For Such a Time as This
Lectionary Date: September 26, 2021 [18th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Esther is a rich and complex biblical story—which is why it’s unfortunate that it only appears once in the 3-year lectionary cycle. But to help us make the most of this occasion, we invited Rosy Kandathil to join us for a deep dive into Esther. Rosy is a PhD candidate in Hebrew Bible at Emory University, where she is writing a dissertation on the collision of humor and violence in the book of Esther. Rosy’s insights help us get to the core relevant issues of the book: how it navigates multiple identities at once, deals with the challenges of thriving in diaspora, and hosts some of our own deep questions about violence and vengeance. Buckle up for a great episode!
Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
This podcast was phenomenal in that it helped me to view the book of Esther with more conscious attention to plot of the story, understanding how code switching worked well in Esthers parallel response to the Kings inquiry of her desire, and to consider utilize this text to discovering new ways to process trauma. One of the major eye-opening learning experiences is the introduction of purposeful ambiguity of the presence of God, leaving the audience with questions about a text opposed to immersing ones embedded ideas onto the people.