Live with purpose April 13, 2014 Chapter 20

Live with purpose

April 13, 2014

Chapter 20

Did you enjoy the story of Esther? Just purely from the perspective of a reader, Esther is a great story. It includes elements of palace intrigue, the Cinderella-like choosing of Esther as queen, the irony of Haman being shish kabobed on his own skewer, Esther’s bravery and her dangerous plot, the reversal of expectations, and the joyous celebration at the end.

If you did not read it this week, you missed a great story.

It’s one of those stories where random things seem to happen. Like the roll of a dice. In fact the Hebrew word “Purim,” which is the name of the festival that commemorates Esther’s story, means “dice.” It is “the festival of the dice.” In fact, several things in this story seem to be mere rolls of the dice.

·        Haman, descended from the Amalekites, happens to live in Susa and be the king’s right hand man

·        Haman literally rolls the dice to choose the date of the Jews’ extermination.

·        Esther is chosen to try out for queen, and happens to makes it

·        Esther happens to be Jewish, and happens to be related to Mordecai, Haman’s arch enemy.

·        The night Haman builds a pole upon which to impale Mordecai just so happens to be the night the king cannot sleep.

·        Haman recommends a lavish plan to honor someone, thinking the someone is himself, when it so happens that it is actually for Mordecai. Haman has to carry it out anyway.

·        Right at the moment Haman stumbles into Queen Esther as he is pleading for his life, the king happens to walk in and it appears as if he is making an advance on his wife.

·        Haman just so happens to be ironically impaled on the pole he intended for Mordecai.

There are many things in life that seem random. To tell you the truth many are. Tornadoes and hurricanes are random disasters; accidents are just that- random mishaps; getting a good parking place or getting in the slow line at the grocery story are lower story random events that have little or nothing to do with God’s upper story.

However, if we have learned nothing else in the last 20 weeks we have learned that God does has an upper story and that upper story is never random. We and all of history are slowly and inescapably moving toward that upper story goal of people living in love with God and each other.

·        Was it just a roll of the dice that placed Haman and Moredeci in the same city in Persia? I don’t know.

·        Was it just a roll of the dice that Esther is chosen to be the new queen. I don’t know.

·        Was it just a roll of the dice that Moredcai was elevated to such an important advisory position in the palace? I don’t know.

What I do know is that God’s purposes are never random. God’s upper story is never random. God’s plan is true and consistent.

So what does it mean to live with purpose?

Queen Esther came face to face with that question. Haman had convinced King Xerxes to let him issue an irrevocable edict that all the Jews were to be killed on a certain day. It is doubtful if the king knew that it was the Hebrews who were going to be killed, and he certainly did not know that his beloved Esther was a Hebrew. Esther couldn’t bear to see her people annihilated, and neither could God. This, however, seemed like the end of the road for the Hebrew people in Persia.

That is when Moredieci steps forward and says, “Esther, did you ever consider that just maybe you have come to your royal dignity for just a time as this?” Apparently, she had not. But she found herself in the right position at the right time to be able to do something. Perhaps there was no one else in al the world who had both the opportunity and the influence to change this terrible plan, except Esther. Perhaps there was no one else in a position to go before the king (it was dangerous even for her) Perhaps there was no one else in the world who could get Xerxes’ attention and influence him to change this terrible plot.

So Esther tried. Esther risked her life by appearing before the king uninvited; smoothed the way for the conversation with a couple of lavish banquets; and then she dropped the bombshell that she and her people were about to be killed.

The king was livid, and turned the tables saving the Hebrews and killing Haman.

How much of this was God directing? I don’t know. Maybe more than we think, maybe less. The point is that Esther kept her eyes on the big picture of God’s story of redeeming Israel. and was willing to step in- even at considerable personal risk- to be part of that plan.

How much of our lives are the result of God’s divine direction and how much is random stuff (both good and bad) that happens to us? I don’t know where to draw that line. I will tell you that I don’t believe that natural disasters are a result of God’s activity. I don’t think God gives cancer. I don’t think the death of a child is God’s plan- God doesn’t need any more little angels in heaven.

So what is God’s plan… I have probably said it 20 times in 20 weeks of the story… God’s upper story plan is for people to live in love with him and lovingly toward each other. Our purpose as God’s people is to be part of that plan. Our purpose is to live in such a way that others will come to see God’s love and want to be part of it. Our purpose is to live in a community of love, loving each other and loving others the best we can.

Think about it- God’s upper story plan is for your neighbor to know him and love him. You might be the only one in a position to reveal God’s love to him and to invite him into a loving relationship with God. Live with purpose and make that your mission.

Think about it- God’s upper story plan is that people would love one another. That sour looking stranger who is struggling with their groceries is one of God’s children. You might be the only person in a position at that moment to hold the door or push the cart or show just a glimmer of love to that person who might desperately need to be loved that day. Live with purpose and make that your mission.

Think about it- people in Africa need cataract surgeries. Kim has made her time available, and many of you saw that as a way to show love to someone far away and you funded 11 ½ eye surgeries for people in Nigeria. That was living into God’s purpose for us.

Think about it- there are children in our community who have never had the opportunity to be in Christian education or worship. Don’t you think as we provide the financial and human resources for them to come here on Wednesday and meet God, that we are living into God’s purpose for us and our community? I do.

Think about it- it can be very simple. That kid in school that seems different from everyone else. He or she doesn’t seem to have many friends and they just stick out like a sore thumb. Live into God’s purpose that they would be loved by dancing with them, or eating lunch with them, or sitting next to them on the bus.

Think about it- it can be much harder. Living into God’s purpose might be standing up for what you think is right and even being arrested for it, like our bishop was recently.

Think about it- there are Christians who, although it is illegal in their country, insist on worshiping and evangelizing their neighbors- at great personal risk because they want to be part of God’s greater purpose. How much risk are we willing to take?

To live with purpose is to look for those places where our lives intersect with the lives of others near and far, and being willing (at great cost or no personal cost) to make loving and sharing God’s love with them the number one thing in our lives.

You want to make the world a better place? Do you want to change the world? That’s how you do it. Live with purpose… but not just any purpose… God’s purpose.

Which brings us around to Palm Sunday.

Jesus knew that entering Jerusalem on a donkey would get the leader’s attention because of Zechariah’s prophecy that the messiah would do that.

Jesus knew that the crowds shouting hosanna, “save us” would get the attention of the establishment because they were always looking for rabble rousers and especially hoping for Jesus to get tripped up.

Jesus knew that even coming to Jerusalem was a great personal risk.

So why did he do it? Why didn’t he run the other direction as fast as he could? Why didn’t he hide out at Mary and Martha’s house where he was relatively safe?

Because he lived with purpose. He knew that God’s upper story purpose was for people to love God and live in love with each other. And he knew that he was born to be part of that purpose. Jesus knew that he was in a unique position to bridge the gap between God and God’s people. Jesus knew that he was in a unique position to (at great personal risk) bring salvation to the world.

So ride in to Jerusalem he did.

Let’s see what happened after that.