Resurrecting St. Patrick – His Humility and Courage

Resurrecting St. Patrick – His Humility and Courage. 

‘If I have done anything good for my God whom I love, I beseech Him to grant me that with these new believers and those in captivity I may pour out my blood for His name, even if my body should be denied burial, and be miserably torn limb from limb by dogs or fierce beasts, or that the birds of heaven should devour it… It is certain that we shall rise one day in the brightness of the sun – that is, the glory of Christ Jesus our Redeemer.” (Patrick, from his Confessions).

God’s Name Not Patrick’s Name. Patrick was content to be identified by God’s name and not his own. He was completely satisfied with being buried in an unmarked grave and food for the scavengers. Patrick was strikingly parallel to John the Baptist in many ways, but here is maybe the biggest way… Both Patrick and John were happy to be a voice in the wilderness and not a name in the lights. Neither were out to make a name for himself. In their humility, they accepted their mission to be a voice, not a name. They were content to be working undercover, hidden in Christ. Patrick and John were serving within what Dr. Ellen Davis called “the discipline of obscurity.”

“Learn to be unknown.” (Thomas A’ Kempis, Imitation of Christ). Patrick lived into a gospel truth… Christ-followers are living with a new identity. We have taken the name tag off our chest and replaced it with a cross necklace. We are hidden in Christ who Himself is inside the Father. We check our egos at the door every morning when we open the door into a new day. We are content to be anonymous for Jesus. We don’t seek to put our names up in lights, for we are happy to be a voice in the wilderness. We are satisfied to be hidden under the shadow of His wings. We do not want to be a celebrity that directs the attention of others to us. We are happiest when God’s name is glorified, not ours. We realize that to seek acclaim is to reduce the voice to a selfish noise. We know that when we embrace the glamor of fame or name recognition, then we are digging up the grave of self that was supposed to have been crucified on the Cross with Christ. We are content with our names being written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, embraced by the Name above all names. We are most pleased when our voice echoes out to the world and speaks of the new Kingdom, calling out to others with the love of Christ.

The Servant Song

“A life not lived for others is not a life.”  (Mother Teresa of Calcutta). In loving others, we forget about ourselves on purpose. In a marriage, we help our spouse to discover what is most life-giving to him/her and we do what we can to make it happen. In our job, we do excellent work and give the credit to God and colleagues. In a friendship, we do what it takes to help that friend to flourish. In a community, we practice all those biblical one another’s… forgive each other, encourage and build up each other, honor and comfort one another, exhort and restore each other, harmonize and bear with each other, confess to one another, wash the feet and bear the burdens of each other. In daily life, our head is on a swivel and our antennae are up to notice and care for the “least of these.” (Matthew 25). In church, we use what spiritual gifts have been given to us to build up the Body and make it a place of worship joy and peace for everyone.

“Running on Empty.” (Jackson Browne). As a voice and not a name, we live into our weakness and rejoice in the gift of powerlessness. We recognize that God’s power comes into its own in our weakness. We happily accept God’s word when he said, “My power shows itself most effective when you are weak,” to which Paul responded, “Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weakness and infirmities, so that the strength of Christ Jesus may pitch a tent over me and dwell upon me. Now I take limitations in stride and with good cheer, taking pleasure in opposition, in bad breaks, in insults, in weaknesses, in perplexities, in distresses, and in all kinds of hardships. I just let Christ take over! For when I am weak in human strength, then am I truly powerful in divine strength. The weaker I get, the stronger I become.” The humble servant who is working undercover takes to heart wisdom like this…

1. “The Christian often tries to forget his weakness; God wants us to remember it, to feel it deeply.” Andrew Murray).
2. “God is attracted to weakness.” (Jim Cymbala).
3. “God’s power is secure in us only when it is linked to something that keeps us weak.” (Richard Bieber).
4. “I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency.” (Philippians 4:13, the Amplified Bible).
5. “God desires that we come to maturity by using our strengths to get us into significant trouble that exposes our weaknesses.” (Dan Allender).
6. “The weakness of the flesh in suffering provides a firm working-place for the surpassing power of the Spirit.”  (St. Maximus the Confessor).

