Of Snakes Shamrocks and Saints

Helen and I traveled to Ireland for our 15th wedding anniversary and it is a beautiful land rich with history and filled with friendly people. Sitting at ease in a pub telling stories, like the man who swore this was true. He said the missus finally wore him down and he took out a life insurance policy. He couldn't believe what the policy said: "The total sum will be paid to you in one single figure at the time of your death, and must be applied for by post unless you wish to collect it yourself."

But behind the wry humor lies a present reminder that all is not well in Ireland. When we arrived at the airport and picked up our car in Southern Ireland we were asked if we would be going to Northern Ireland because there would be an extra insurance charge because of the increased danger. While coming a long way, Protestants and Catholics still fight and recent headlines of fighting in Belfast remind us of this sad present day reality. On St. Patrick's day it is appropriate to draw a lesson from the rich history of the Irish of how one man overcame injustice and forever changed the emerald island.

Of Snakes. Patrick was born in Scotland in the year 387. When he was 14 he was captured by raiders and taken to Ireland where he was sold as a slave. Patrick was forced to tend sheep and pigs and live outside where it is said he frequently encountered snakes which frightened him. We have two writings by St. Patrick which have survived to the present day. In one of these he wrote of his experience as a young man and how God used the suffering of slavery to mold Patrick's character and make him depend upon God, writing:

"The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same." "I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain."

Patrick's captivity lasted until he was twenty, when he escaped after having a dream from God in which he was told to leave Ireland by going to the coast. There he found some sailors who took him back to Britian, where he reunited with his family. Patrick had promised God that if he was delivered he would study to be a priest and this is exactly what he did. He was ordained a priest and later a bishop.

After becoming a bishop Patrick had another dream where the people of Ireland were calling him to return to them. Return to his tormentors? Patrick never waivered and returned to Ireland to teach the druids and pagans about God. Patrick had learned to fear nothing, not even death or personal hardship, so complete was his trust in God and so complete his calling to serve others. The legend is that upon his return and no longer fearing the snakes of his youth, Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland and into the sea. Whether true or not what is true is that Patrick understood the Scripture that says:

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." I John 4:18-21. Patrick understood this and overcoming any desire to punish his tormentors, he loved and served the Irish people for 40 years before his death.

Of Shamrocks. Bishop Patrick was well known for carrying a large staff. It is said that Patrick spoke to the people of Ireland about God in Cashel at the spot marked by St. Patrick's cross in the above picture. The king stood beside Patrick while he gave a message that lasted for hours. Patrick leaned on his staff while speaking and could not understand the reluctance of the people to accept his message. Apparently Patrick did not know that his staff was lodged in the foot of the king and when he leaned on the staff the pain was evident in the king's face. The king endured this believing it to be part of a ritual to become Christian. The pagan people thought such pain too much to bear and chose not to convert.

The message conveyed when we inflict pain on others instead of love destroys the very witness Patrick and other Christian's mean to convey. Patrick realized this. He chose to use the Shamrock to teach the Irish people about the three in one God who loved them and sent his son to die for them. The three leaves of the plant were used to show how one plant can have three parts and how one God can have three parts - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Of Saints. Patrick served the people of Ireland for 40 years. He endured poverty, suffering and pain because of the calling he had on his life to serve those in need. His humility, gentleness, love and devotion was so evident that all of Ireland converted to Christianity. He died on March 17, 461 at the age of 74. Many years later the Catholic church acknowledged the contributions of Patrick in living out the great commands to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul and to love your neighbor as yourself by naming him a saint.

The life of Patrick pointed people to God. He understood what Christ was telling the lawyer in the story of the good Samaritan that to love our neighbor means to love those we do not like. Samaritans and Jews hated one another because of race, religion and history. Patrick could have ignored his vision. He could have lived a very comfortable life in Scotland as its presiding bishop. But Patrick listened to the call on his life to serve people who no one else wanted to serve. He obeyed God and returned to the land of his tormentors and forever changed the face of Ireland. His humble devotion and sacrificial example of service have earned him a place in the hearts of people world-wide as we celebrate the day he died.

I think Irish and non-Irish alike can learn much from Patrick's life. He was a man who understood suffering and injustice but it never stopped him from pursuing the higher calling he had to serve others. He sacrificed everything to demonstrate love for a people who had kidnapped and enslaved him. I pray we could truly honor St. Patrick's day by honoring the life of Patrick by setting aside our differences, sacrificing our own interest, and instead follow Patrick's example by looking to the interest of others. Perhaps Ireland could truly experience the peace Patrick desired for them. Perhaps we could experience that peace as well.