The triumph of Mordechai
*oil on panel
*52 x 71,5 cm
*1617
Above: The Triumph of Mordecai, by Pieter Lastman
Image in the Public Domain
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This post covers Chapters 9, 10, and F (as The New American Bible labels them) of the Book of Esther.
In the remainder of the Book of Esther, many enemies of the Jews die and Esther and Mordecai live happily ever after. An exaggerated number (75,000) of enemies of the Jews die violently, but no Jew engages in plundering. Purim, a new feast, comes into existence. Mordecai ranks second only to Ahasuerus, who rules well, presumably because Mordecai is advising him. In the coda (in Chapter F) Mordecai recalls the dream from Chapter A and declares that dream fulfilled.
The Lord saved his people and delivered us from all these evils. God worked signs and great wonders, such as have not occurred among the nations.
–Esther F:6b, The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
Yet we know, do we not, that genocides have occurred and continue to do so? There was, of course, the Holocaust during World War II. Before that was the Turkish genocide of the Armenians during World War I. Furthermore, there were genocides in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Rwanda during the 1990s. In the history of the Americas the decimation of indigenous populations after 1492 has pricked many consciences. Many other genocides have occurred, of course, but I trust that I have made my point.
We human beings have the responsibility to act collectively and individually, for the glory of God and the benefit of our fellow mortals. Genocide is incompatible with that goal, as in most violence. Affirming this principle is relatively easy, but determining the best tactics is difficult. At that point disagreements arise. This can become an opportunity for a healthy debate based on common ground or for something unsavory. How another person responds or reacts indicates much about him or her, just as how I respond or react speaks volumes about me. May more of us respond (not react) out of divine love and functions as agents of grace, not bile.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 17, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT PATRICK, BISHOP OF ARMAGH
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Adapted from this post:
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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