Saved by a beauty queen

Esther 2:17
the king loved Esther more than all the other women; of all the virgins she won his favour and devotion, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 

Esther 4:13-17
Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.” Then Esther said in reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. After that I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.” Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.

Esther 9:19
Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the open towns, hold the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day for gladness and feasting, a holiday on which they send gifts of food to one another.

As our Jewish neighbours celebrate Purim, hearing the Megillah (the scroll of Esther) read aloud, making a noise when Haman’s name is mentioned, caring for the needy in community and sharing food, the bravery of Esther is remembered and celebrated.

Esther

Chosen for her beauty

Remembered for her courage

Offering her love

and her vulnerability

putting her life on the line

to save her people.

Risking all that she had

Daring to make her approach

Knowing that her beauty

was not enough to save her

Instead, she harnessed the petitions

of her people to God

and bravely put herself

in harms way

so that evil might be turned around

and justice might prevail.

Wise enough

to be subversive

No head on confrontation 

Instead, she lured her enemy

further and further

into feeling secure

until there was nowhere

for him to run.

She did the ground work

used her wisdom creatively

and won freedom

for all her people.

Esther

Queen of beauty

Wise beyond words

Saviour of the persecuted.

God’s chosen one

For such a time...