And yes, even though God isn’t mentioned once in the Book of Esther, when Mordecai and Esther practiced civil disobedience and stirred the pot to save God’s people, yes, God was present.

But just because the Book of Esther causes us to laugh doesn’t make it a simple or “safe” book of the Bible. Those of us hearing this text would do well to ask ourselves about times in our lives when we’ve acted like Haman or Ahasuerus. As a privileged white man reading this story, this text forces me to ask myself of times when I’ve allowed my privilege to harm those around me who are marginalized. And that, certainly, is no laughing matter.