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Links for today’s readings:

Read: Esther 5 Listen: (2:42)
Read: 1 John 2 Listen: (4:04)

Scripture Focus: Esther 5.5-9

5 “Bring Haman at once,” the king said, “so that we may do what Esther asks.”

So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared. 6 As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, “Now what is your petition? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”

7 Esther replied, “My petition and my request is this: 8 If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.”

9 Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai

Luke 1.45

45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!

Reflection: Anticipated Surprises — Hope of Advent

By John Tillman

Esther and Mary know about anticipation. What are you anticipating?

There’s a lot of anticipatory tension in Esther’s story. After Xerxes’s edict, the Jews anticipated a day of destruction decreed a year in the future. After prayer and fasting, Esther entered the king’s presence uninvited and waited, anticipating his decision to spare or take her life. “If I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4.16)

When spared, Esther did not pour out her request immediately, but made Xerxes wait. He anticipated her request at two banquets she invited him and Haman to attend.

It’s unclear why Esther delayed. It could have been fear or hesitation, but it seems more likely to be strategic. Xerxes appears rash (Esther 1.12), forgetful (Esther 6.3), negligent (Esther 4.11), and easily manipulated throughout the story. It is likely that Esther knew this and used anticipation to allow him to remember her charms and renew his affection for her.

Meanwhile, Haman also anticipated. Haman’s mind spun with selfish visions as he bragged about his growing power and closeness to Xerxes and the queen. But he was not content to anticipate good things for himself, Haman relished thoughts of torturing Mordecai, who he viewed as an enemy.

Haman had good reasons to anticipate his victories. Esther had good reasons to fear her defeat. We are not wrong to anticipate that the powerful will continue to abuse power and that violence will continue to be wielded against the weak. We are not wrong to expect the world to be wicked and our lot to include suffering but we are also not wrong to anticipate with hope the unlikely victories that God’s providence arranges.

Every wicked thing Haman anticipated was reversed and he became the victim of every device of torture he set up. Every wicked thing Esther feared was reversed and she became the victor over every scheme set against her. Our enemy anticipates our defeat but God loves turning anticipated losses into unanticipated victories.

God loves a surprise ending, like Esther’s. God also loves a surprise beginning, like Mary’s. Mary didn’t anticipate unwed pregnancy, uninvited shepherds and magi, or fleeing to exile in Egypt. There were many surprises of Jesus’ life in which anticipated doom was overcome by unanticipated hope.

God has unanticipated goodness ready to overturn anticipated failures, hurts, and sorrows. Anticipate surprises. Resurrection is the ultimate surprise ending God has promised. Set your hope on both the sure promises and the unanticipated blessings of God.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

Let my cry come before you, O Lord; give me understanding, according to your word.
Let my supplication come before you; deliver me, according to your promise. — Psalm 119.169-170

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

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Read more about Scandalous Surprise of Hope — The Hope of Advent

Who are we to have such hope as advent promises? That Christ would come to us is baffling, surprising, and to some, scandalous.

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Esther 4 Listen: (2:53)
Read: 1 John 1 Listen: (1:28)

Scripture Focus: Esther 4.16-17

16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

17 So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.

Luke 1.38

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Reflection: Mourning With Hope — Hope of Advent

By John Tillman

Esther and Mary’s stories are at the center of joyful holidays, but both passed through distress, danger, and mourning.

Mary’s situation may not seem as dangerous as Esther’s, but her life also hung by the thread of a man’s decision to spare her or kill her. Mary’s song of joy expressed a mournful longing for justice. Both women saw life’s danger, wickedness, and unfairness up close. Both surrendered their lives to God’s providence and took action.

Mordecai and Esther found themselves in privileged positions with reasons to celebrate. When Esther heard Mordecai was mourning, she was distressed. She tried to encourage Mordecai by sending clothing and an attendant but he rejected her gifts. Esther didn’t understand Mordecai’s mourning because she didn’t understand the depth of the problem. Once Esther understood Mordecai’s mourning, she joined him in fasting and prayer. She followed that with action.

