Dear friend,
I want to ask you something before I say anything else this Wednesday morning.
When was the last time you heard your pastor acknowledge what is happening? Acknowledge that millions of faithful Americans are watching a man be opposed from every direction — by enemies and now by people who were supposed to be on his side — and that Scripture might have something to say about it?
I am willing to guess the answer is: not recently. Perhaps not at all.
That silence is what I want to talk to you about today.
Before I go further, I wrote something specifically for this moment. It is called They Tried To Stop Him: What The Bible Says About Donald Trump. It is not a political book. It is a Biblical one. It traces the pattern God has used throughout Scripture when He selects a man for a moment in history, and it shows you where we are inside that pattern right now. Many of you have written to me saying it gave you language for something you already believed but could not fully say. You can find it here:
Now. Let me tell you about Esther.
You know the story. A young Jewish woman inside the palace of a pagan king. Her people facing annihilation. A powerful government had moved against them, and there was nothing ordinary people could do to stop it.
And Esther — who had the king's ear, who was perhaps the one person in the world who could change the outcome — said nothing.
She had her reasons. Going before the king uninvited was punishable by death. She had a comfortable life. She had protection. As long as no one knew she was Jewish, she was safe. Staying silent felt like the smart choice.
And then Mordecai sent her a message. You will find it in Esther chapter 4, verse 14:
For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Mordecai did not say silence was comfortable. He said silence was dangerous. He did not say she would escape by staying quiet. He said she would perish. And then he said the thing that changed everything — who knows whether you were placed exactly here, exactly now, for this precise moment in history.
Esther chose to speak. She went before the king. And the decree was reversed.
I have been watching the news this week with the eyes of a man who has spent fifty years reading this Book.
A businessman in Iowa just defeated a sitting congressman in a Republican primary — a man Donald Trump had personally endorsed. For the first time in this entire midterm season, a Trump-backed candidate lost. The headlines are calling it a crack. A signal. The beginning of something.
And I notice how many voices that should speak are quiet this morning.
I notice the pastors who will talk about cultural decline in general terms but will not name what they are watching happen. I notice the Christian leaders who write beautifully about faith in public life and then go silent the moment it costs them something. I notice the people in your own congregation — you know who they are — who believe exactly what you believe but have decided that saying so out loud is too costly.
The Bible is full of this pattern.
Peter warmed himself by the fire of the very people who had just arrested the man he called Lord. He was right there. He simply would not say whose side he was on.
And the religious leaders of Jerusalem — men who had watched the miracles, who could not privately deny what they had seen — chose their reputation over the truth. John chapter 12, verse 42 records it plainly: Many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue.
Fear of being put out of the synagogue.
What is the synagogue today? It is social standing. Approval. The polite company of people who have decided that your beliefs are embarrassing. People are still choosing that over the truth.
Now — I am not asking you to be reckless. I am not asking you to pick fights or make every conversation about politics.
I am asking you to see the difference between wisdom and cowardice. They are not the same thing, though they can look alike from the outside.
Esther was not reckless. She fasted for three days before she moved. She was careful and strategic. She approached the king at the right moment and in the right way. Wisdom is not silence. Wisdom is knowing when and how to speak — and then actually speaking.
The people who stayed silent in Scripture did not protect themselves. Mordecai told Esther plainly — you and your father's house will perish. The religious leaders who chose the synagogue over the truth found themselves on the wrong side of the most important moment in human history.
Silence is never as safe as it feels.
I have received many letters from you in recent weeks. Some of you have told me that you feel alone in your congregation. That you look around on Sunday morning and cannot tell who believes what you believe. That the silence in the pews feels heavier than it used to.
I want you to know something. The silence you are hearing is not the same as absence. There are more Esthers in that building than you know. Most of them are waiting for someone else to go first.
Perhaps that someone is you.
God bless you, friend. This is not an easy moment. But it is the moment you were given. And who knows — who truly knows — whether you have not come to exactly this place for exactly this time.
With you in prayer, Father Thomas
This week, I want you to do four things:
One. Read Esther chapter 4 in full. Not just verse 14. The whole chapter. Pay attention to how long she hesitates. Notice what changes her mind.
Two. Identify one person in your life — a pastor, a friend, a family member — who you believe knows the truth but has gone quiet. Do not confront them. Pray for them by name this week. Ask God to give them the courage Esther found.
Three. Ask yourself honestly: is there anything you have gone silent about that you should be saying? Not loudly. Not aggressively. Just clearly, to the people in your life who need to hear it from someone they trust.
Four. If you want the full Biblical picture of what is happening right now, They Tried To Stop Him will give it to you. It is the clearest thing I have written, and I believe it is what many of you have been looking for:
God bless you all.