What Would Saint Patrick Do?

A number of years ago (just like this year), St. Patrick’s Day fell on a Sunday. As I was scheduled to preach that Sunday, I told my Senior Pastor, Pastor Deuel, that I planned to preach about Saint Patrick. He asked why, saying “We’re not Roman Catholic.” To which I replied, “Neither was Patrick!” So, even though he shook his head, I did in fact preach a first-person sermon, a monologue, that Sunday about the patron saint of Ireland.

Of course, the sermon was actually about the Gospel; Saint Patrick was only the vehicle for presenting the Gospel, which his own words and writings show he would have completely endorsed. To know why Patrick’s life was all about the Gospel, it would be helpful to remember some of the details about his life and why he came to be called a saint.

First, we recognize that Patrick was neither Roman Catholic nor even Irish. Patrick was born a Romanized Briton named Patricius in the 5th Century AD. At age 16 he was captured by Irish raiders who took him to Ireland to work as a slave in a pig farm. While slaving for six years, he became more devout in his Christian faith. Then one night he dreamed that a ship was ready to take him home,  so he escaped and found the boat and sailed back to England. He then studied and was ordained as a missionary. Again he had a dream, in which a man handed him a letter called, “The Voice of the Irish.” Patrick later wrote that he seemed to hear a certain company of Irish beseeching him to walk once more among them. “Deeply moved,” he says, “I could read no more.” Therefore, he returned to the land and people of his slavery and brought them the freedom of Jesus Christ. He became their bishop and spent the rest of his life preaching, teaching, and baptizing them, though often opposed and threatened by kings and their pagan priests.

As I said, we celebrate not the person named Patrick, but rather the Gospel which he took to the Irish people. So how does knowing Patrick’s life help us to know and spread the gospel, too? We could ask, “What would Patrick do?” Consider the following:

1. Though enslaved and treated harshly, he did not surrender to despair, but used his experiences among the Irish to serve the Lord. Indeed, it was his enslavement which created in him the heart to evangelize his former oppressors.There are two passages in the Bible which encourage us not to be defeated by adversities, but to see in those conditions the benevolent hand of God.
   • Near the end of Genesis, we read of Joseph’s rise from slave to second in command of Egypt after prophesying to Pharaoh of a coming famine. In his elevated position, Joseph was able to stockpile enough food for many people to survive the famine. Later, Joseph confronted his brothers who had sold him into slavery. Though they feared retribution for their actions, he told them, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20).
   • In Romans 8:28, Paul teaches the same principle, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Rather than cursing the misfortunes that befall us, we should pray to discern how God may use the situation to bless us or others.
2. He held no hatred toward his captors, but rather forgave and sought to bless them with the Gospel. Jesus told us not to hate our enemies, but to forgive and love them. In Matthew 5:43-44, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. . .” Patrick had every right to hate the Irish and avoid going back to save them, but he gave up that right out of love and obedience to Christ. Likewise, we will meet people we just cannot stand, who have wronged us by word or action. Yet Christ calls on us to forgive them and seek to do them good, rather than evil. Do as Jesus commanded: “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.” (Luke 6:27-29).
3. Patrick persevered, though he doubted his ability. In his writings, Patrick confessed that even as he returned to Ireland after escaping, he had serious doubts about his abilities to preach and evangelize the Irish people. He felt inadequate to the task at hand, but he went ahead, and as a result he planted churches and converted many to the glory of God. This is a great example to all of us, most of whom also feel inadequate to the task of proclaiming the Gospel to those around us. Those who haven’t gone to seminary may be afraid they don’t know enough; those of us who went may feel overwhelmed by the immensity of the task. Soon after I began my internship, I was called to the home of a man who had died. When I arrived, his widow called the grandkids into the room and told them that Pastor Eddy would tell them about what happened to their grandpa. At first I panicked inside, feeling inadequate to the task, until I heard a voice inside saying, “What do you think I have called you to do?” With that rebuke in mind, I sat down with the children and we talked about life and death and heaven (and whether there are Taco Bells there!).
4. Snakes. Okay, so it is only a legend that Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland. Scientific articles are happy to point to Ireland’s climate and isolation from the European mainland as the REAL reasons the island is free of snakes (except as pets and zoo exhibits). But there is another meaning to that legend, and that is the connection of snakes to Satan, the original snake in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3 and Revelation 12:9 – “that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan.”). The island was under the control of Satan and those who worshiped him through pagan gods. By bringing the Gospel, Patrick overcame the angry opposition of the pagans, who threatened to kill him, with the freeing truth of the Gospel. In that sense, he “drove the snakes” from Ireland by replacing them with Christ. We must expect opposition from spiritual powers when we do God’s work, but we must not fear that opposition, knowing that “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
5. Shamrocks. Okay, probably another legend, but it is said that Patrick taught about the Trinity using the three leaves of a shamrock combining on one stem. Whether true or not, we know two things: First, Patrick did believe in the Trinity, beginning a poem with the words. “I bind unto myself today, the strong name of the Trinity: three in one and one in three.”* And second, Patrick did not invent the Shamrock Shake, available at McDonald’s since 1970. (Besides, McDonald is more likely Scottish than Irish.)

So there you have it. Enjoy St. Patrick’s Day, but as you eat your corned beef and cabbage, washed down with a Shamrock Shake, remember the reason for the season. Consider what Saint Patrick would do, and use his example in your life as a Christian.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.**

Read: Genesis 50:15-21.

*From the hymn known as “St. Patrick’s Breastplate,” which is #188 in our Lutheran hymnal (LBW).

** In Irish: An Tiarna beannaigh tú agus tú a choinneáil, An Tiarna a dhéanamh ar a aghaidh a Shine ar tú, agus a bheith gracious a thabhairt duit. Tógfaidh an Tiarna suas a ghnúis ort, agus síocháin a thabhairt duit. Amen. (I can’t begin to pronounce this, so I will stick with English.)