Can anything good come out of Susa? Preaching from the scroll of Esther

Abstract

Finding sermon material in a story that never mentions God among its cast of comic book characters is a considerable challenge. Obscene wealth and selfish pride fall, but they are victim to violence and vengeance. Still, the perceptive preacher may find productive themes related to the critique of power associated with empire, sexism, and ethnic supremacy on the one hand, along with challenges to faithful living, the pursuit of justice, and the importance of memory—even in the apparent absence of God.