Here I stand

Sermon on Esther 4:1-17

At last year’s youth camp, we reflected on the meaning of life. Every small group was given a quote. For one of the groups, I chose a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. the most famous civil rights activist. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” This is one way to look at life. To Martin Luther King, during the good times when it is easy and simple, your choices don’t really reveal much. Life is defined by where you stand during challenge and controversy. It is your decisions during these crucial moments that demonstrate who you really are.

However, there are many other ways to look at life. There may be times where we go along with the flow 随波逐流. The phrase “to go with the flow” is derived from a natural phenomenon, whereby running water always chooses the path of least resistance. Some might say that this is the better way to approach life. "We must adapt to nature. Nature cannot change for us. If you try to fight the natural forces, they will overcome you. " For these people, life is defined as conforming to the natural flow of things. Life cannot be manipulated. Life cannot be forced. If you can see the true nature of things, then there are no good times or bad times. Life means flowing along whatever the times.

A Taoist story tells of an old man, who accidentally fell into the river rapids that led to a high and dangerous waterfall. Onlookers feared for his life. Miraculously, he came out alive and unharmed, downstream at the bottom of the falls. People asked him how he managed to survive. "I accommodated myself to the water, not the water to me. Without thinking, I allowed myself to be shaped by it. Plunging into the swirl, I came out with the swirl. This is how I survived."
道家有个故事说到一位老者不慎掉入河中，奔流的河水将其带到一座高高的危险的瀑布
目击者为他捏了把汗。然而奇迹般的，他安然无恙地从瀑布的下游走出。面对人们的不解，他莞尔道“我随着水而动,而不是反之,我任自己被水塑造,即陷于旋涡，便出于旋涡。我就是这样活下来的啊。”

“Such a philosophy to life is called Wu Wei (无为), one of the central tenets of Taoism. The literal meaning of Wu Wei is "without action". It is also phrased as wei wu wei: "action without action" or "effortless doing". Your actions are so in perfect accord with the nature of things that you do not have to intentionally do something. You also become totally selfless and ego-less because you now become a part of nature itself. As one diminishes doing — here 'doing' means those intentional actions taken to benefit us, or actions taken to change the world from its natural state — one diminishes all those actions committed against the Tao, the already present natural harmony.” I wonder to myself, how does this philosophy compare with Christian thought?

From today’s passage, I deduce that Christianity is about Wei and not Wu Wei. It is Action and not “without action”. The difference is not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of life and death. The philosophy of Wu Wei explains the art of survival. The old man in the rapids enlightened us that going with the flow was how he survived. I cannot deny that personal survival is important. Yet Esther ends today’s passage with these haunting words, “if I perish, I perish”. Another translation puts it more plainly, “If I must die, I must die.” (NLT) To Esther, personal survival counts for nothing in light of greater responsibility. At this juncture of challenge and controversy, she has chosen to stand with her fellow Jews. In the eyes of Martin Luther King, this is her defining moment. This is the real Esther. By going against the flow, and disregarding the danger of death, the philosophy of Esther is Wei and not Wu Wei. The action of Esther in making her stand is deliberate and forceful. Allow me to show you how the narrator brings us to this climax in the passage today.

After finding out about the edict to destroy the Jews, Mordecai went looking for Esther. But he had to stop at the king’s gate because he was dressed in sackcloth. God forbid that the royalties in the palace, with their pretty attires and lengthy banquets, should ever have to see a sad face. When Esther sent clothes for him to change so that he may come in, he refused. Why? For the period of mourning is not yet over. Communicating via her attendant, Mordecai then told Esther about the edict. But more importantly, he revealed to her insider knowledge about Haman’s plot. This is not an ignorant, ill-conceived public policy. This is dirty scheming politics. He then gave his instructions. His instructions were for her to go to the king to beg for mercy.

At this moment, with the way the narrator describes Mordecai’s tone, he has cleverly reminded us that Esther had been obedient to Mordecai all this while. Recalling 2:20 the verse states “But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai's instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.” This verse is important because it also reminds us that Esther’s Jewish race is still a secret. Now, the two choices of Esther are brought to the table. Would she choose to stay safe within the secrecy of her race, or would she choose to obey Mordecai? Where would she stand? Would she go with the flow or take matters into her own hands?

Esther’s response to Mordecai should not be interpreted as a refusal. She is simply letting him know the odds of her success. For someone so familiar with insider information about the palace, what Esther says subtly, Mordecai understands deeply. Esther states, as Mordecai knows, that nobody can approach the king without being summoned. Anyone who approaches without summon is at the mercy of the king to spare his life. But we already know what the king thinks about disobedience. The deposed former queen Vashti was the clear example for us. Furthermore, it has been thirty days since Esther last saw the king. Apparently, five years into the marriage, the king’s desire for her has cooled. One month of absence might seem like a short time to us, but try multiplying that with thousands of concubines in the harem fighting for the king’s fancy everyday. Esther may have the prestigious title, but in the palace, the real thing of worth is the king’s attention. And Mordecai would know that that is what Haman has in abundance over anyone else. It is very “likely that the ruthless King Xerxes will not extend the golden scepter if the queen’s death would be somehow expedient to his other interests.” That is the reality presented in Esther’s reply.

