"St. Patrick's Day"
By Michael Browder Ph.D.
March 17, 2010

Today is St. Patrick’s Day. I have some Irish ancestry, on the Browder side. Perhaps Browder comes from O’Broder. But, I think there is a little Irish in all of us today. In honor of this day, I want to tell you a little bit about St. Patrick.

The story of Patrick’s life, as told in his autobiography, begins when he was 16 years old. His birth and early life took place near the southern coast of England. At the age of 16, he was captured by Irish raiders, and sold into slavery back in Ireland. He was beaten, and mistreated for a time, and finally put to tending sheep.

Can you imagine the life of this 16-year-old boy? A slave. Far away from home. Not knowing the language. It seemed that all was lost. But Patrick had been raised in a Christian home. His father was a priest. But the young man had never given much thought to religion.

Now, far away from home, he turned his heart to God. He took much comfort in the Lord’s prayer, and the other things of faith that he could remember. God was with that young man, Patrick, even when he was exiled in slavery, just as God was with the young man Daniel, when he was taken away to Babylon. And God is with you and me. The Bible reminds us that he is very near. He hears our prayers. And as Heb. 13:5 promises: “He will never leave you or forsake you.” Young Patrick could say: The Lord is my shepherd. Even in the valley of the shadow of death, thou art with me.”

And then God sent Patrick the opportunity to escape. In a vision, he heard the Lord say, “There is a ship waiting to take you away.” Patrick fled through the backcountry, away from the roads, to avoid being caught, and he made his way to the harbor. A ship was indeed waiting, but they didn’t want to give passage to the penniless young man. Because of God’s promise, Patrick simply waited, and finally the captain relented.

They did not make it back to England right away, but were held up on the northern coast of France. Their Patrick found solace with the local bishop. Now, in contrast to his early years, he longed to read the scriptures and find hope and comfort in them. The Bible is a blessing to you and me, and to all God’s people. That’s why we can say with Psalm 119:105: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

Patrick finally made it back to England. But after a few years, he had another vision from God, calling him to go back to Ireland as a missionary. Can you imagine how he felt? To be asked to return the lonely land where he had been a slave, abused by his captors! But Patrick obeyed God and went. Perhaps he remembered Romans 10:14.

My dear brothers and sisters, where is God calling you? The question is not, if he is calling you, for he surely is. The question is: Where is God calling you?

Maybe you have learned something from your difficult times that will be a blessing to others. As a slave, Patrick had mastered the ancient Gaelic language of Ireland. He had learned their customs. Now, when he returned as a missionary, he could speak to them fluently in their own tongue, and he knew what things were important to them.

I never will forget the story of Olav Parnamets, the head of the Methodist Church in Estonia. When Olav was young, Estonia was part of the Soviet Union. And so, he was forced to serve in the Russian army. He was stationed out in Siberia. Although his native language was Estonian, Olav had to learn Russian, because that’s all anyone spoke. He was so lonely, and that Russian language reminded him how homesick he was. He used to pray, “Why?... Why, God, are you making me go through this?”

Years later, he was a Methodist pastor back in Estonia. After the fall of the Soviet Union, his country was liberated, and the church was free to evangelize. But there were still many Russians living in Estonian. They were hard to reach for the Lord, because their language was different, and they had their own customs, and they felt isolated, surrounded by Estonians.

But Olav Parnamets was able to preach to these people successfully. He knew their language well. He understood their customs. And he knew what it was like to be isolated. Rev. Parnamets told me: “God used those terrible times I spent in the Russian army so that I could preach to these Russian people today.”

And so Patrick went back to Ireland. The first thing he did was to go back to his former owner, his master, and purchase his freedom. Can you imagine that? I am reminded of the Book of Philemon in the Bible. This Epistle is a letter carried by the escaped slave Onesimus as he goes back to his master Philemon. Onesimus had become a Christian and Paul is sending him back to their fellow Christian Philemon. During the days of slavery in America, people tried to quote this book to justify slavery. But nothing could be further from the truth. Onesimus went back to his master, because he had to go back in order to be set free. God blessed his courage for doing this. Onesimus later went on to become a bishop in the church. In fact, he probably helped to chose what books became part of the New Testament. That’s why we have the book of Philemon today. Bishop Onesimus wanted everyone to know that he had been a slave, but God set him free and blessed him.

