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Author: Elaine Roub, from the Charis Community in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The Hero: Gates locked or arms open?

Esther chapter 4 starts by saying, “When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes in anguish. Then he dressed in sackcloth, covered his head with ashes, and walked through the city, wailing loudly and bitterly, until he came to the entrance of the palace. He did not go in because no one wearing sackcloth was allowed inside.” (Esther 4:1-2)

Did you notice in Esther chapter 3 that Haman never mentioned the name of the people he wanted to destroy? The king had no idea that he had just authorised the destruction of thousands of Jews, nor that his own chosen queen was a member of that people.

So the order to kill every Jewish man, woman and child in the kingdom was dispatched. It didn’t take long for Mordecai and his fellow Jews to get the devastating news of Haman’s plot. Mordecai immediately began to mourn, tearing his clothes, putting on sackcloth and ashes in the grieving custom of the day. All over Susa, the Jewish people followed suit—fasting, weeping and were terrified. Mordecai’s anguish was not for himself, it was for his people. 

Again unafraid of what anyone thought of him, Mordecai headed straight for the palace, since he knew someone in high places there. But the palace gates were slammed shut in his face. Why? Because of what he was wearing as he was mourning. “No shirt, no shoes, no service,” the sign on the palace door might have read. We don’t want any bad news here. Keep out.

So Mordecai did. He stayed outside the gates but he didn’t shut up as he started wailing loudly, walking back and forth in front of the window he knew his niece would be looking out of.

Mordecai’s responses in this story challenged me to think about how I deal with fear, grief, and crisis. When I see people around me in pain, do I lock the gates, bury my head in the sand, and go find some entertainment with which to distract myself? Or am I willing to enter into their suffering, to intercede for them, even fast and grieve with them? Hmm, that’s worth pondering during today’s prayer time. 

Scripture quotations from The Good News Bible, © 1994 published by the Bible Societies/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd UK, Good News Bible ©. American Bible Society 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992. Used with permission.