What’s in a Name? Vashti - A Sermon for Sunday October 13th 2024
READING: Esther 1-2, selected verses.
A reading from Esther.
1This happened in the days of Ahasuerus, the same Ahasuerus who ruled over one hundred twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia. 2In those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa, 3in the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all his officials and ministers. The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and governors of the provinces were present, 4while he displayed the great wealth of his kingdom and the splendour and pomp of his majesty for many days, one hundred eighty days in all.
5When these days were completed, the king gave for all the people present in the citadel of Susa, both great and small, a banquet lasting for seven days, in the court of the garden of the king's palace. 6There were white cotton curtains and blue hangings tied with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and colored stones. 7Drinks were served in golden goblets, goblets of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king. 8Drinking was by flagons, without restraint; for the king had given orders to all the officials of his palace to do as each one desired. 9Furthermore, Queen Vashti gave a banquet for the women in the palace of King Ahasuerus.
10On the seventh day, when the king was merry with wine, he commanded (…) the seven eunuchs who attended him, 11to 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. 12But 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.
13Then the king consulted the sages who knew the laws (for this was the king's procedure toward all who were versed in law and custom, 14and those next to him were (…) the seven officials of Persia and Media, who had access to the king, and sat first in the kingdom): 15According 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? 16Then 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. 17For 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.' 18This very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen's behaviour will rebel against the king's officials, and there will be no end of contempt and wrath! 19If 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. 20So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, vast as it is, all women will give honour to their husbands, high and low alike."
21This advice pleased the king and the officials, and the king did as Memucan proposed; 22he 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.
1After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her. 2Then the king’s servants who attended him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for the king. 3And let the king appoint commissioners in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in the citadel of Susa under custody of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; let their cosmetic treatments be given them. 4And let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This pleased the king, and he did so.
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.
Have you ever had one of those days
in which you just stop and wonder
“Is God trying to say something to me?”
I had a morning like this the other day.
The alarm was set,
but a dog barked, “No, you wake up now”
much earlier than desired.
Time to cook breakfast,
but the fridge said “No, not the breakfast you wanted.”
Time to drive to work,
but the neighbour’s truck said
“Not yet, you have to wait for me”
Go to fill the gas tank
and the machine said “No, not right now.”
God is found in the interruptions.
Sometimes God interrupts us with a faithful “No.”
So maybe God was telling me “No”
No, you do not get to be in control of all things,
No, you do not get to decide what other people do
or don’t do.
Perhaps there’s another “no” in there as well.
It was a series of minor inconveniences,
the kind of things that people like us
easily allow to ruin our day.
I discerned it as an opportunity to repent,
to return to the Lord,
to follow Jesus,
to remember God is God and I am not.
We heard the story of Vashti,
and hers is a story of God speaking a faithful “No.”
Like Abigail,
Vashti’s story does not appear in our lectionary.
“Women who wreak havoc in the empire
aren’t always the ones the empire remembers fondly,
and women who defy their husbands
aren’t usually nominated for sainthood”
(Anna Carter Florence, “A Is For Alabaster: 52 Reflections on the Stories of Scripture.” 89. All quotations in this sermon are taken from this resource.)
To understand who Vashti is,
and why her story is important,
we need to know what the book of Esther is all about.
Esther is a comedy;
intended to be laugh-out-loud silly,
a little exaggerated
and a story to be read out loud as a whole
with audience participation.
Jewish people gather to hear the story of Esther on Purim,
which falls on March 13-14th, next year.
There is no direct mention of God in the book of Esther.
Martin Luther was not a fan of the book,
but this book is about faithful living:
worshipping God in a foreign land,
deliverance by God’s hand,
selfless service.
One of the fun parts of telling the story is for the congregation
to drown out the name of the villain in the story, Haman.
Now we wont hear his name much,
so get your boo’s and jeers ready for the wicked Haman
for a quick telling of the story.
