It is a basic tenet of the Christian religion that we believe what we believe not because human beings have invented it but because God has revealed it. In consequence, there is an authority inherent in Christianity which can never be destroyed.

–Dr. John R.W. Stott,  I Believe in Preaching

Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority. In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!”  And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

–Luke 4:31-37 (TNIV)

The demons knew who Jesus was and acted accordingly, because they had no hope in him. Do you know who Jesus is and do you act accordingly?

God’s mind, being infinite, is impenetrable by finite beings. His thoughts are as much higher than our thoughts as the heavens are higher than the earth (Is. 55:9). How then can we know them? By ourselves we cannot. They are beyond us. There is no ladder by which we may climb to the heights of heaven, no way by which we may delve into the mind of God. But God has disclosed his thoughts to us by speaking. The Isaiah 55 passage continues: ‘As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, … so is my word that goes out from my mouth’ (verses 10-11). God has clothed his thoughts in words. His mouth has declared what is in his mind. Theologically we may say that revelation has come to us through the means of inspiration.

–Dr. John R.W. Stott, The Authority and Relevance of the Bible in the Modern World

Do you want to honor Christ’s body? Then do not scorn him in his nakedness, nor honor him here in the church with silken garments [for the altar table] while neglecting him outside where he is cold and naked. For he who said: “This is my body,” and made it so by his words, also said: “You saw me hungry and did not feed me,” and “inasmuch as you did not do it for one of these, the least of my brothers, you did not do it for me.” What we do here in church requires a pure heart, not special garments; what we do outside [of church] requires great dedication. Let us learn, therefore, to be people of wisdom and to honor Christ as he desires. God does not want golden vessels [for the sacraments] but golden hearts.

Now in saying this I am not forbidding you to make such gifts [to the church]; I am only demanding that along with such gifts and before them you give alms. He accepts the former, but he is much more pleased with the latter. In the former, only the giver profits; in the latter, the recipient does too. A gift to the church may be taken as a form of ostentation, but [a gift to the poor] is pure kindness. Of what use is it to weigh down Christ’s table with golden cups, when he himself is dying of hunger? First, fill him when he is hungry; then use the means you have left to adorn his table. Will you have a golden cup made but not give a cup of water? What is the use of providing the table with cloths woven of gold thread, and not providing Christ himself with the clothes he needs? What profit is there in that? Tell me: If you were to see Christ lacking the necessary food but were to leave him in that state and merely surround his table with gold, would he be grateful to you or rather would he not be angry?

Once again, I am not forbidding you to supply these adornments [for the altar]; I am urging you to provide these other things as well, and indeed to provide them first. No one has ever been accused for not providing ornaments, but for those who neglect their neighbor a hell awaits with an inextinguishable fire and torment in the company of the demons. Do not, therefore, adorn the church and ignore your afflicted sisters and brothers, for they are the most precious temple of all.

–John Chrysostom, Homily 50 on Matthew.3-4

In this solemn piece, based on Matthew 25:31-46, Chrysostom warns us to keep our priorities straight in loving Christ. The “golden heart” of which he speaks is key to understanding the right motivation in which to help the poor. We do so not to earn our salvation, an impossibility, nor as a bean counting activity. Rather, we do so because our hearts have been transformed by Christ. We love him and want nothing more than to please him. We remember the inexpressible gift of healing and life we have been given by Christ. We remember we were lost, helpless, and hopeless, but that we were rescued from our alienation from Life by God himself who loves and pursues us madly. This grace allows us to see ourselves in the desperate plight of others and we reach out to help them in love and compassion because we understand the hopelessness and despair of their situation and we desire to do for them, albeit in a much less complete way, what God has done for us in Christ.

We love this life despite the fact that it is vanishing, slipping away with equal speed in our youth and in our declining years. So how much better is it for us to hold onto something secure, the life that we will enjoy when this life is over? After all, what is really long if it comes to an end? Moreover, this life is not only short; it is also uncertain. We can die at any age. Therefore, it is just good sense to kneel humbly before God, to confess our sins and groan over them, to tell our Divine Doctor of our sickness so that we may be cured.

–Augustine, Sermon 360B.6

The reason why (after Adam’s sin) humans were infected with mortality was to train them in humility. In being mortal they were forced to face the fact that they could not live on earth forever and that at some time or other this life would come to an end. They were thus encouraged to humble themselves before God and strive to lay hold of that unending future life even as this present life is rushing away.

–Augustine, Sermon 360B.5

So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet, and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.” Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.” King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing?” Esther said, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. ⁷ The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life. Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?”  As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.” The king said, “Impale him on it!” So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.

–Esther 7 (TNIV)

Today we conclude our look at the book of Esther. Here we see God’s hand in the events, circumstances, and people of Esther’s day come to fruition. The proud and wicked Haman is undone. He has found himself compelled to be at the Queen’s banquet and now faces justice for his unjust act against the Jews. Nowhere is God’s name or hand explicitly mentioned but everywhere we see it in the narrative.

It is proper to grieve Haman’s undoing, not because we should approve of what he did, but because we see the terrible results of sin come to fruition. The chickens have come home to roost and he has paid dearly for his sinful pride. We remember that we too have the same sinful pride dwelling in us, making us capable of committing grievous acts against God and humans. Maybe not the same as Haman’s acts, but grievous nevertheless. We thank God that his Spirit dwells in us and changes us into his very Image.

We also can give thanks that God’s hand is in our daily lives, sometimes overtly and other times more covertly. Whatever the method, we can stop and give thanks that we have a God who is intimately involved in our lives and who is actively at work in his creation to redeem it. How do we know this? By reading stories like Esther and remembering Christ’s mighty Resurrection, the first-fruit of God’s New Creation in which he will finally and fully redeem his fallen creation forever. Thanks be to God!

How can righteousness exceed [that of a Pharisee], unless “compassion rises above judgment”? What is as right or as worthy as a creature, fashioned in the image and likeness of God, imitating the Creator who, by the remission of sins, brought about the reparation and sanctification of believers? This is how Christian righteousness can exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, not by canceling out the law but by rejecting earthly wisdom [to seek human glory and popularity]. For those who love God it is sufficient to please the one they love; and there is no greater recompense to be sought than the loving itself; for love is from God by the very fact that God himself is love. Each person’s treasure is that which the individual desires.

–Leo the Great, Sermon 92.1-3

All who come into this life are compelled by the turning wheel of time to pass on. You must keep walking or you will be dragged along. As we travel on our journey we will be met at a fork in the road by Jesus. And he will say to use, “Don’t go to the left. It looks like an easy and delightful road to pass along, but at the end of that way lies ruin. But there is another way which involves innumerable labors, and hardship. This road is difficult to follow but when you reach its end you will experience the very peak of joy.”

–Augustine, Sermon 346A.1

Lord Jesus Christ, who stretched out your hands on the cross and redeemed us by your blood, forgive me, a sinner, for none of my thoughts are hidden from you. Pardon, I ask, pardon I hope for, pardon I trust to have. You who are pitiful and merciful, spare and forgive me. Amen.

—The Ambrosian Liturgy

Christ became like us that we might become like him. The work of the Spirit seeks to transform us by grace into a perfect copy of his humbling.

–Cyril of Alexandria, Festal Letter 10.4