Blessed St. Patrick’s Day to all of you Christian brothers and sisters out there.
Whether you’re Irish or not, if you’re a Christian (who confesses the Nicene Faith) then this day is for you. This day has nothing really to do with Irish pride. It has nothing really to do with corned beef or cabbage or beer or green stuff. But what it does have to do with, is gospel embodiment.
That sounds fancy, but its not. Let me explain
In a previous article (Behold, You Are Icons), I referred to st. Patrick’s breastplate, which is, the famous prayer of St Patrick.
It has a longer original full form in which St. Patrick invokes the Holy Trinity and confesses the full Creedal faith, listing off the creation, the incarnation, the baptism of our Lord, His suffering, death, His burial, His resurrection, His ascension and His imminent return in judgement – continuing on even to then confess the intercession of the saints, the ministry of the angels and the archangels, and the innocent and righteousness of the church as a source of strength to every Christian in their walk of faith, and many many many other things. But what He’s really known for is the last part, which I referred to in Behold You Are Icons, which reads;
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.
It’s these words, which form the (almost) last part of St. Patrick’s breastplate. If there’s any part of this prayer that you’re familiar with, it’s likely this part.
And why? I think actually, that the reason why it’s so iconic and seen as so characteristic to St. Patrick is becuase, well, it is.
You see, St. Patrick didn’t start out as “St. Patrick, patron Saint of Ireland.” IN fact his name wasn’t Patrick and he wasn’t Irish. His name was Maewyn Succat, and he was Roman-British.
How he became St. Patrick of Ireland 🇮🇪 involves the story of slavery, redemption, and Gospel embodiment. If you’re interested in hearing more I might recommend that you pick up a book by one of my old Baptist professors, Dr. Michael Haykin, called St. Patrick of Ireland. But as for the short version of what happened, Irish slavers captured him in his youth and took him to Ireland. There, as a slave he found himself spending much time in prayer. Eventually escaping by the grace of God, he ended up becoming a priest, and later a bishop in the Catholic church. But instead of staying away from from traumatic past and those who abused him and made him a slave, or giving into identity politics and harboring a spiteful hatred toward the people who wronged him, he instead focused his ministry towards the Irish. And returned there. As a priest. As a bishop. And there he preached to the people who stole his youth, who made him a slave, who wronged him, hurt him, and persecuted him. There, he served them in love. There, he forgave their sins, even the sins they did against him. There, as a bishop, as a priest, he did exactly what bishops and priests are supposed to do, he embodied the gospel of unconditional love, underrated favour, and unbounded grace in his life toward them. And through that Gospel ministry, preached and embodied, the entire nation of Ireland was converted to Christ, by the love of Christ, preached, and embodied by St. Patrick.
And that’s what this day is about. It’s definitely not about being Irish. It’s definitely not about the colour green, and it’s absolutely not about getting drunk. It’s about the evangelization of all peoples, through the preaching and embodiment of the gospel of unconditional love and forgiveness in Christ.
If the gospel is unconditional love and forgiveness, the to embody that is to do it. To live it is to be it. And to preach it is to proclaim it.
So let us, this day, and all days, pray together with Patrick, preach together with Patrick, and practice together with St. Patrick the Gospel of Christ Jesus, that every eye that sees us, every ear that hears us, every person that knows us, and everyone that hurts us would see, hear, know, and encounter Christ, His love, His forgiveness, and His grace.
By that love of Christ, preached, proclaimed, practice, and embodied, the whole world will brought into submission to its rightful king by the love of God that is in Christ Jesus ✝️. For in the presence of the Gospel of unconditional love preached and embodied by Christ’s church, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess, and every serpent shall be banished from the land. That is what we see in the life and ministry of St. Patrick.
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back. For such is love.
Happy St. Patrick’s day ☘
