Esther
1:10-22 Vashti’s
Refusal
On
the seventh day, when the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman,
Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who
attended him, to bring Queen Vashti before the king, wearing the royal crown,
in order to show the peoples and the officials her beauty; for she was fair to
behold. But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command conveyed by the
eunuchs. At this the king was enraged, and his anger burned within him.
Then
the king consulted the sages who knew the laws (for this was the king’s
procedure towards all who were versed in law and custom, and those next to him
were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the
seven officials of Persia and Media, who had access to the king, and sat first
in the kingdom): ‘According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti
because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus conveyed by the
eunuchs?’ Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, ‘Not
only has Queen Vashti done wrong to the king, but also to all the officials and
all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. For this deed
of the queen will be made known to all women, causing them to look with
contempt on their husbands, since they will say, “King Ahasuerus commanded
Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.” This very day the
noble ladies of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s behavior will
rebel against the king’s officials, and there will be no end of contempt and
wrath! If it pleases the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be
written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be
altered, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus; and let the
king give her royal position to another who is better than she. So when the
decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, vast as it
is, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike.’
This
advice pleased the king and the officials, and the king did as Memucan
proposed; he sent letters to all the royal provinces, to every province in its
own script and to every people in its own language, declaring that every man
should be master in his own house.
****
Power.
It
has a way of making things unjust. It
has a way of dehumanizing people.
Queen
Vashti was a human being. Not a bauble
to be ogled over as her husband desired (while he was drunk, by the way). She was a human being who deserved love and
care and respect. Just like every other
human being—no matter what the law may say (so much for justice enshrined in
the law, by the way).
Esther
is a fascinating story because it is about a woman getting things set
right—using her agency to defy the rules, to overcome corrupt power, and to
save her people. But the beginning of
the story is all about the way that power and laws can be used to objectify
people, especially, in this case women, and the way that it destroys
relationship along the way. King
Ahasuerus came to regret what he'd done, but it was too late for Vashti. She has already been made completely disposable
and had been disposed.
Too
often people who lead take their power and use it this way. They manipulate
people as objects for their own gain.
They make laws that enshrine their own power. And they damage all of our humanity in the
process. We pray this Advent for a
different kind of power. A power made
flesh in the manger. A power that did
not grasp for more, but instead, emptied itself and came to kneel and serve and
make us all more fully human.
Can we pray: O Come, Emmanuel, and teach us your
self-emptying love so that we might learn the proper use of power and that we
may be human for each other.
Pastor Lena Warren serves at Good Shepherd Lutheran
Church in Pearl River, NY. She was born in Nigeria, grew up in Alberta
and Ontario, Canada, finished High School in South Carolina, went to seminary
in Philadephia, and is happy to call Pearl River home at the present
moment. Her first call was to two churches in Naugatuck, CT that have
become one church aptly named, "Grace." Lena is happily married
to Lee and they have one kitten at this moment, Hildegard. There are
rumors another fur ball will join their household sooner rather than later.
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