Saint Patrick’s Day is March 17th every year, which falls on a Friday this year. On this day every year, most people try to wear green to not only recognize the holiday, but also to avoid the pinching that so often goes with not wearing green, which is the color we all connect with Ireland, where Patrick is believed to have come from. I say “believed” because he wasn’t actually born in Ireland. And history tells us that he didn’t actually drive snakes out of Ireland either. Nor was he ever canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint, much less the Patron Saint of Ireland. These are all simply legends. So I thought, after doing research on St. Patrick, that it may be beneficial to share who the man really was.
Patrick was actually born in England, when it was still under Roman rule, in the 4th or 5th century. While his father was a deacon in the church, Patrick never took much notice of religion, until he was kidnapped by Irish raiders when he was only 16. He was forced into slavery as a shepherd, watching over sheep, far away from people. It was during this time that he turned to God, and decided to live for God’s glory from now on. After 6 years of slavery, he found his way back home to England. But his time in Ireland was far from over.
He had a dream of an angel telling him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Patrick didn’t feel prepared to do so, so he went to school, and after 15 years of studies, he was ordained as a priest and sent to Ireland to preach the gospel. It was at this point in Patrick’s life that God really started working in amazing ways.
Patrick understood Irish customs and traditions. After all, he lived in Ireland for 6 years. So instead of trying to introduce this brand new way of life, Patrick took a page out of Paul’s book from Acts 17, and used what the Irish already understood and practiced, and helped them know God from it. He used the image of the sun with the cross to create what we now call the Celtic Cross to help the Irish relate more to God. He used bonfires during worship services because the Irish typically worshiped their gods with fire. Maybe we should reincorporate bonfires on Sunday morning. Have some marshmallows and worship. It could work.
Patrick traveled all over Ireland, preaching and baptizing as he went. We don’t have a count of how many people came to know Jesus through Patrick’s work, but it’s fair to say it was more than a few. And over the course of his life, he also wrote 2 books, telling his story and rebuking those who would harm Irish Christians.
God took this 16 year old boy, and through a series of slavery, inspiration, and direction, made him into perhaps the greatest missionary Ireland ever saw. This is the man we celebrate every March. This is a man who I think we can all look up to as well. He was unceasing in his obedience to God, seeking opportunities to help the gospel spread through Ireland, where he suffered in slavery for 6 years.
Oftentimes, when we go to a place and we get hurt in some way, we try to avoid that place. I’m willing to bet that after 6 years of slavery in Ireland, Patrick was probably in no hurry to return. But God had other plans, and we’re celebrating not necessarily what Patrick did, but more so what God did through Patrick, as it was His kingdom that grew.
I’m regularly reminded of something one of my college professors always said. Hurt people hurt people. Yes, we may get mistreated by someone. Unfortunately we live in a world where that happens far more often than it should. But the reason that it happens is because of the sin in this world. We all feel the effects of sin in our life. The person that hurt you just as much as the person who blesses you. But it’s up to us to remember that the person that hurt you probably has some stuff going on in their life. Or they’ve been through some hard times that have shaped them into who they are. We are all guilty of being captive of our own situations.
But as Christians, we shouldn’t be looking to judge them. We should be looking to love and forgive, showing them who Jesus is, because they aren’t going to find Jesus if the church hurts them, or at the very least, it will be much harder, as they won’t be looking as much.
I was reading an article a while back about the man that shot up Michigan State University at the beginning of February. He killed 3 students and wounded 5 others. In the article, it mentioned that he had a list of places where he felt “slighted”. To slight someone is to “insult (someone) by treating or speaking of them without proper respect or attention.” On the list of places was a church. It didn’t say what church or where it was, but this man felt hurt by the church. It made me wonder if he went to the church seeking community, as he was reportedly very lonely, and he was shut out in some way. I wonder if things would have been different if that church acted differently.
We as Christians have a responsibility to the hurting and the broken. Jesus said that it wasn’t to the righteous he came, but to the sinners. After all, it is not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick.
15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” -Mark 2:15-17 (NIV)
The church today is to be the hands and feet of Jesus. It is our responsibility, if we call ourselves Christians, to show that same care and love for the broken, just as Patrick did for those that hurt him. And that can start today.
