Recently, I read the books of Esther and Daniel, one after the other.  There were a number of similarities between two of the main characters in each of the books that caught my attention.  The obvious similarity is that both stories are set in the period of the Exile.  This was the time following the capture of Judah by the Babylonians when most of the Jews were take to Babylon.  What is a more significant similarity between the stories for me is that both stories are set in a very secular and anti-God context.  The main characters are both given non-religious roles.  Esther is chosen for her beauty and made queen.  It is clear from the story that Esther’s role is for the sexual pleasure of the King Xerxes.  Daniel is part of a group of young men set apart to be trained in Babylonian thought, history and law.  After he interprets a dream for King Nebuchadnezzar he is made head of the king’s magicians and wise men and governor of Babylon.  Both of these roles seem unlikely for these two faithful followers of God.  Both of these positions would at least be questioned if not judged as inappropriate by Christian standards.  Yet, those are the positions that Esther and Daniel find themselves in.  It is in these questionable positions that faith and courage are put to the test and displayed.  It is in these questionable positions that we see God actively working. 

Often we imagine God working in religious contexts such as Sunday services, simple church, quiet times of prayer and study.  Contexts that are neat and safe.  The stories of Esther and Daniel tell us something different.  The stories tell us of a God at work in the un-religious if not a unsafe and God hostile world.  For most of us, our everyday is outside of the religious contexts.  We work, shop and play in a secular world.  The stories of Esther and Daniel invite us into God’s work, God’s story, in a secular and unsafe world.  To live into God’s story will require courage, faith, trust, risk and sacrifice.  Like Esther, we need to hear and listen to Mordecai’s words, “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”