Mourning Monday

Scripture — Esther 4:1-3 (NRSV)

When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes and went through the city, wailing with a loud and bitter cry; he went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one might enter the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. In every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and most of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.

Devotion

When I was an engineer, there was a volatile and difficult time in the construction industry. The consequence was that many people were laid off—great coworkers, great engineers I had gleaned wisdom from, and people I had heard about in every department. I remember everyone walking around trying to make sense of what happened—checking desks to see if the rumors were true; hoping it was over and asking, “Am I next?”

Workplace grief comes in all forms. Nursing units are constantly exposed to death and suffering. Retail employees are enduring transactional experiences for the bulk of their shifts. Workplaces that mean well struggle and can contribute to unjust practices, economies, and communities. Direct reports struggle to do their job and balance coaching and guiding vis-à-vis enabling. Human-image-bearing issues often hide behind workplace logs of metrics. We drag humanity in the door or into the work vehicle. When the shift is over, we add to the human issues on our way home. And the hauntings of the fall guarantee there will be some grief.

Mordecai had a colleague in government who was consumed with the seat. At the intersection of his work for a Persian king and his service to the creator of the world, Mordecai chose to bypass his job description and adhere to his vocation from God. He bowed in his heart. And the result was an edict that everyone who was a Jew was going to die (Esther 3:13-14).

And Mordecai grieved it. Our modern civility makes mourning uncomfortable. We are apt to grab modern fig leaves to cover up what can only be addressed by lament. Injustice and loss are addressed by efforts to maintain obliviousness through humorous pivots, selective disclosure, presenteeism, or half-days off on Fridays…for months.

Are you tired? Has the labor of your day pushed you to forget you are human, you are clay? (See Ps 103:14). Mordecai was wearied by an unjust edict. Jesus struggled with the nuances of unbelieving, observing disciples. Neither abstained from lament. Mordecai tore his clothes, and Jesus wept. Sometimes we need to lament. Sometimes the only resolution is to tear some garments and put on some ashes.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Esther: A Harem Girl Grows Into a Powerful Queen (Esther 4).