It is the Persian empire,
modern day Iran,
a variety of peoples displaced by the victors of war.
The all powerful king, Ahasuerus,
chooses Esther to be the new queen after Vashti,
cousin and adopted daughter of Mordecai, a Jew.
Mordecai’s bitter enemy is the wicked Haman (Boooo)
the King’s right hand man.
Mordecai fails to bow down before the wicked Haman (boooo)
So the wicked Haman (Boooo)
plans to kill not only Mordecai,
but to exterminate all the Jews
in the Persian empire.
Mordecai calls on Queen Esther to intervene.
She appears before the king, unbidden.
This part is important,
you don’t come before the king
unless the king beckons you,
bids you to appear.
Esther appears before the king,
wearing her crown and her royal robes
(an important detail to remember).
Esther invites the king and the wicked Haman (Booooo)
to two banquets,
where she persuades the king
to not only save her people,
but to hang the wicked Haman (Booooo),
ironically on the very gallows
he built to hang Mordecai.
Esther’s courage and bravery to intervene
saved God’s people from destruction.
Her’s was a faithful “No” - God’s faithful “No”
to evil, death and violence.
But I’m not sure Esther could act in this way
without Vashti paving the way for her.
It is not unlike John the Baptist,
who paved the way of the Lord.
Even John’s lifestyle
living off the land,
God’s providing locusts and honey in the wilderness,
paved the way for Jesus’ own temptation
in his own wilderness.
John’s faithful “no’s”
paved the way for Jesus’ own faithful “no’s”
Before Esther became Queen,
Queen Vashti was bid to come before the king and the court.
This was in the middle of a 187 day lavish drunken party,
the greatest party ever seen.
In fact, it was a royal ordinance
to drink alcohol without restraint.
Like Nabal the fool,
king Ahasuerus was on a months long bender.
The king was putting his wealth and power on full display.
Vashti put on a banquet for the women.
During this banquet, on the 7th day,
full of wine,
the king ordered his Eunuchs to bring Queen Vashti
before the people,
to “show her beauty.”
What’s in a Name?
Vashti means “beautiful one” or “goddess”,
But the term “show her beauty”
is a euphemism:
She was bid to appear in her crown,
and not much else…
To “show her beauty.”
It is one thing to be called to court with hundreds of drunkards,
it’s another to be called in front of them
in only a crown.
Vashti defies her husband.
She will not leave the banquet for the women
to show off her crown to the men.
She will not allow her body to be degraded.
She refuses to be property.
Her defiance, a faithful resistance,
her faithful “No” could have terrible consequences.
She could have been killed as a traitor.
She could have been imprisoned.
It lead to her crown being removed,
but also to every man in the land
being skittish at home.
The men are on edge,
they are losing the control they have over their wives,
and keep in mind,
this was a property culture,
women understood to be the property
of men.
Word spread through the massive empire,
from Persia to Media to Ethiopia and India.
Women across the land found the courage
to join Vashti
in their own faithful “No’s”
It was a “tidal wave of rebellion”
The royal decree is made,
Vashti is no longer queen,
and a royal edict is sent across the empire
“Every man should be master in his own house.”
They legislated patriarchy.
And they did it while drunk,
following the royal ordinance
to drink alcohol without restraint.
The more things change,
the more things stay the same.
Still today we hear about governments,
mostly run by men,
legislating women’s reproductive rights.
And you don’t need to scroll long through any reputable news feed
and you’ll see a story about human trafficking
in our own country.
I do not think Esther is able to act with courage
without Vashti paving the way.
Vashti’s faithful “No”
to show her beauty in only a crown
paved the way for Esther
to appear unbidden before the king
in the same crown along with her royal robes.
Quoting Anna Carter Florence,
“Esther finished what Vashti started.
One injustice leads to another -
but one act of resistance does too.
A well placed no can empower another person
to rise up and speak out
against the false rulers of this world.
it can spark a whole movement,
it can save an entire people.”
