In our scripture readings for today, we begin the book of Esther, where we meet Persian King Ahasuerus, known in Greek as Xerxes. His empire controls half the known world, stretching from India to Greece to Ethiopia, also known as Cush, and his wealth is astronomical. We meet Mordecai, a descendent of Benjamin, whose family has been living in exile in Persia for four generations, and who has adopted his young orphan cousin. We meet Esther, a beautiful young woman with an attractive attitude. And we see God developing an opportunity for Jewish influence in a position of power, because by NEXT Sunday, that influence will be badly needed....
We have all seen the results of the accumulation of wealth and power often enough, that anytime, anyone has significant pull on society, it makes us nervous. Multi-billionaire Bill Gates has a program running where he is breeding altered mosquitoes. Okaaay. And he owns 242,000 acres of farmland. I see. Mark Carney has just cajoled enough opposition members to cross the floor for a parliamentary majority. Hmmm. Justin Trudeau enacted an emergency that enabled the freezing of certain individual's bank accounts. Not good. Whenever the muscles of wealth and power are flexed, we wonder about the character of the one doing the flexing, and whether we will survive whatever they decide to do next.
It is safe to say that in the time period of our scripture readings today, approximately 480 BC, King Ahasuerus was the most powerful man on the planet. He ruled over a vast empire of 127 provinces, which spanned dozens of cultures and languages. He was personally wealthy enough to hold a lavish banquet for his officials and ministers that lasted six months, and run an unlimited open bar for the 20000 residents of Susa for seven days. Anything, absolutely anything King Ahasuerus decreed...happened. And yet, when his queen Vashti rebelled, and refused to display herself in front of Ahasuerus' drunk friends, the king respected the traditional laws of the country, and asked his advisors what to do. WE in 2026, cringe at the decree that every man should be master in his own house, and at the concept of multiple harems, and at the concept of a country-wide beauty contest that includes a night with the king. But that is standard procedure for the times, and didn't even involve Vashti's death. The problem...is what will the king do NEXT?...
You would think, living in a democracy under the rule of law, we would not have such fears, as “what will the king do next?”. But with how our politics have polarized, the politicians routinely claim that their 1 or 2% electoral victory gives them a SOLID MANDATE to inflict whatever their ideology dictates, regardless of whose rights are trampled. If you are a western province voting against central Canada, or a rural area voting against the cities, it can feel like a helpless situation. What will the government decree next? And what's it going to cost me?