[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 21B: "Which Side Are You On?

Sat Sep 29 21:47:00 EDT 2018

Forwarded:
-------- Original message --------From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> Date: 9/29/18  9:29 PM  (GMT-05:00) To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org> Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 21B: "Which Side Are You On? 

Dear
Friends,

This
Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Which Side Are You On?” and deals with the Old
Testament Lesson (Esther  7:1-6, 9-10;
9:20-22).  Here it is:  

Does anyone know the
song, “Which Side Are You On?”  It
started out as a union song, then became a civil rights song in the
sixties.  I remember singing at the top
of my lungs (so no one would know how afraid I was) “Which side are you on,
friends?  Which side are you on?  Which side are you on, friends?  Which side are you on?”  I can’t remember the rest of it, can
you?  Anyway, in the episode from the Old
Testament we heard about Esther- one of the great women in the Bible.  It’s really a story about someone- Esther-
who had to make a risky decision about which side she was on.  She could take the easy way and not concern
herself about things that were not her problem; or she could choose to do the
risky, right thing and try to save her people- God’s chosen people, the Jews
from certain death.  To refresh your
memory, here’s an abbreviated rendition of how the story goes: 

The story begins in the
city of Susa, in the winter palace of the Persian King Xerxes, who had just
divorced his wife for disobeying him. 
His search for her replacement produced Esther, who was crowned
queen.  Now Esther’s parents had died
when she was very young, so she was raised by her uncle Mordecai, who loved her
dearly.   Before she was chosen queen, Mordecai warned
her not to tell anyone that she was Jewish, since there were many in Persia who
hated Jewish people.  Later Mordecai
discovered a plot to assassinate King Xerxes and warned him, thus saving his
life.  Soon after that, Haman (one of
Mordecai’s rivals) became prime minister. 
Haman immediately began showing off his power by requiring everyone to
bow to him.  Of course, Mordecai could
not, because the first Commandment says, “You shall have no other gods but
me.  You shall not bow down to them or
worship them.”  Haman was enraged at
Mordecai’s refusal.  What was worse, he
realized that the problem wasn’t just Mordecai- none of the Jews would bow to
him for the very same reason; and he’d look like a fool.  To get revenge, he convinced King Xerxes to
issue a decree that all Jews would be killed. 
As Haman thought about how wonderful it would be to kill Mordecai, he
ordered a gallows built right by his house- just waiting to be used on the man
who had refused to worship him.  In the
meantime, Mordecai informed Esther and begged her to appeal to the king so
Jewish lives would be spared.  He told
her, “It may be that you were made queen for a time like this” (Esther 4
14b).  This was a dangerous undertaking,
for two reasons: (1) the king did not know that Esther (his queen) was Jewish;
and (2) no one was allowed to come into the king’s presence without an
invitation, and King Xerxes had not sent for Esther for 30 days.  To come uninvited meant certain death unless
the king extended his golden scepter to permit the person to enter and speak.  Esther decided it was now or never; now was
the time to bravely declare herself on God’s side, so she took the risk and appeared
uninvited before the king.  King Xerxes
was so enthralled by her beauty that he extended his scepter and asked what she
wanted.  She invited the king and Haman
(the evil prime minister) to a banquet, which lasted two days.  On the second day, she made her request- we
read it earlier today in the Old Testament lesson.  Esther said, “Your Majesty, if you really
care for me and are willing to help, you can save me and my people.  That's what I really want, because a reward
has been promised to anyone who kills my people” (Esther 7:3).  When King Xerxes asked, Queen Esther
identified herself as a Jew and Haman as the person who planned to kill all her
people.  The king was so infuriated that
he ordered Haman to be hanged on the same gallows he had so carefully built for
Mordecai’s execution.  So- what goes
around; comes around- especially in this story.

What Mordecai said to Queen
Esther really applies to us:  “It may be
that you were made queen for a time like this” (Esther 4 14b).  You’ve heard people say that things happen
for a reason.  I’d go a step
further.  God doesn’t make evil things
happen, but he surely uses them.  When
something happens, I’m sure God looks around to see who’s available.  In the story, that person was Esther; today
many times in many situations in your life, that person is YOU.  “I’m not qualified!” you say.  Well, neither was Esther.  She was a simple Jewish girl, but God knew he
could count on her to save his people.  Did
you hear the story of the little girl who, after a week of kindergarten,
decided she wasn’t qualified for school and was just wasting her time by going?  “Why” asked her mother, “do you feel this
way?  “Well,” said the little girl, “I
can't read, I can't write and they won’t let me talk!”  I’m here to tell you that even that little
child is qualified to do God’s work in her family, school, neighborhood, and
life, so you know God can use you.  Have
you heard the saying, “God doesn’t call the qualified; he qualifies the
called.”  What Mordecai said to Esther
also applies to us: “It may be that you were made husband or wife or son or
daughter or cousin or aunt or uncle or Godparent or friend or neighbor or
outreach minister or van driver or youth worker or doctor or plant worker or
helper or fixer or who-knows-what for a time like this” (Esther 4 14b).  The Marines used to say they were looking for
a few good men.  (I’m sure now they add women.)  Well- so is God.  Are you available?  It’s no job for the wishy-washy.  You can’t be for God one minute and watching
out for number one (yourself) the next minute. 
You can’t back off and say “It’s not my problem.”  The pay is nonexistent, the work is hard, but
life is unbelievably meaningful and the retirement is out-of-this-world!  Did you hear about the man who was sweating
out his first exam in college?  All the
questions were “true” or “false.”  In desperation,
he took out a quarter and started flipping it. 
If “heads” came out, he chose “true.” 
If “tails” appeared, he chose “false.” 
The rest of the class was still sweating the exam when he finished, but
he didn’t think it would look good for him to leave too early.  Soon the instructor came by his desk to see
what the problem was.  There he was-
tossing his quarter, muttering, and cursing. 
“Son, what’s the problem?” he asked. 
“Oh, this exam is just getting to me,” he answered.  “I’m all done, so I’m rechecking my answers
and I’m getting confused.”  Don’t be like
that.  That’s bad enough in exams, but
it’s worse in life.  Don’t flip sides
back and forth.  Choose Jesus.  Be on God’s side.  God is looking for a few good men and women
and children, specifically- YOU!

For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated
African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under
“Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org
.

Blessed
preaching,

Judy
Boli

St.
Paul's Episcopal Church

Saginaw,
Michigan

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