Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Haman added, ‘Even Queen Esther let no one but myself come with the king to the banquet that she prepared. Tomorrow also I am invited by her, together with the king. Yet all this does me no good so long as I see the Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Thursday, December 8, 2022
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Boo! Hiss! That’s what the original audiences of this play were to do whenever Haman came on the scene. If Esther is the pure heroine and Mordecai the representative of the faithful Jewish people, Haman is the villain, twisting his long moustaches and cackling as he plans the demise of all that Mordecai represents. Like most villains, he is destined to be thwarted and his ultimate take-down is aided in this case by his incredible pride. “Even Queen Esther let no one but myself come with the king to the banquet she prepared.” The audience can laugh at his hubris, knowing full well that Queen Esther is also a Jew and is counter-plotting his demise.
His pride is so great that just the sight of Mordecai, who refuses to bow down to him, spoils the otherwise wonderful attention he is receiving from the queen. Which makes me think of all the times in my life when I’ve let something I have no control over steal the enjoyment of some happening or another. Why? Pride. In those moments, I think I deserve and easy, pain-free life where everything goes exactly the way I want. And, of course, that’s not how life works.
It takes effort sometimes to see past the little or even big challenges and allow myself to enjoy the moment—effort I often need to ask God to help me find the willingness for. As we move ever closer to Christmas, which often entails family gatherings and other stressful situations, we’ll get lots of opportunities to ask God to let go of our pride so that we don’t let the little (or even not-so-little) things steal our joy.
Has my pride ever gotten in the way of my true enjoyment of the season?