Embedded Files
Nehemiah 6:1-19 The Samaritans and other enemies of the Jews continued to agitate against Nehemiah and the building project, fearing the return of Judea as a regional power. Nehemiah persisted, and the workers completed the wall, acknowledging God’s assistance as the reason for their success. This continued enmity between Judah and Samaria would later be evident in the hostility these two groups had for one another in the time of Christ.
Ch 7:1-72 After establishing a plan for guarding the city and attending its entrance gates, Nehemiah examined the records of the 50,000 or so exiles (cf. Ezr 2:1-67). Nehemiah took a strict line on who might be considered members of the people of Israel, as he was very concerned about establishing and maintaining the purity of the Jewish race. It did not take much for the Jewish people to fall into pagan religious practices on account of intermarriage with foreigners.
Esther 1:1-22 Ahasuerus, a very autocratic ruler, governed an extensive, powerful, and wealthy empire. When his attractive wife, Vashti, refused his request to show off her beauty at his lavish banquet, he was enraged. His advisor suggested he essentially remove Vashti as queen and seek out another woman who was more worthy.
Ch 2:1-23 Esther was among the virgin women brought by Ahasuerus’s men to become part of the king’s harem. He became infatuated with her and decided to make her his queen. Esther kept her Jewish identity secret, as Mordecai had advised; meanwhile, he uncovered another plot on the king’s life.
Proverbs 21:1 God is All-powerful and Almighty; he can move the human heart to conversion and influence the course of events according to his will. Though God leaves each person completely free, he can affect a change of heart. In reference to the “king’s heart,” the Church teaches that all civil leaders receive their authority from God, but they exercise that authority legitimately only when they rule in harmony with moral law and act for the common good. (CCC 269, 1472, 1898-1904)
(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)
GOLLY!!
We are deep into the story of Esther
But first let’s look at Proverbs 21:2, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.”
GOSH!!
SO INCREDIBLE!!
This reminds us of The Book of Judges where it said, “Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” (Do you remember reading this? If not, go back and read Day 95: The Sin of Benjamin in The Bible in a Year Study Guide 😁)
There was no king so everyone did what was right in their own eyes
That sense of RELATIVISM
If it works, let’s try it and if it doesn’t work let’s just try again
AND YET…
The Lord weighs the heart
This gift of TRUTH
This gift of REAL GOODNESS
This gift of REAL JUSTICE
Is present to us in GOD’S WORD
We are so grateful that the Lord has given us his Word
So that we can know the next step
Speaking of next steps…
In The Book of Nehemiah we had a number of things happening
We almost got introduced to Ezra Opens the Book of the Law, which we will read tomorrow
BUT…
While we did have Ch 7 and the lists of returned exiles, which is a gift to have these names because we know this is a TRUE STORY
These people are REAL PEOPLE
They lived this REAL JOURNEY
Every one of those names and numbers associated with those names are an individual that is either living forever with God or living forever without God
Every person is a part of this story
Just like you and I are part of this story
In Nehemiah Ch 6 we have these PLOTS AGAINST NEHEMIAH
Remember Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab kept trying to get Nehemiah killed
Here is Nehemiah’s GREAT ANSWER...Nehemiah 6:2-3, “Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, ‘Come and let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono.’ But they intended to do me harm. And I sent messengers to them, saying, ‘I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.”
Those words are SO IMPORTANT FOR US
We can PRAY with those words
How many times do people try to get us to STOP DOING GOD’S WILL?
How many times do people try to get us to STOP DOING EXACTLY WHAT WE KNOW GOD WANTS US TO DO?
Regardless if that work is BUILDING A WALL
If that work is WORKING IN A GARDEN
If that work is TEACHING SOMEONE
If that work is BEING A SMALL COUNTRY PRIEST IN A SMALL COUNTRY PARISH
If that work is BEING A STAY AT HOME MOM OR DAD
Whatever that work is that you have been given, when it has been given to you BY GOD, and someone tries to DISTRACT you and TAKE YOU AWAY FROM THAT WORK
Then we can have the answer that Nehemiah had
“I AM DOING A GREAT WORK AND I CANNOT COME DOWN.”
“I’m raising a family right now, I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.”
“I’m teaching these kids, I’m doing a great work and I cannot come down.”
“The Lord has commissioned me to be a custodian and I keep these halls clean. I keep these bathrooms spotless. I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.”
