Thirty-Third Day

While constructed of 30 tons of steel, from the right perspective this ersatz church appears almost invisible.

Esther 2.20-22; [12.4-5]; 3.6-7

The book of Esther is something of a hybrid - a Hebrew original with later Greek additions, some of which duplicate the Hebrew text. For the purposes of reading Esther this week, we read from both versions in segments that fall roughly in chronological order, but the verse numbering will not always be sequential. As an indicator, any text set in brackets will be from the Greek additions.

Even a casual reading of the two versions will reveal significant differences between them. One important difference is that the Hebrew account is famous for never mentioning God, while the Greek text does; portions of the Greek additions, probably because of their more overtly religious language, are used in the Roman Catholic liturgy, while the Hebrew sections are not; and the Greek sections make explicit what is only implicit in the Hebrew story.

2

20 During this time, Mordecai was a member of the Sovereign's Gate, 21 and two rebels, Bigthan and Teresh, who were royal eunuchs belonging to the Guardians of the Threshold, hatched a plot to kill Ahasuerus. 22 Mordecai heard about the plot and informed Esther, who, on Mordecai's instruction, told Ahasuerus.

[12

4 Ahasuerus appointed Mordecai to an office in the royal court and rewarded him with gifts. 5 But Haman ben-Hammedatha the Agagite, who had the sovereign's favor, decided to get even with Mordecai on behalf of the two eunuchs.]

3

6 When he was told that Mordecai was Jewish, he was not content just to see Mordecai killed, but wanted to wipe out all of Mordecai's people throughout the empire of Ahasuerus.

7 So in the first month of the twelfth year of Ahasuerus' reign, the month of Nisan, they east the purple - that is, the lot - in front of Haman to determine the day and the month in which determination would begin. The lot fell to the twelfth month, Adar.

"Talking with the Sun"

by Joy Harjo (b. 1951)

found in Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings (WW Norton, 2015)

I believe in the sun.

In the tangle of human failures of fear, greed, and

forgetfulness, the sun gives me clarity.

When explorers first encountered my people, they called us

heathens, sun worshippers.

They didn't understand that the sun is a relative, and

illuminates our path on this earth.

After dancing all night in a circle we realize that we are a

part of a larger sense of stars and planets dancing with us

overhead.

When the sun rises at the apex of the ceremony, we are

renewed.

There is no mistaking this connection, though Walmart

might be just down the road.

Humans are vulnerable and rely on the kindnesses of the

earth and the sun; we exist together in a sacred field of

meaning.

Our earth is shifting. We can all see it.

I hear from my Inuit and Yupik relatives up north that

everything has changed. It's so hot; there is not enough

winter.

Animals are confused. Ice is melting.

The quantum physicists have it right; they are beginning to

think like Indians: everything is connected dynamically

at an intimate level.

When you remember this, then the current wobble of the

earth makes sense. How much more oil can be drained,

Without replacement; without reciprocity?

I walked out of a hotel room just off Times Square at dawn

to find the sun.

It was the fourth morning since the birth of my fourth

granddaughter.

This was the morning I was to present her to the sun, as a

relative, as one of us. It was still dark, overcast as I walked

through Times Square.

I stood beneath a twenty-first century totem pole of symbols

of multinational corporations, made of flash and neon.

The sun rose up over the city but I couldn't see it amidst the

rain.

Though I was not at home, bundling up the baby to carry

her outside,

I carried this newborn girl within the cradleboard of my

heart.

I held her up and presented her to the sun, so she would be

recognized as a relative,

So that she won't forget this connection, this promise,

So that we all remember, the sacredness of life.

Today’s Art Practice

Directions: Spend 15-20 minutes observing today's image. Ask yourself, "What's going on in this picture?" as a way of checking what you think you see and what you are actually seeing. Reflect on what the sights, sounds, and smells might be for the picture.

If you like, you can use a piece of the lined paper from you envelope to take notes on what you notice.

If you like, this playlist can help you keep track of time. Once it stops playing, 20-minutes will be over.

Let’s Pray…

An Outcast’s Prayer

by Miriam Therese Winter

We turn to You and Your mercy,

O God of barren places

and friend of the oppressed.

We stand in need of conversion,

from pain to peace,

from sadness to joy,

from guilt to affirmation.

Lead us not into isolation,

but deliver us from anger,

for Yours is the kindness,

the patience,

the strength we desire,

now and forever.

Amen.