Commencement means Begin!

In the unlikely event that I should be asked to deliver a Commencement address, I am ready with a story that tells so much about the serendipitous twists and turns of life and concludes with one of life's big questions: How do you know that you have not been brought here, for such a time as this"?

Here is my unofficial translation of the Book of Esther taken from the Old Testament:*

A powerful Persian King XERXES threw a lavish party for his bro-ligarchy. His wife VASHTI had her own gal-pals gathered in her chambers when she was summoned by her husband to perform for the men. She refused! He banished her from the Kingdom for shaming him. His bro's convinced him to write an edict to go out to all wives that henceforth they must honor their husbands. The search then begins for a new Queen. The harem is the first place they look.

A young Jewish woman lives outside the gates with her Uncle MORDECAI who knows that HADASSAH (her real name) would be a great fit because of her extraordinary charm and beauty and wit, but she is Jewish and therefore not acceptable. He wants her life to be better than what he is able to provide, so he renames her ESTHER.

Esther is accepted into the harem. After countless hours pampering herself in order to be presented to the King, at long last she is summoned to meet her potential spouse. Xerxes is smitten by Esther's beauty AND her intelligence. The two have a lavish wedding while Mordecai waits outside the gates because Jews are not allowed to enter the Kingdom. (They are usually deported if found). Esther stays in touch with her uncle by messenger (texting) She tells him everything that is going on inside the Kingdom. One day, he overhears two insiders at the gate plotting a coup. Mordecai sends word to Esther, who in the knick of time averts the King's murder by spilling the beans. She does not say how she learned of the coup attempt.

Meanwhile, Mordecai has a confrontation with the King's chief of staff, HAMAM, who admonishes the Jew for not bowing down to him. (Saying, "You should be more grateful", or something like that . . .). Hamam can't handle it and decides to convince his boss that all Jewish people should pay for such irreverance. Hence, Xerses is duped into signing AND sealing with his gold initialed ring (X) a proclamation that all Jews will be murdered on the 13th of the month. No exceptions. Everyone must go. This means death to all of Esther's relatives and the village from where she came.

Mortified Mordecai sends Esther an urgent message to tell the King to stop the coming genocide of HER own people! Esther says no to Uncle, explaining that she cannot go before her husband, the King, without being summoned lest she herself be murdered. As if that's not enough, she would have to tell him the truth about her Jewish identity. Uncle M advises her to suck it up. He asks her the big question: Have you considered that "You have been brought to the Kingdom for such a time as this"?

A few plot twists follow including the King discovering that his own life had been spared from an attempted coup by Mordecai. Esther rises above her subservient role and invites her husband to a banquet rather than waiting for him to initiate the encounter she is seeking. She butters up his chief of staff knowing she will have to get passed him if she is to convince her husband to rescind the proclamation. The official seal of the ring prohibits even a King from doing so because it is against the law. . . and no one is above the law, not even the King!

Xerxes accepts the invitation to the banquet-- Esther summons her courage to tell Xerses that she is of Jewish descent and that his order will lead to the death of all her people in the coming days. NOTE: (This is now known as the Feast of Purim in Jewish tradition). The King begins to see the big picture, including that he has been duped by his boastful, arrogant chief of staff, the biggest sycophant there ever was (before the twenty-first century).

First, the King orders Hamam to be hung in the village square! Second, he sends out a new proclamation to save the Jewish people from mass murder, and instead grants them permission to avenge their would-be murderers! In the famous final scene, Uncle Mordecai becomes the chief of staff!

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Commencement means begin, but all that led to this all-important moment is chock full of choices and decisions calling to rise above it vis-a-vis that big question: How do you know that you have not been brought here (to this day) for such a time as this?

Congratulations to Sarah Eugenia on Commencement at Lesley University, May 16, 2026 Master's Degree in Art Therapy

*bible.usccb.org