St. Paul's On-The-Hill Episcopal Church

The Rev. Stephen C. Holton, Rector

17 Pentecost; September 27, 2009

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22

Mark 9:38-50

SPEAK UP!

In a difficult time, it is tempting to hunker down. In economically difficult times, it is tempting to guard what we have. In personally difficult times, it is tempting not to associate with other people, or to hide our problems, to act like everyone else.

In unjust times, it is tempting not to care about others! It is tempting to guard what we have, not to speak up, not to rock the boat because we might lose what we have!

Esther did not do this. Esther rocked the boat.

Esther, until then, was safe! Esther, until then, was happy. She was important. No one knew she was a Jew. It says so earlier in the Book of Esther. It was kept a secret. No one knew she was part of a persecuted people, part of an unpopular people – just as no one may know about each one of us, about our true identity, our background, our hidden secrets.

No one knew about Esther until she chose to speak up, for all her people. She even says she wouldn't have spoken up if they were only going to be persecuted. But they were going to be killed by Haman the Prime Minister; so she spoke up.

She blew her cover, when she could have been killed too. She blew her cover, when she could have stayed safe, and popular, and rich. Sometimes like Esther we have to blow our cover when we could stay safe, and popular, and rich; with our priorities hidden from the public eye. Like Esther we are sometimes motivated by the suffering of others. This is what it means to be fully human – to be motivated by the suffering of others, even if it means losing our own life style, risking our own safety.

It turns out that Esther risked everything not just by revealing she was Jewish, part of this unpopular minority. She risked everything because anyone who talked to the great King – actually it was Xerxes, for whom the Hebrew was Ahasuerus – anyone who spoke to the great King and even came into his presence without being asked, could be killed.

Esther risked that. When has one of us risked that – death or being fired or at least unpopularity – for speaking up.

Esther risked that.

But then, something amazing happens. King Xerxes – Ahasuerus – listens. King Xerxes is reasonable. King Xerxes is persuaded by her, saves her people, kills her persecutor and keeps her in his favor.

He is reasonable.

Sometimes we need to trust the powers that be. Sometimes we need to trust that those to whom we speak – though they may have different priorities or backgrounds – are also reasonable people. This is what happens with Esther. God acts through this foreigner, this King, for her, for justice.

God acts through all people – powerful or not, religious or not, of our religion or some other religion – for us, for justice.

Thanks be to God! Esther and her people are spared. Justice is done.

So speak up – when justice is not done, when people suffer, even if you are safe, the way Esther would have been safe if she had not spoken up.

Speak up, and great good will be done through you. God is waiting to do great good! But God is waiting for someone to lead the way, even if that person has never led anything before but only played it safe.

Perhaps God's calling to his people is to speak up for him and others. God loves all people, but he needs some people to speak for him, work for him and for all his children.

There is still time to act, and God will send allies from the oddest places.

Sometimes we don't always accept the allies. That is the problem. Sometimes we do not recognize the allies. That is the problem!

The disciples did not recognize their allies.

“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.'”

“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.'”

People who are not of your religion or background, who are doing these good things, will find themselves led by their own actions and words into being your allies.

We are one with those who are different from us. We are united, and what unites us are our own actions because, if we do them for the same purpose of loving and helping others, those actions make us one.

Unity of purpose brings unity of identity.

So, again, look into the oddest places for friends. Look into the oddest places for allies. It's the old adage – 'don't judge a book by its cover.' Judge the person by their actions.

You might find yourself up against the wall and think you're all alone. But then at the last minute you find that a complete stranger shares your priorities.

So the natural response is this. Next time your back is against the wall, look out for a stranger! Expect that someone will help you out. Know that God will send a stranger to help you, and be ready to welcome them as a friend.

We cannot assume, just “because he was not following us” (as the disciples say) that he or she is not our ally. We cannot assume that just because they follow a different doctrine or no doctrine, that they are not a friend. As Jesus says: “Whoever is not against us, is for us.” If they do not explicitly oppose us, they are an ally.

So God sends many allies. We just need the eyes to see them, and the hospitality to welcome them, and the courage to depend on them.

Even some of the words I spoke to you today did not come originally from me, but from an unexpected source, unexpected friends, the Youth Group; who said 2 weeks ago upon reading this passage from Esther that she was motivated and energized to speak by the suffering of others. It gave her energy, and should give us energy, to speak and risk our own well-being, if it could bring justice for others.

So speak, in times of suffering, and know that others will listen and help, no matter their background, whether they are unlikely strangers, or unexpected friends! It could be anyone, friend or stranger; but someone needs to speak first. You may be one of those unauthorized disciples, one of those non-institutional disciples who is at first rejected by those special 12. Yet Jesus speaks up for you too, and urges you to keep speaking, and urges the disciples to start including you.

So speak up, in injustice or suffering or anxiety in this difficult world. Trust, that God has sent someone to listen – even the oddest of persons, like the King or Principal or Boss, or some unexpected friend, who has a vested interest in the old ways. Maybe they are actually just and righteous people too.

Maybe they have their own reasons to follow what you say. Xerxes was motivated by his own sense of justice, not just self-preservation. But he was also motivated by his anger when he realized that Haman had manipulated him for his own purposes, to work out his own hatred of the Jews.

Do not hide, like Haman, who thought he could manipulate others for his own ends. Do not hide, like Haman, who thought everyone was just like him, everyone would protect what little power, wealth and prestige they had. No one would be a whistle blower, he thought. No one would risk it all for other suffering people.

Someone would. Esther did. You might. Haman's schemes fell apart. The King was revealed as more righteous than anyone expected. Because of Esther's risk, the suffering people were saved.

Jesus says to speak. Jesus says that the Spirit of God is present in all people, even in us little ones, even in us unimportant ones. So speak. Let God do the talking, through you. Maybe others will follow.