are wise they will be beholden to those who do them kindness. What a strange thought. How many people today, having performed an act of charity, like giving a dollar to a beggar, say “thank you” if and when that beggar says, “God bless you”? Do we see the great gift in those few words, in that blessing? Are we always alert for the small gestures from others that constitute great acts of love in the eyes of God, and that mean as much to God as our most generous offerings? We need to pay attention to these “little things” for they are not really “little” at all.

Jesus goes a step further, telling His disciples and us, “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.”

What a harsh image, and Jesus goes even further when He counsels the disciples and us to remove body parts if they offend, to prevent ourselves from falling into hell.

What does it all mean? Looking back a Haman we can see what happens when we let our pride, arrogance, and hate build a scaffold for those we perceive as being against us. In modern times we build scaffolds, not of wood, but in many and various ways, from gossiping behind our “enemy’s” back, to spreading false rumors about them, or being nasty to them in public. Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking we’re doing no harm, committing no sin, if we simply shun them, cut them off from whatever relationship we once had with them. But aggressive or passive, actions such as these build a scaffold on which, in the end, we will find that we, ourselves, will be hanged.

We need to take stock of ourselves and our actions and of the way we see others. Haman could not see beyond himself. The disciples were having the same problem on that day long ago when they encounter the rival exorcist using Jesus’ Name. We have what it takes within us to cleanse us from these faults, to open both our eyes and our hearts. The fiery Holy Spirit will do the job, but we must ask for it to be done and be open to the burning, Better to let the holy fire cleanse us, than to be thrown into hell, where the worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

For everyone will be salted with fire [called on to make sacrifices, to be cleansed]. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves [live your life showing forth to others the unconditional love of Jesus] and be at peace with one another.

Let us pray:

O God, You made us in Your own image and redeemed us through Jesus Your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish Your purposes on earth; that, in Your good time, all nations and races may serve You in harmony around Your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.