Esther’s analysis of the situation has tilted her decision towards keeping silent. It’s not that she wouldn’t obey Mordecai, it is simply risky and likely useless. Mordecai understands her reply, which is why he now analyzes for her the other option on the table. Interpretation of Mordecai’s reply is very dependent on the phrase, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place. (4:14)”. It has been suggested traditionally that “another place” is an allusion to God. But this interpretation is problematic because it sets up a stark contrast between divine deliverance and the deliverance that Esther might achieve. It would imply that Esther’s deliverance is not from God. This goes against the theme of the book that Esther’s position and actions are the outworking of divine providence.

It is also equally unlikely that another place refers to some other possible plan of human deliverance. The build-up of the story so far, in highlighting the character of the king in chapter 1, the good fortune of Esther in chapter 2, the power of Haman’s position in chapter 3, makes it hard to imagine that there could be other possibilities. But the most convincing argument is that if there could be an alternative plan that Mordecai is confident of, then it makes little sense that he continues to say that “you and your father’s family will perish”. Any deliverance of the Jewish people will surely also include Esther and Mordecai as well.

Therefore, I personally think that the best interpretation of this phrase is not as a positive statement, but as a rhetorical question demanding a negative answer. Mordecai is stating plainly to Esther that if she were to remain silent, “will relief and deliverance for the Jews arise from another place?” The answer is of course no. Esther knows that. And when that happens, the family of Esther including Mordecai will perish. Esther may think that she will escape because she is in the king’s house. But when the persecution gets intense, how long can her close relationship with Mordecai be hidden? Mordecai certainly will not have any sympathy for this cousin if she betrays her people.

So both options are equally risky and once again they are placed before Esther. The crux of the matter lies in Esther’s queenship. Mordecai concludes “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” This is the closest that the Mesoretic Text Esther comes towards talking about God in the story. Mordecai is suggesting that it is the divine plan that she is queen during this time of crisis. The question she has to decide for herself is this: Is she made queen so that she can be saved, or is she made queen so that she may save her people? Judging by Mordecai’s response, he of course thinks it is the latter. Her royal position is for service to her people, not for her own good.

The response of Esther tells us clearly where she makes her stand. From listening to the instructions of Mordecai, she now gives instructions to Mordecai as queen. She asks for a very extreme form of fasting for 3 days, night or day. Time is of great urgency because she will now go to the king. Her commanding instructions to fast tell us that she knows it is God who has made her queen. She will now go against the flow. She will now act on her own accord. She will now choose this path - even if she is to die.

I am impressed by the brevity of the narrative. It illustrates how Esther comes into action in four simple exchanges. It flows from the conveying of news to laying out the options; from calculating the risks to announcing a decision. Although the story-telling flows naturally, the final action of Esther is anything but natural. It is a death defying action intentionally against the law. This is Wei (Action) and not Wu Wei. Christianity teaches that there isn’t a perfect harmonious nature for us to abide by. Instead, we are part of God’s creative force to have dominion over nature. We acknowledge there is true evil, and we vow to bring order over chaos, deliverance over suffering and peace over persecution. Like Esther, we know the risks before us are enormous, because the world often chooses to remain status quo. But if that path leads to destruction, like a path of sin or increasing ecological imbalance, we must act to bring about transformation. Greater responsibility supersedes concerns over personal survival. As Rambo would say: “Live for nothing, or die for something. It’s your call. ”

This is the spirit of Martin Luther King. He sacrificed his life to bring about racial equality in America. This is the spirit of Jesus Christ. He gave his life so that we may be free from sin and death. This is the spirit of Jubilee Church. We are gathered every week to remind and encourage one another of our calling. As Christians, we are not called to 为所欲为(Act whatever we like). We are called to 见义勇为(Act with the righteousness of God). May God give you strength that is from above – a spiritual power to speak boldly, to act boldly and to die boldly.

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这篇文章出自《庄子•外篇•达生》，在庄子的文章里，总爱拿孔子和他的学生开玩笑，这次也是如此：
孔子观于吕梁，县水三十仞，流沫四十里，鼋鼍鱼鳖之所不能游也 。见一丈夫游之，以为有苦而欲死也。使弟子并流而拯之。数百步而 出，被发行歌而游于塘下。孔子从而问焉，曰：“吾以子为鬼，察子 则人也。请问：蹈水有道乎？”曰：“亡，吾无道。吾始乎故，长乎 性，成乎命。与齐俱入，与汩偕出，从水之道而不为私焉。此吾所以 蹈之也。”孔子曰：“何谓始乎故，长乎性，成乎命？”曰：“吾生 于陵而安于陵，故也；长于水而安于水，性也；不知吾所以然而然， 命也。”
This summary is taken from Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_wei
NIV Application Commentary, p132
This entire argument is taken from the Word Commentary, p 395-397 which I find to be the most convincing.