Vashti’s story happened in modern day Iran.
Vashti paved the way for Esther,
and perhaps also for Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner,
Narges Mohammadi
who has fought for woman’s rights in Iran for 20 years.
Not many women in our bible just say no.
Just ask Eve,
women are often blamed for not saying no,
whether the husband says no or not.
Anna Carter Florence writes,
“The church has pushed it even further,
with doctrine that equates sin
with the failure to just say no
to a snake hawing apples.
But saying no to a tempting piece of forbidden fruit
isn’t the same as saying no to injustice
and all that can follow a misapplied doctrine:
sexism, misogyny, patriarchy, violence.
The prophets spoke this kind of no
repeatedly and relentlessly
to injustice in many forms.
So did Jesus…
So did Vashti.
Refusing to participate in an act of degradation,
whether inflicted on ourselves or another,
unleashes a power the kings of this world
will never know.”
We are participating in the legacy of Vashti’s faithful no.
It has taken many generations
to get where we are,
and there are still many generations
of deliverance needed.
A word on beauty.
Part of the ridiculousness of the book of Esther
was the cosmetic treatments
for the young virgins:
a full year of bathing in oils and lotions.
Some things never change.
Just walk into a shoppers drug mart to pick up some Tylenol
and you’ll have to go through the beauty gauntlet first.
The beauty gauntlet tells you what the world finds beautiful.
There are products for all the little things
society deems imperfections,
you can stretch the wrinkles
brighten the cheeks
you can hide with make up
just how tired you are.
Vashti refused to show her physical beauty,
because it would come at the expense of her true beauty,
the beauty that belongs to every child of God
created in God’s image,
for everything that God creates is beautiful
and lovable.
This is the difference between God’s love and human love,
humans love that which we deem to be lovable,
and a quick scroll of instagram
will tell you what the world finds to be lovable
and beautiful.
But God’s love takes what is nothing
and causes it to exist in the first place.
All God creates is lovable and beautiful.
You, dear child of God,
you are beautiful,
not because of the lotions and oils and beauty regimen
but because God made you.
Beautiful is who you are,
inside and out,
beauty is found in your whole being.
How might we learn from Vashti,
to express ourselves and our real beauty?
The beauty that is found in all humanity,
not in the unattainable desires of this world.
When you feel used or abused,
when you feel like you’re just some object
for someone else’s control,
remember Vashti,
and remember your worth and your beauty.
Your beauty is not for sale,
your body is not intended for the masses,
your beauty if found in your uniqueness.
You do not need to prove your worth by the world’s beauty standards.
Your beauty is found in baptismal waters.
God has claimed you,
you are wearing the garment of your salvation,
and you will receive the inheritance
of the royal robes of our King.
We crown Jesus our King,
the one who wears the crown of thorns,
who crowns us with righteousness.
In our sufferings,
amidst our trials and temptations,
Jesus promises us the crown of life.
When tempted to say yes
to your own version of Vashti’s crown
when tempted in your own way
to “show your beauty”
remember that you already wear the crown of righteousness,
there is no other crown for God’s faithful.
Friends,
I do get the feeling that God is trying to tell me something.
God’s Word is a living Word,
it is not dead,
it is spreading like contagion.
God’s trying to tells us all something.
God’s Word is a freeing Word,
it reminds us that, No, you and I
do not get to be in control of all things,
No, you and I do not get to decide
what other people will do or not do.
No, your worth is not found
in the world’s standards of beauty
or in obedience to patriarchy
or drunken power.
Your worth is found in baptismal waters.
May God continue to interrupt me, you, and all creatures
with a faithful No
to the powers and ways of evil in this world.
May we find God’s kind of beauty
in baptismal waters,
in all God’s creation,
in us all.
May God call us, like Vashti and Esther,
to rise up,
to do justice, big or small,
that paves the way for God’s saints to come.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
