Wesleyan Wisdom: Reason - Esther 7 and 9

You listen to your gut. You listen to your brain. You listen to your heart. You listen to other people. Just what are you supposed to rely on when making decisions? Today we continue our discussion on the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, or John Wesley’s understanding of religious authority. Because what we believe influences how we make decisions and act, this four week sermon series is focusing on this theological tool in light of our personal decision making. While scripture is the primary authority to make decisions with, Wesley understood that scripture had to be lived out and understood in light of our own lives in order for it to make sense and be of the most use. Therefore, he also looked to tradition, reason, and experience as tools to be used in conjunction with scripture to make decisions.

The story of Esther is not among the most well known from the Hebrew Scriptures by Christians. Before we look at today’s scripture passage, which focuses on the end of her tale, lets look back on what has been happening in her story so far. Esther was an orphan who was raised by her cousin, Mordecai. She was also a Jew in a time when the Jewish people were in exile. At one point in her life she is selected because of her beauty to be in the harem of the King. She eventually becomes the King’s favorite and he makes her Queen. However, that does not give her as many rights as one would think. She still could not approach the King directly unless he summoned her. When she heard that her people were going to be killed under the orders of Haman, the King’s right hand man, because Mordecai had refused to bow to him, she plotted to catch the King’s eye in order to discuss the matter with him, at the prompting of Mordecai. However, Esther was both savvy and courageous. She did not talk to the King about the matter right away. Instead she planned and asked him and Haman to dinner, and then asked him to dinner again before presenting her plea. She is crafty, appealing to the King with her charm first instead of blatantly attacking him.

For most people the word crafty isn’t one with good connotations, but at the time of the Hebrew Scriptures it was inextricably link with reason and using wisdom to survive. Esther knew that the King could not put a face on the human tragedy about to take place for the Jews, so she did a courageous thing and included herself with the group, so the King would selfishly protect her. Then she went on to say that such an act would be damaging to him and his reputation, once again appealing to his self-centeredness. Esther used her common sense to know who she was dealing with and address him accordingly. Some would classify Esther’s actions as manipulative, but she was not acting on her own behalf, but preventing the genocide of an entire group of people. Crafty is not quite as clear cut as we make it. Her ability to live out the use of her reasoning skills brought hope back into the narrative. How are you using your reasoning skills to bring hope back into people’s lives? For far too long we have been living in a world that tells us that faith and reason are exclusive from one another - you cannot be a reasonable person if you have faith and if you rely on faith then you cannot look to reason, but I don’t think thats the case at all. Every time someone plans a mission project for the community, they start with both faith and reason - looking at the details and acting on faith that they are moving forward in the direction God has given them. Things may not turn out the way they anticipated but they put their best foot forward anyway. 

When I was in college I took two mission trips to Russia. The purpose of both of these times was to be involved in relational missions - to come along side Christians in Vladimir and encourage them and seize opportunities to speak publicly about our faith in Jesus Christ. But in order to do that we had to spend months preparing. We learned key Russian phrases and words so we could express ourselves, to the best of our ability. We learned Russian history and about the culture, as an expression of our interest in the people we were ministering with. We spent more time preparing then we would actually be in the country. But we did this because we reasonably knew that it was our best chance at connecting with our brothers and sisters. And you know what, all of that time we spent learning because we thought it was the best way to put our foot forward paid off. Maybe not in the same way that Esther’s reasoning and preparation paid off, but we formed lasting relationships and were showered with opportunities to share about the gospel. All because we combined faith and reason. 

Part of reason is having good timing. One of my favorite lines from the story of Esther is not in today’s scripture lesson. It speaks of Esther being chosen for “such a time as this” according to Mordecai. Esther was in the right place at the right time to save her people. She had shrewd wisdom that enabled her to reach out to the King in the right way, the way that would guarantee results. Jewish tradition celebrates the story of Esther each year at the Purim, a time to remember how her actions saved the Jewish people from destruction. While the day commemorates the actions of Esther it also is a celebration of the divine action that allowed her to be in a position of power for such a time as this. 

Esther is a prime example of using God given reason for the purposes of God. Using wisdom to make decisions that are beneficial not only for ourselves, but also for others. Have you ever been in the right place at the right time? What made it such an experience? Is it because you were able to use one of your gifts to help other people? A God given gift for a God given purpose? I was blessed this week to be part of two conversations where I was simply at the right place at the right time. Conversations where I was able to share my love for people and God in a way that connected deeply with people and spoke to their need, needs that I was not even aware of at the time, but guided the conversation because I was aware and was able to ask God to guide what followed with reason and wisdom. What are the opportunities you have had this week where your ability to reason helped communicate God’s love? 

However, we have to note that reason can only take us so far. The peace that Esther brought for the Jews while they were in captivity did not last. Their captors, the Persians, came to fear the Jews and not the God of the Jewish people. Reason can only take us so far if it is not built upon the foundation of scripture or lived out in a way that brings scripture to life for ourselves and others. 

So what can we learn this day from Esther? First, we need to thank God for the reasoning skills that we have been given as a gift. Reason is something different then simply being smart. We have talked in Bible study a couple of different times about the difference between memorizing facts and figures and making decisions based on reason and common sense. Some people can be very smart, but not very good at reasoning, or vice versa. Secondly, if we feel that we are not using our reasoning skills in a way that honors them as a gift from God, we need to pray to God for wisdom and the ability to live out our reasoning skills in a Godly way, especially during times that call for endurance or are in the face of trial. Thirdly, Esther leads us to ask, why we are here in this place at this time. What are we called to do in such a time as this? How can we use our reason to touch people in this day and age? How can wisdom and missional opportunities go hand in hand? 

Brothers and sisters, God gave us the ability to think for ourselves and make decisions. And each decision we make impacts ourselves and others. Are we using our reason to guide us or are we simply acting first and then thinking later. Esther thought about her strategy and words before entering into the situation before her. Do we do the same? I pray that we pray for  our ability to use our reason so that others may see and experience the glory of God! The world has enough people who do not think before speaking and acting. What we need is a few more good people who are intentional and wise in how they interact with others. May we be those people! Amen.