Human work has SO MUCH DIGNITY
It has dignity because it is humans that do it
We humans are made in God’s image and likeness
Whenever we work, clean, create, or do ANYTHING, we bring something of the DIVINE to that work
Here is Nehemiah who knows he is doing his work because GOD HAS COMMISSIONED HIM
So he WON’T BE DISTRACTED
HE WON’T BE TAKEN AWAY FROM THE WORK
He says, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.”
Not only do they try to meet Nehemiah in one of the villages in the plain of Ono
They also tell him, “Listen, you have to go hide in the Temple.”
They knew that if he ran into the Temple out of fear for his life they would be able to say, “He sinned by going to a place that was prohibited.”
But Nehemiah doesn’t do that
Nehemiah 6:9, “For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, ‘Their hands will drop from the work and it will not be done.’ But now, O God, strengthen my hands.”
SO GOOD!!
How many times do people try to frighten you away from DOING WHAT GOD WANTS YOU TO DO?
How many times do people try to frighten you away from DOING WHAT GOD HAS COMMISSIONED YOU TO DO?
They don’t have permission to do that
Why?
BECAUSE WE TURN TO THE LORD AND SAY, “NO, LORD GOD. GIVE US OUR STRENGTH. BE OUR STRENGTH.”
Speaking of strength…
We have the beginning of the story of Esther
We are setting the scene
King Ahasuerus is not a great guy and not someone to be emulated
His queen is Vashti
He flips out after having a party for 180 days
He then has a party for 7 days with the entire kingdom and wants Vashti to show up
She doesn’t and says, “No! The guy is drunk! He’s been partying for 187 days by now. I’m not just going to go into his presence and be on display for everyone to ogle at.”
She doesn’t come to the party
So what happens?
Ahasuerus’ council makes a decree, “Listen, if the other wives hear about Queen Vashti not doing what the king wanted her to do, they are going to start not doing what their husbands want them to do. And it’s going to be chaos all over the place.”
It’s one of those situations THAT IS NUTS
Ahasuerus is NOT A HERO
After 180 days partying with princes and governors, then 7 days with everybody else he is not making good decisions
No one here is making good decisions
But then Esther, a young Jewish woman, is brought in and becomes part of the king’s harem
The king wanted to replace Vashti as queen
There is 12 months worth of Esther getting ready to meet the king
Gentlemen, and you thought YOUR wives took a long time to get ready, am I right? 😉
There is this sense of INJUSTICE happening here
Especially from a 21st century perspective
It is so clear in our Judeo-Christian heritage that men and women are created EQUAL IN DIGNITY
Many women, Esther and Vashti included, are mere property
The powerful man gets to do whatever he wants
And what’s going to happen is Esther will be brought into this BROKEN SYSTEM and this BROKEN WORLD so God can do something GREAT EVEN IN THE MIDST OF BROKENNESS
So as we read these stories, it is really helpful for us to recognize the reason why we can read this and say, “Man, that is WRONG!” is BECAUSE of our Jewish-Christian heritage
It is because of the fact that we believe
It is NOT what Nebuchadnezzar believed
It is NOT what Ahasuerus believed
It is NOT what the Persians, Medes, or Babylonians believed
WE believe that men and women are created in EQUAL DIGNITY
Women are NOT meant to be objects for men
That is one of the reasons why we can see the EVIL of this moment
BUT…
We are also going to be able to see how God can bring up this young woman Esther in a BROKEN SYSTEM in order to do SOMETHING INCREDIBLE
THAT IS WHAT GOD WANTS TO DO WITH US TOO!!
We are all living in broken systems
We are all living in a broken world
BUT…
God can do something with us in this BROKEN WORLD
God can do something with us in this BROKEN SYSTEM
To have his Will accomplished
To have people be saved
To have people be lifted up out of this oppression and out of this injustice
We will see that in the days to come
WE ARE SO GRATEFUL TO WALK WITH ESTHER!!
We have been walking with each other for 275 Days for crying out loud!!
IT IS AMAZING!!
FR. MIKE IS PRAYING FOR YOU
PRAY FOR FR. MIKE
PRAY FOR EACH OTHER
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise and glory. Oh thank you so much, Lord. Thank you for your Word. Thank you for this opportunity. Thank you for this community of people, God, who are journeying on this Bible in a Year. Thank you for their faithfulness. Thank you for, not perfection, but thank you for perseverance, perseverance so much more than perfection, faithfulness so much more than anything else we need. Oh God, thank you. Please receive our thanks in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
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