(St. Paddy's Day...apparently “Paddy” is the appropriate abbreviation for Patrick…who knew?)
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
Alright. So I’ll be clear right from the start. I’m not Irish. I’ve not been to Ireland. I didn’t even wear green on St. Patrick’s day (I know…in elementary school I would have been pinched for that offense…don’t get any ideas!). Honestly, if I hadn’t read a devotional on the morning of the 17th that mentioned the holiday, I probably would have forgotten all about it (except for the reminders on FaceBook). In my typical life, Saint Patrick’s Day is not a huge deal. Though I appreciate celebrating people of a different cultural background than myself, I don’t change my behaviors for the holiday. I don’t turn anything green that isn’t usually green. I don’t hang up shamrocks. I barely even recognize when the holiday is about to occur or when it has passed. It’s just not a hugely significant day for me, personally. Instead, I tend to look past it to Good Friday and Easter.
That said, there are some things that I do appreciate about Saint Patrick’s Day. No, it’s not the wearing green. No, it’s not the leprechauns. No, it’s not the conversations about the pots of gold at the ends of rainbows. It’s not getting to eat cookies shaped like shamrocks with green icing, or seeing the Chicago River dyed green. It’s also not watching people use the holiday as an excuse to over-indulge in green-tinted alcohol. Nope. None of those things really get me excited. Instead, the thing that I like best about the holiday is the opportunity to reflect for a moment on the life of Saint Patrick.
Saint Patrick. Though there is a lot that is unknown about his life and there are a number of things that are likely more the result of folklore and tall tales, there are still a number of facts about Patrick that are inspirational.
Let’s look at a brief overview of what is known about him. Born in Britain, Patrick was kidnapped at 16 and taken from his family to Ireland. While there, he was forced to serve as a shepherd for many years, spending the majority of his time alone and outside. During this time, Patrick began to get serious about his faith. He would pray. He would seek God. He looked to God to provide, to sustain, to lead, to guide. Eventually, Patrick escaped. He fled from his slavery in Ireland, returning to England, the place of his birth. As we likely know, he didn’t stay in England for the rest of his life. Instead, he felt a call to the ministry. Specifically, he felt a call to return to Ireland where he would minister to the small group of Christians already present there and work towards sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the Irish. Patrick returned to Ireland, returned to the very people who had held him captive, returned to the land from which he had escaped and shared the message and love of the Gospel.
Can you imagine?
Can you imagine escaping from slavery, from hard labor, from your captors and having the heart to return? I mean, maybe returning isn’t the hard part. After all, I imagine many would want to return to inflict some type of retribution, some type of payback, but can you imagine returning in love? With the goal of sharing the love of Jesus Christ in a meaningful way? With your heart bent on converting the very people who had kidnapped you and taken you away from your home?
That, right there, is something. Patrick’s heart was so transformed by the love of Jesus that he was willing to risk his life to share that love with the very people who had held him captive.
Of course, now we know that he was successful. Now we have the benefit of history and know the impact that he made on that island, on those people. But for Patrick? He had no such guarantee. He had no guarantee of success, no certainty that the people would receive him. For Patrick, a return to Ireland was likely a very real risk. Patrick was risking everything he had, his very life by returning. This was a risk that he was willing to take so that he might share the love of Christ with a people who desperately needed to know Jesus.
It truly is a remarkable life, a remarkable step of faith, and it makes me question: Would I do the same? Would I respond the same way? If God put it within my heart to return to a land in which I had been captured and mistreated, would I be willing to go? Would I be willing to share the love of Christ as Patrick did?
Honestly, I don’t know. I hope that I would. I want to say that I would. But, in the circumstance, at the moment, when the rubber hits the road, I’m not so certain. It would only be by the grace of God working through me that I would be able to take that journey. It would only be by the love of Christ working within me that I would be able to love those people. It would only be by the power of the Holy Spirit that I would have the energy to take that step of faith towards Ireland instead of retreating as far as I could away from that land.
Maybe, just maybe, that was how it was for Patrick as well. I imagine that it was the work of God in Patrick (more than the characteristics within Patrick himself) that enabled him to serve in this way.
There’s a prayer of Saint Patrick that I want to share. In all honesty, it’s long, and I hadn’t read the full prayer prior to this Saint Patrick’s Day. There are also a few lines that fall outside of my Protestant comfort zone. Still, I feel like it is worthwhile and one that is meaningful for us to read and to pray.
“Saint Patrick’s Breastplate”
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.
I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.
I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.
I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
Friend, how about it? Could you adopt the bulk of this as your prayer? Could this be your attitude? Could you ask the Lord to so fill your life that you would go, like Patrick, wherever God might call? Wherever God might lead? To share the love of Christ with whatever people or person might need to hear? Could you arise each day (or “bind to yourself” each day as other translations word the phrase) in the strength of the Trinity, the mystery of the faith, in service to Christ no matter what might come against you?
I don’t know about you, but for me, this would be a St. Patrick’s Day tradition that I could get behind. Dedication to Christ. Reliance on Jesus. Complete surrender and trust in God and God alone.
~ Pastor Chris
