Message in a Shamrock
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
You might wonder what this holiday has to do with preparing for Easter since it is usually associated with beer drinking and green everything. The story is quite interesting about St. Patrick and I wanted to share the National Geographic article with you.
“The real St. Patrick wasn’t even Irish. He was born in Britain around A.D. 390 to an aristocratic Christian family with a townhouse, a country villa, and plenty of slaves. What’s more, Patrick professed no interest in Christianity as a young boy, Freeman noted.”
“At 16, Patrick’s world turned: He was kidnapped and sent overseas to tend sheep as a slave in the chilly, mountainous countryside of Ireland for seven years. “It was just horrible for him,” Freeman said. “But he got a religious conversion while he was there and became a very deeply believing Christian.”
“According to folklore, a voice came to Patrick in his dreams, telling him to escape. He found passage on a pirate ship back to Britain, where he was reunited with his family. The voice then told him to go back to Ireland. He gets ordained as a priest from a bishop, and goes back and spends the rest of his life trying to convert the Irish to Christianity.”
“Patrick’s work in Ireland was tough—he was constantly beaten by thugs, harassed by the Irish royalty, and admonished by his British superiors. After he died on March 17, 461, Patrick was largely forgotten. But slowly, mythology grew around Patrick, and centuries later he was honored as the patron saint of Ireland, Freeman noted.”
Now here is a part that really fits the Lenten season, the way he shared the message of God. “According to St. Patrick’s Day lore, Patrick used the three leaves of a shamrock to explain the Christian holy trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
“Another St. Patrick myth is the claim that he banished snakes from Ireland. It’s true no snakes exist on the island today, Luther College’s Freeman said—but they never did. Ireland, after all, is surrounded by icy waters—much too cold to allow snakes to migrate from Britain or anywhere else.”
“Since snakes often represent evil in literature, “when Patrick drives the snakes out of Ireland, it is symbolically saying he drove the old, evil, pagan ways out of Ireland [and] brought in a new age.”
Today as you see green and shamrocks all around remember the message of St Patrick. It’s a great way to start a conversation with someone about Jesus. God is so clever!
My Prayer
Father, thank you for the many ways that You provide for us to share you with others in every day life. Beginning a conversation that will lead to You is our opportunity to reach others. Thank you for driving out the enemy of our souls. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Where does my help come from?
2 Corinthians 13: 14
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”