Esther

So I just read the book of Esther in the Bible. It's such a great story. Whether or not you're a Christian or even religious, it is a must read. Today as I was reading it again on the subway, I thought of how fun it would be to read it to children at a library (in the children's version of course). There's love, humor, action, and lots of great irony. It's written like a great legend. I believe that it is.
One really interesting part I noticed this time came at the end(if you haven't read it yet, go and take 20 min. to read it right now!). When the Jews are able to defeat their enemies all over the kingdom, it says that they were given the plunder of their enemies (8:11), but they ended up not touching it (9:16)! What happened to all that plunder??? Well, when Mordecai tells all the Jews to celebrate the two days of relief from their enemies, he tells them to feast, give presents of food,...and to give gifts to the poor (9:22). Where did the poor enter the picture. I wasn't there and the story doesn't specifically say this, but it looks like they would celebrate by giving gifts to the poor, because that's what they did with all the plunder when they defeated their enemies. What would cause these exiles in a foreign land not to take advantage of all the plunder? The followed Yahweh. They were different. God cares about the poor, so they did too (so much that they gave gifts to the poor - others - as part of their celebration! That sounds like a really neat idea - give to the poor when you have a celebration). The Jews are painted as very different in Esther. Mordecai doesn't bow down to Haman. Before Haman's demise, his wife tells him: "Since Modecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him" (6:13). When the Jews were given permission to fight for themselves, "many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them" (8:17). Wow! When the day came for the showdown between the Jews and their enemies, people were afraid of them, and all the king's officers supported the Jews (9:2, 3). The Jews were different. Even though "God" isn't mentioned in the story, He's all over the place working for the favor of his people. I could go on, but what a great story of God's work through his people to ultimately bring our hope, Jesus.
What's your favorite part of the story? Go ahead, leave a comment!

Hermon

So today, we were working with the youth group team from Tri-Village Church in Columbus, OH. We had them make PB&J sandwiches and then go around and give them to the homeless. We encouraged them to talk with them as well. I see at least 5-10 homeless people every day, if not many more. I don't really count. Whether it was the loss of a job, a drug addiction, divorce, or something else, many people have lost hope and live as homeless, thinking that they can never recover. So they ask for money on the streets. They really are everywhere, so New Yorkers quickly learn to ignore them as best they can. They don't get looked at in the face, listened to, hugged, touched. They get used to being seen as insignificant. It reminds me of when the leper ran up to Jesus in Matthew 8. He was an outcast, untouchable, freak of society. But Jesus came close to him, looked him in the eye, and went so far as to touch him. And Jesus healed him. This morning we didn't want to just hand out sandwiches, but to help restore dignity to the homeless. They are people created in God's image too. They are loved by him too. God sent his Son to die for them too.
As the team from Tri-Village spend time with the homeless, I decided it would probably be good to practice what I preached. There was a man sitting at a picnic table close to where we were meeting, and he had been there for quite a long time - obviously he had no where to go. So I offered him a sandwich that we were giving away, and we had a nice conversation. He grew up in NYC, in Brooklyn. We talked about how apartment rent keeps going up. We talked about cars, and how no really needs them in NYC. His name is Hermon. He's in a program where he's staying in a shelter and recovering from a drug addiction. It sounds like things were going well for him. He even got one of the free newspapers that the previous team handed out two weeks ago!
Tomorrow, we are going to be feeding the homeless breakfast at "Father's Heart," a local soup kitchen. I invited Hermon, and I hope he can make it. I pray that Hermon will know that he is greatly loved by God. Are there any homeless people around where you live. I bet there are. They may not be asking for money on the streets like in NYC, but you will always have the poor with you. Help restore the dignity to those who have fallen on hard times by sharing a conversation, and even your possessions (Acts 4:32, 34).

Homeless Guys

On Sunday night, I got to spend the evening with some homeless guys. I don't know a lot about the shelter, but Jacob (the outreach minister) often volunteers at the small shelter and spends the night there. There were about 1o homeless guys that showed up. Most of them were older and may have jobs, but either way they don't have a place to live. The cost of a place to rent is extremely high here. We had some sandwiches and cookies for dinner, and most went to sleep quickly. Most of them were easy-going guys. A few of us stayed up a little to watch some of the Yankees game. I didn't spend the night, but I'm hoping that I can go back a few times over the summer.
Jesus often hung out with the poor. I realize that I rarely do. I remember a sermon where the preacher talked about 1 Timothy 5:6-10.
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
The preacher said to keep from falling into the trap of wealth, we must constantly be giving our wealth away, and we must constantly be around the poor.
I think that's good advice. I definitely need to spend more time with the poor and hopefully this summer will stretch me.