St. Patrick and the Good News
Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Many of you are wearing green in some shape or form. You have friends and family (and leprechauns) that will find it an appropriate time to pinch you for not wearing it. How did we get to today, where we celebrate St. Patrick by wearing green, drinking green beer, to eat corned beef and cabbage, and attend parades and other festivities to celebrate the death of a Christian missionary?
St. Patrick was a Christian missionary who brought the Good News of Jesus to Ireland in the 5th century, a place where he had been enslaved as a young person. According to legend, he used the shamrock to explain the Doctrine of the Trinity. If you are new to Christian Theology, the Doctrine of the Trinity is the Biblical teaching that God is one in essence, but three distinct persons. You may have heard this expressed when you hear someone say, “God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.” It is a difficult doctrine to comprehend. How can God be One, and yet three?
While I could spend hours discussing the topic of the Trinity with you, I won’t. It does remind me though of why I have been intrigued by the story of St. Patrick as a missionary and how his story and his message have been hijacked by mainstream culture. What about the festivities of St. Patrick’s Day reminds of St. Patrick’s life mission and message?
St. Patrick, or as I like to call him, Patrick, believed that Jesus was the solution to what was ailing Ireland. Again, he’d been enslaved in Ireland and now, in his freedom, chose to go back to a land and a people that had mistreated him. Who does that? Someone whose life has been changed by the Gospel of Jesus. (On a side note, the Bible says that, in Christ, you are a saint and a priest, because of Jesus’ work for us. See 1 Corinthians 1:2 and 1 Peter 2:4-10).
When you have had an encounter that changes you, you want to tell people about it. Think about it, when you’ve had a good meal, been to a great concert, read a compelling book, or seen an incredible movie . . . you tell people about it. You share the good news of your experience with others. You literally evangelize because of that encounter.
From my own personal life, there is no better decision in all of human history, aside from a person’s acceptance of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, as God’s gift for your soul’s greatest need - restored relationship with our Creator - God the Father.
So, this week, in the spirit of St. Patrick, would you consider Jesus? The solution to our hurts, hang-ups, and destructive habits is Jesus. The gospel (biblical principles) applied to our lives heals our marriages, our finances, our parenting, our understanding of work, and so on.
Wear some green, maybe have a root beer, and be reminded that St. Patrick’s mission was our soul. The greatest party is the one that will celebrate Jesus for all eternity - some call it heaven.