The older I become the more grateful I am to those voices that came before us. And, of the voices that came before us, the ones that left a lasting impact are those happy hooligans who offered a hearty right punch in the eyes of the devil. Luther did surely, but centuries before him the great St. Patrick did also. When he was 16, he was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who attacked his family’s property. During that painful season, Christ found him and turned Patrick into the fear of the pagan nations.
Intriguingly, a man like St. Patrick would be cast out of the evangelical church today as a trouble-maker. After all, he was against all sorts of things like Satan’s spells and wiles, false words of heresies, the knowledge that defiles, the heart’s idolatry, and even bad wizards. Gandalf would have been a friend, but those wizards in D.C. would have been a marked enemy. Patrick would have overturned tables and changed the present rituals of the American culture.
When Mary, Queen of Scots, said that she feared the prayers of John Knox more than the assembled armies of Europe, she was expressing an awareness that there are certain groups of people that pagans should fear. These individuals are in the arena of the holy and they have Christ all around them-behind, before, beneath, within, and all.
Patrick was the type of man who saw certain unholy things and threw imprecations at them as a way of life. He invoked God as a baptized man because he saw the Triune Name as the only name that could expel evil in every place and in all hours. Patrick was not concerned about showing the kind of sophisticated charity to evil-doers; he didn’t sit in the seat of the scornful and he didn’t seek the approval or applause of God-haters. Patrick was the manifestation of Gospel boldness. He knew whom he believed and he took that zeal everywhere he went in the Spirit of Elijah.
He was so dependent on his identity as one bound to the Triune God that his heart directed him to the embrace and benediction of his Lord. It should be mentioned that he was not naive. In all his capabilities as an ambassador of the Most-High, he did not seek the self-sustaining ministry of many evangelical apologists today, rather, Patrick poured his entire labors into God’s work, and counted in the protection of God to carry his words and actions far or nigh no matter how much of his reputation would be marred in the process.
He was a self-aware prophet of his time who can teach us much about the Christian life. He wrapped his existence in the death of Jesus for his salvation, in the bursting resurrection from the tomb, and in the hope of the glorious return of our Lord at the end of history. These historical realities guided his endeavors day and night and granted him the courage to fulfill his calling despite the opposition.
It seems our day is ripe for Patricks of all sorts. The Patricks who understand their calling, and do not fear to show their contra-mundum disposition and resume. The Patrick option seems the ideal way of celebrating this great saint who lost all for the gain of Christ.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