Be like the buried seed that grows secretly and silently underground. “Truly, truly, what I am about to say is really important, so you’ve got to listen carefully. Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it is buried and dies, it produces a harvest of much fruit. The person who loves his life will lose it, while the person who hates his life in the world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:23-25). Jesus told His followers about something that He thought was so important that He started off by saying the equivalent of… ‘Listen carefully now, I really need you to understand this. This is the utmost truth and is most assuredly true. Truly, truly!’ And then Jesus offers a mini-parable that has two intentions. First, He wanted to discuss the coming Passion, and that He will be like a kernel of wheat that gets buried in the ground and dies to the world. But, He says, the seed must in a sense die in order to bring new life into the world, a harvest bearing much fruit. The purpose of burying a seed is to produce a fruit-bearing plant, He says. And that’s what will happen after I am buried in the ground. The dead seed leads to resurrection life, says Jesus. And judging by His words after this parable, Jesus intends for His followers to do likewise. We must become a buried seed in the ground, hidden and obscure, if we want to bring resurrected life into this world, He is saying. Bury yourself so that you are dead to the world and its way of life, and you will bring new life into the world, starting with you! I intend for you to bear much fruit, says Jesus, but you must first bury your self and follow me. While we are buried underground, we are growing in our friendship with Jesus, growing deeper roots in Him, and preparing for fruitfulness. As Herbert Lockyer said, “As you await this moment of reaping, may you abound in hope as you contemplate the joy of harvest in the heavenly fields above.”  God seems to have a unique clock for each of us within the mystery of our growth, and each of us matures as He ultimately wills, in His timing, at His pace.  No matter where we are in the growth process deep in obscurity, we can embrace Peter’s final words in his second letter: “You must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to Him, both now and forever! Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18). While buried underground and working undercover, we certainly all need to keep growing up in Christ. But only God knows what that will look like in each believer as we will hopefully grow from a hidden seed in the ground to breaking ground, and then from stalk to the ear to the full kernel in time for the harvest. God in His mercy will make that happen in His time. “I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong” (Ephesians 3:16-17).

“Daily I expect to be murdered or betrayed or reduced to slavery if the occasion arises… I endured many persecutions, even to chains and to give up my freedom to the benefit of others. But I have cast myself into the hands of the almighty God who rules everywhere.” (Patrick, from his Confession).

Fearless. St. Patrick’s daily death threats and fears of being taken into slavery were not a joke. If nothing else, Patrick had to remain fearless every day, he had to gather courage in Christ as he ventured forth into the spiritual wilds of Ireland. In his dependence on the Psalms in his prayer life, he certainly learned to live into Psalm 56:3-4, “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. I praise God for what He has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?” And Patrick surely reminded himself daily of Paul’s word to Timothy… “God will never give you a spirit of fearful cowardice, but instead the Holy Spirit, who equips you with divine power, agape love, and a sensible mind.” (2 Timothy 1:6-7). Of course he knew intimately the meaning of fear: dread or alarm in facing danger; to be afraid or apprehensive; anxiety caused by belief in approaching danger or by a perceived threat; feeling frightened concerning one’s safety or a loved one’s well-being; unpleasant emotions due to the likelihood of something unwelcome or undesirable; trepidation over unexpected crisis. In light of this, as Patrick wrote in his Confession, he was banking on the biblical promise Paul gave to the Ephesians, that God’s power in him… “is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms…” (Ephesians 1:20).

Charles Jenkins & Fellowship Chicago – War (Live)

Confronting the Pagan gods. Patrick’s exploits in facing off with deadly paganism echoed the time recorded in Matthew 16, when Jesus led His disciples into the literal pagan gates of Hell in Caesarea Philippi. The disciples endured one of their longest hikes during their third year together with Jesus, to the Greek region of Caesarea Philippi (CP) at the base of Mt. Hermon, which is 20 miles north of Capernaum, and a total of 105 miles from Jerusalem. CP was a hardcore pagan city from ancient times, earlier devoted to Baal worship, but more recently given over to the worship of the pagan god Pan. CP was completely covered in pagan shrines, temples and idols around every corner. It was not exactly a destination spot for earnest Jews, since it thrived as the center of detestable pagan worship for that whole region. All good Jews would avoid CP at all costs and wouldn’t step a foot near there.

