The Truth About Patrick

Today is the day we celebrate all things Irish. We wear Green to avoid getting pinched. People all over the world drink a pint of Guinness and toast leprechauns. We search for four-leaf clover to signify good luck. We march in parades and on this day, everyone is Irish.

St. Patrick’s Day has its roots as a religious holiday. It was a solemn feast day in Ireland, and drinking alcohol on this day was prohibited until the 1970’s. It celebrated the life of  Patrick, the man credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland, to driving out the snakes and to bringing the symbol of the shamrock to the people.

Patrick first came to Ireland as a slave, a captive of Irish pirates kidnapped from his home in Wales. He came from a religious family, but had no faith of his own. During his captivity God worked on his heart and he discovered a way to have peace. After six years of captivity, he had a vision that there was a ship waiting in a harbor to take him home. He ran away from his master, found the ship and returned to Britain. He studied and became a Catholic priest. He had another vision, this time of the people of Ireland asking him to return and lead them to salvation.

The truth is that there never were snakes in Ireland. The pagan druids frequently had large snake tattoos on their arms, so driving out the snakes was a picture of replacing pagan religions with Christianity. There was already a Christian presence in Ireland before  Patrick, and the shamrock was the visual that  Patrick used to explain the concept of the trinity to the people.

The real miracle of  Patrick was that he found a love and compassion for the people who were his captors, the people who enslaved him for six years. He lived God’s love to the people, and we celebrate the day of his death because of the life of sacrifice that he lived.

“You have heard it 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.”

Matthew 5:43-44

However you celebrate, or don’t celebrate, St. Patrick’s Day, remember why he is celebrated. He loved. He loved his enemies, and he dedicated his life to bringing them the good news of salvation. Let your Irish stew, your corned beef and cabbage and your “Kiss Me I’m Irish” sweatshirts remind you of Patrick, and remind you to live the love of Jesus to those around you. We were once the enemies of God, and he chose to love us. How can we do less?

God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us… For is while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Romans 5:8, 10