The second day of the banquet arrives to which Haman is invited like before. However, after Esther reveals her petition, he is condemned and brought to his place of execution. The gospel mentions this as a noonday meal in one passage and as an evening meal in another. For it designates the noonday meal of the present church but also the eternal supper and final banquet where only the righteous will rejoice before their creator after sinners have been separated out. Therefore Haman, the spiritual enemy of the people of God, realized that the king was angry because he did not have the robe of charity that would make him worthy of the royal banquet. And while he was hurrying to the palace gardens, that is, while he invited his elect to the delights of paradise, he tried to entreat the queen for his salvation. It was to no avail, however, because he was not able to find the right time for this. It is already too late to ask for the remedies of salvation when revenge and punishment are near.In the parable of the gospel concerning the coming bridegroom, the foolish virgins also ask the wise for oil to fill their lamps, but do not receive any. And after the bridegroom has entered the wedding banquet with the wise virgins, the door is closed. And because they are left outside, they ask to be admitted. They are no longer able to incur this favor, however, because the time for mercy which they neglected to ask for previously with their good works is now past.
One who has no desire to hear what the Lord has commanded cannot receive from him what he asks for. And one who has neglected the time for appropriate repentance comes in vain to the door of the kingdom with his prayers. And indeed the Lord says through Solomon, “I called you and you refused. I stretched out my arms and no one heeded. And because you ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when panic strikes you like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but will not find me.”
Now, notice that Haman is now attending the second day just as he had come before when he was summoned; and yet once Esther lays out her request, he is condemned and goes off to his punishment. This explains the fact that in one place in the Gospels is mentioned a lunch made by a person, and elsewhere a dinner; since the lunch symbolizes the present Church, and the dinner the eternal and final feast. Hence once the sinners have been removed, only the good may rejoice in the sight of their creator.
Because Haman—who was of course the spiritual enemy of the people of God—was not wearing the garment of charity which would have made him worthy of the king’s feast, he realized that the king was angry; and when the king rushed into the garden—that is, when he invited his chosen ones to the delights of paradise—he tried to plead with the queen for his own safety but in vain, since he could not find an opportune moment for this. For once the penalty of vengeance is imminent, it is too late to look for a means of salvation.
So too in the Gospel parable, the foolish virgins ask for oil to refill their lamps when the groom is on his way, but do not receive it. So after the Groom has entered the wedding with the wise virgins, and the door has been closed, the others remain locked out and must look for a point of entry; but there is no way they can be worthy of this, since they no longer find the opportunity for absolution which they had earlier failed to seek out by doing the appropriate deeds.
One may no longer deserve there what he asks from the Lord, if he did not listen here to what he was ordered to do; once he has lost the chance to do the appropriate penance, in vain does he come with his prayers before the door of the kingdom. This is, in fact, the reason why the Lord says through Solomon: “I called and you refused; I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; you despised all my counsel, and you ignored my reproaches. I too will laugh at your destruction, and I will mock you when that which you fear comes to pass; when sudden disaster overwhelms you, and destruction assails you like a storm. Then they will call on me but I will not listen; they will arise in the morning but will not find me” (Proverbs 1).
[AD 856] Rabanus Maurus on Esther 6:14-7:7
One who has no desire to hear what the Lord has commanded cannot receive from him what he asks for. And one who has neglected the time for appropriate repentance comes in vain to the door of the kingdom with his prayers. And indeed the Lord says through Solomon, “I called you and you refused. I stretched out my arms and no one heeded. And because you ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when panic strikes you like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but will not find me.”