And so it was with Patrick, who came back to Ireland. Other Christian missionaries had come to Ireland from Briton, (it is actually too early to call it England, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes would not arrive until a couple of hundred years later.) But the early missionaries had not made much progress in Ireland. They did not learn the local language and customs.

Patrick went to preach to the foremost chieftain in Ireland, (probably in the north, near modern Ulster.) There, he was up against the powerful priests of the Druid religion, which worshipped trees and practiced both animal and human sacrifice. Patrick took on the Druids in a contest a little bit like the story in the Bible of Elijah and the prophets of Baal.

Every year, at the spring equinox, the Druids would extinguish all the local fires, and build one big fire at the capital. From this they would re-light all the others. It happened that when Patrick arrived, the day of the fire arrived at the same time as Easter. So Patrick built his own fire, on a neighboring hill, and he began to preach about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. As hard as they tried, the Druid priests could not get their fire to outlast that of Patrick. And so, people began to accept the salvation of Christ. Nothing can outshine the Resurrection of Jesus!

Patrick went through the country, preaching in one principality after another. At times he was beaten, at other times he was thrown in jail. But he persevered. He could say with Paul in II Timothy 4:7-8. “I have fought a good fight , I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

I think there is an important lesson for us in this. It is the lesson of perseverance. It is so important for us to persevere as God’s people. Our road will be difficult sometimes, if we are truly committed to serve Jesus Christ. We may never have to endure slavery, we may not be shipwrecked, or beaten, or imprisoned. But we will have obstacles to overcome, if we are going to stand up and be a witness for Jesus Christ. Because, let me tell you, not everyone wants to hear it. There are fewer and fewer people who are committed to the Lord. Fewer and fewer people who care about matters of faith, or God’s church.

And let me say this, too. We need to speak up. We need to lift up the Lord’s name, and be clear about how Christ saves us. But words alone are not enough. People need to see our faith in action, if they are going to come to know our God. All this we see in the example of St. Patrick of Ireland. Unlike the pagan priests before him, he would never accept bribes, or even lavish gifts, nor would he lift up himself. He always worked hard and pointed to Christ. And because of him, Ireland is a Christian nation today.

I don’t know that he took the snakes out of Ireland; there were probably no animal snakes there to start with, only perhaps some Druid symbols of snakes. Did he use the shamrock, the three-leaf clover, to teach people about the Trinity, one God, in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit? It’s sure a good idea on how to teach it. The other Christians in Ireland may have been Arian heretics, who do not accept the doctrine of the Trinity.

Jesus said, “I will make you fishers of people.” And St. Patrick exhorts us, “We ought to fish well and diligently, as our Lord exhorts. Hence, we spread our nets so that a great multitude and throng might be caught for God.”

By the time of his death Patrick had baptized tens of thousands and established hundreds of churches throughout Ireland. Within a century, this once pagan land became predominately Christian, possessing such a vigorous faith that Ireland in turn sent out missionaries to Scotland, England, France, Germany, and Belgium. As an old man, Patrick looked back in awe, saying: “Those who never had a knowledge of God, but worshipped idols and things impure, have now become a people of the Lord, children of God.” The land, which once enslaved him, he had set free.

The old saint died in his beloved Ireland, on March 17th, about 460, or perhaps as late as 493 A.D. That’s why we remember him today on March 17.

In Matthew 28, Jesus said:“ Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

St. Patrick took these words of Jesus to heart. And because he did, a whole nation found Christ. God is still calling us today, calling us to go into the world to share the Good News of the salvation of Jesus. How is God calling you today? And how will you answer that call?