“So much death. What can men do against such reckless hate?” So said King Theoden of Rohan. “Ride out with me. Ride out and meet them,” answered Aragorn, the returning king of Gondor (Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien). One could ignore the threat and hope that it goes away. With the Nazis, it just got worse. Or, one could find a place to hide and hope that, if trouble comes, one could keep on fleeing from danger. In our days of immediate communication and rapid transport

Jeremiah 18: 1-4. The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So, I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working on his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. Have you ever watched a potter working at his or her wheel? The potter begins the way God began at creation, with a lump of cla

Last week we learned that Esther and Mordecai are in trouble; there is a substantial threat to their lives, and it comes, of all places, from the government. How did this happen? What will Esther and Mordecai do? My friend Bill Mefford (The Fig Tree Revolution: Unleashing Local Churches into the Mission of Justice, 2017) points out that their antagonist, Haman the Agagite, is skilled in using the strategies of racism fanning the flames of hatred of certain ethnic groups in

We have come a long way from depending on the town crier for news. Back in the day, news was announced (cried out) in the town center, then spread from house to house with some adjustments by gossipy neighbors. The medium for messages, either news or proclamations, then moved from voice to print, that is, to newspapers, pamphlets (for example, during the Revolutionary War period), and to books. Still, the news could be slanted as the term ‘the yellow press’ reminds us. N

We have been introduced to Esther and her adopted father Mordecai. Mordecai was one of the captives of the war with Babylon which Judah lost, along with his cousins who were the parents of Esther. Esther herself likely was born in captivity in Persia, but there is no ‘birthright citizenship’ in this evil empire. Esther and Mordecai are Jews, but the Jews are among dozens of ethnic groups that have been captured and enslaved by the Persians. The Jews are keeping a low profil

Sometimes our prayers are driven by desire; we want something to happen and hope that God will grant our wish. Sometimes our prayers are driven by concern; we want someone that we love to be blessed in the face of a threat to health or life. And sometimes our prayers are driven by exasperation; we have been working in the Lord’s service, but no one seems to care. Worse yet, instead of believing the Bible, some cynics seem to think that showing love and compassion for others