Yesterday was Saint Patrick’s Day.
Pots of gold, rainbows, leprechauns, and green beer, HOORAH!
A little over three years ago I hopped on an airplane for the first time ever and went to Northern Ireland on a mission trip. Yes Northern Ireland, the distinction matters. It was my first time outside the United States and my eyes were hungry to eat up all the beauty of the green land around me, where wildflowers grew on castle walls in January.
During my trip I visited Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, which is said to be the burial place of Saint Patrick, and our team was able to worship at Saul Church, the location in which he first shared the Gospel and raised up a group of disciples. I grew to appreciate good ol’ Patty quite a bit, and while leprechauns are great (I mean, if you like tiny green mischievous men), I think Patrick himself is worth some celebration, and we can look to him as an example of a bold follower of Christ.
For starters, Patrick was not actually Irish.
Shocking, I know. He was born in Roman-England, kidnapped at age 16 by Irish pirates, and sold into slavery in Ireland. In captivity he worked as a shepherd and grew in intimacy with God (sounds a bit like David, eh?). After six years, he escaped back to his homeland and studied under a bishop to become a priest. His sleep was interrupted by dreams of the Irish calling to him and asking him to share his knowledge of God. “Come and walk among us,” they said.
So he did. And this was before 1492 when Columbus sailed the ocean blue. People in Roman-England had no knowledge of any land in the west beyond Ireland. To them, Ireland was the end of the earth.
Its pretty absurd that a man would be taken unwillingly to the end of the world, escape and arrive safely back in his homeland, only to willingly return to the end of the world for the sake of those who captured and enslaved him.
What leads a man to behave in such a way?
I’ve heard love can make you do crazy things. I believe that’s what happened here. Patrick was filled with the love of God and he wanted others to know God’s love as well. So much that he radically loved his enemies.
How much do you value the eternity of others?
Of those who would do you harm?
How much do you value the eternity of people who are marginalized in our society?
What about the drug addicts? The pedophiles? Murderers?
How much do you value the eternity of ISIS leaders?
This isn’t meant to be a guilt trip, just some questions to think about. I don’t have an answer in mind, nor do I believe there is one correct answer.
What I do believe is that Patrick was a brave man, full of love and grace, who valued the eternal lives of others more than he valued his own life on earth.
And I want to be a brave woman, full of love and grace, who values the eternal lives of others more than I value my own life on earth.
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. PEACE AND BLESSINS.