Blood Sacrifice. Especially reprehensible was a huge cliff just outside the city that was the centerpiece of Pan worship. The cliff itself had 14 carved-out niches to display pagan relics and idols, as well as a cave at the base of it called the Cave of Pan. This gigantic rock formation had many temples built there, as well as other buildings to help the people take part in Pan worship, the fertility god that was half-goat and half-man. This Cave of Pan was popularly known in the region as the Gates of Hell. The worshipers believed that the cave opening led to the underworld, and was in fact the entrance to Hades. Near the Cave of Pan was a  large open area known as the Temple of the Dancing Goats, a horrific place that was dedicated to the purchase of goats to be sacrificed nearby. Once the goat was purchased, the owner of the goat would have a dance with that goat, and would often engage in bestiality with it. The goat would then be led to the sacrificial altar where the goat would be slaughtered and thrown into the mouth of the bottomless cave. It was said that the fast-flowing stream of water directly gushing from the mouth of the cave was always a bright red color because of the amount of blood offered there. This entire complex of temples and altars at the cliff was known to have a stench like death warmed over, of course because that is exactly what it was. This area of pagan worship could not have been more aptly named… This was indeed the Gates of Hades.

Hades, often synonymous for hell, was believed to be the vast underground holding area for the dead. The Hebrew equivalent was Sheol. The souls of the dead were said to exist in Hades as they awaited some future resurrection of all the bodies. The upper region of Hades was a sort of second-rate paradise for those who were somehow more blessed by the gods. The lower region of Hades was the holding place for the more wicked who required more punishment.  Evidently, Pan and the lesser fertility gods spent their winters in Hades, and then were enticed to appear each spring though goat sacrifices. The worship of Pan was sexually warped and morally corrupted beyond belief in the eyes of the Jews, and the entire area around CP was single-minded in its dedication to the Greek fertility rites.

Beyond Unclean. As Jesus pointed out to His perplexed disciples, He had intentionally brought them to the detestable Gates of Hell, and He had something special to say. Jesus once again proved Himself to be a Man full of surprises, and so maybe this long trek to CP shouldn’t have thrown them off balance. But, it undoubtedly did just that. This may have even been a bit on the scandalous side, and there was even the possibility of the disciples being tainted by the evil, or even rebuked by the Temple elders when they found this out. This pagan site in CP wasn’t merely unclean, it was positively filthy.

Gates of Hell. There are two different ways for a believer to understand the term “Gates of Hell” that Jesus used in this passage. The term can be understood first as a figure of speech, representing something along the lines of the powers of death, the powers of darkness, the stronghold of destruction. So the Gates of Hell, or Hades, could be referring to the very power that brings death to us all, the powers of darkness that usher us into the stronghold of death itself and there hold us in bondage.  Gates are symbols of strength and defense and protection, so the Gates of Hell symbolize the entry point that will bring people to death and keep them imprisoned within evil. Another way to understand ‘Gates of Hell’ is to see it as a literal place of evil and death, a physical reality consisting of a complex of pagan worship sites in CP that was as wicked as wicked can be, a huge rocky cliff outside of a Greek city only a few miles from the hometown of Jesus, dedicated to celebrating the wickedness of the evil one.

Now What? And now as we realize that Patrick imitated the works of Jesus in pagan Ireland, what are we to make of this in our day and age? Are we to storm the gates of hell, taking the offensive against evil? Or are we to hide under the shadow of His wings and claim God to be a refuge against any powers of death perpetrated against His followers? Actually, both. Jesus will build His church in such a way as to exhibit the spiritual power needed to overcome the gates of Hell, while also providing refuge from the evil in this world. The Church… both a rescue operation and a refuge from evil, playing both offense and defense.

Patrick must have bathed himself in this promise... “Who could ever separate us from the endless love of God’s Anointed One? No one! For nothing in the universe has the power to diminish His love toward us. Troubles, pressures and problems are unable to come between us and heaven’s love. What about persecution, hunger, nakedness, dangers and death threats? No, for they are all impotent to hinder omnipresent love. Yet even in the midst of all these things, we triumph over them all, for God has made us to be more than conquerors, and His demonstrated love is our glorious victory over everything!”  (Romans 8:35-37, Passion Translation).