Thinking with Esther (Katie Nix)

Me with my congregation

Perhaps you were put in this place for such a time as this… ~ Esther 4:14

My seven-year-old daughter stormed towards me, holding my cell phone. “Mom! We have to call Uncle Mike, right now!” My brother recently finished his PhD and is currently doing research with Washington University. He is therefore the resident “science guy” in our family. Any time someone has a question about medicine or science, we call Uncle Mike. “Uncle Dr. Science Guy Mike,” my daughter began through the screen of the phone (this is his semi-official title), “I am tired of being at home. I miss my friends. I want this virus to go away. I need you make up a cure right now and fix all of this!”

Can you really blame her for trying? We all are asking that same question. How much longer? When will it end? When can we go back to the way things were?

Throughout the Old Testament, the theme of “when we go back” saturates the text. When we return to the land, when we have power, when our routines and traditions return. Except for the Book of Esther. Here is a story of God’s people in exile – stuck in a place they don’t want to be, living with people they don’t want to live with (I think we can all relate to that feeling). They have been stripped of everything that defines them—no temple, no traditions, no power.

The Book of Esther is the only text in our Bible that never mentions the name of God. Which is troubling for me. In times of crisis and upheaval, I expect – no, I demand – for God to speak. Burning bush, prophet’s mouth, songs, I’m not particular about the method of delivery. I just want God to show up. The story of Esther forces me to ask a question that, to be honest, I’ve been afraid to ask these past few weeks. How does one find God when God seems . . . hidden? Where is God when life turns upside down?

In this story that highlights the struggle of God’s people to do something, anything, to change the crisis they are in, nowhere is there a decree to leave, or remember the “good old days,” or prayers for things to return to the way they were. Because it’s not about when one goes back. It’s about finding God here and now. This new life is simply a reality that has to be navigated. The story of Esther asks us to move our mindset from returning to remaining, from surviving to thriving, all through the power of community.

The name of God may not appear in the text, but the power of God flows through the relationships in the story. If you want to see God, you need to look at God’s creation, at the people. Mordecai famously tells his niece, Queen Esther, at the height of the crisis, “perhaps you are queen for such a time as this.” He doesn’t say, “let’s pray and God will provide.” He says, “Pray, now let’s go do something about it.”

It is easy to focus on all that has been lost: the ability to gather in our beautiful sanctuary, sing our favorite Easter hymns, gasp in horror when a visitor sits in MY pew (surely you don’t have that problem at your place of worship, right?). When all that used to define our community is stripped away, can we still find God and each other in the unlikely places?

These past few weeks I’ve received more phone calls, emails, and postcards than I have all year long. People have gone out of their way to offer encouragement, hope, and love through any means possible. Someone dropped cupcakes off on my front door yesterday. Another person mailed my seven-year-old an envelope full of stickers. Best of all, a friend shared their abundance of toilet paper with our family (because nothing highlights the reality of a crisis then your last roll of “essentials”). All of these acts, while small, were moments where God showed up, uniting our hearts and souls, and helping us enjoy the here and now, even in this season of fear and the unknown.

Who knows, maybe God has prepared you, your resources, your connections, your love for such a time as this.

Rev. Dr. Katie Nix is a Carver Project ministry partner and lead pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in St. Louis.

Other Resources

•  Inspiration for this article came from Erica Brown's new book Esther: Power, Fate, and Fragility in Exile (First Ed. 2020).

• Katie Nix, “For Such a Time as This” (Mar 29, 2020 sermon)

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