Mordecai refusing to bow to Haman is inspiring. We recognize standing up for one’s beliefs and refusing to give undue honor to a human as a righteous act of resistance. (Although many of us give undue honor to humans.)

But, like Esther, Mordecai’s mourning distresses us. Many today scorn public mourning as weakness. Even if we don’t scorn mourning, we want Mordecai to move on. Do something. But he is doing something. There is a time to “move on,” but there is also a time to mourn. Mordecai’s mourning is as righteous an act as his refusal to bow.

In a wicked world, mourning declares that we hunger and thirst for righteousness. In a violent world, mourning declares our longing for peace. In a darkening world, mourning declares we are children of light. Even in seemingly hopeless situations, we do not mourn hopelessly as the world does. We mourn with hope. Surrendering to emotion leads to spiraling. Surrender instead to hope in God.

Even in a celebratory season, we may find evil to resist or to mourn. These are righteous acts. Perhaps you have come to your position for such a time as this. Perhaps you, like Esther, can take action despite the risks. Perhaps you, like Mary, can sing of hope in a hopeless land.

Might your own mourning with hope declare to others that light, peace, love, joy, and righteousness are on the horizon?

Might the mourning of others call your attention to something you don’t understand? How might you be stirred to action?

Divine Hours Prayer: The Morning Psalm

Lord, how many adversaries I have! How many there are who rise up against me!
How many there are who say of me, “There is no help for him in his God.”
But you, O Lord, are a shield about me; you are my glory, the one who lifts up my head.
I call aloud upon the Lord, and he answers me from his holy hill;
I lie down and go to sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. — Psalm 3.1-5

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

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Links for today’s readings:

Read: Esther 3 Listen: (3:12)
Read: Hebrews 13 Listen: (3:31)

Scripture Focus: Esther 3.13-15

13 Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day.

15 The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered.

Luke 2.34-35

34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Reflection: Hope Against All Odds — Hope of Advent

By John Tillman

Every year we wait for Christmas, birthdays, or other pleasant days which are joyous to experience and anticipate. But what about future days of loss?

We wait for some losses with no specific date, such as our deaths or the deaths of loved ones. Some losses are more precisely scheduled. You might have the misfortune of knowing when you will lose your job, when your savings or retirement will run out, when your insurance policy will expire or be canceled, or when your pension or other benefits will be reduced or eliminated. There is no joy in anticipating these days.

But imagine for a moment waiting a year for a day of wrath, destruction, and robbery decreed against you, your family, and your people. That’s what Esther, Mordecai, and the Jews experienced.

Purim takes its name from the Hebrew word for “lots.” This refers to the lots Haman cast to choose the month he would destroy the Jews. The lot was cast in the first month and fell on the twelfth. A year of waiting for destruction.

The odds fell against the Jews of Esther’s day and they frequently fall against us. Jesus told us trouble was coming and we believe him. Our world bears a curse. Our dice are loaded by sin to lose. We are more likely to roll snake eyes than sevens.

We know how to wait for presents and parties but how do we wait for pain and persecution?

We can wait with hope even when disaster looms. We can have hope when the odds fall against us. In Esther’s case, God’s providence turned the coming day of disaster and loss into a day of victory. Their enemies died instead of them.

As we wait for Advent, we join with the faithful who have waited in the dark hoping for light and waited under a curse hoping to become a blessing. Waiting with hope is a spiritual discipline. Perhaps, like Daniel, we must pray prophetically for a restoration we won’t live to see. Perhaps, like Esther, we must lend our voice to bring God’s salvation today. Perhaps, like Mary, we must accept a scandalous task and a future day of loss.

In whatever way the Spirit directs, wait in hope. Jesus is the reverser of fortune who changes lots with us and redefines our fate. He is why we can wait in hope against all odds.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

This is the Lord’s doing and it is wonderful in our eyes. — Psalm 118.23

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more about Mercy Seat and Manger

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