My wife is a proud 2nd generation Irish-American and today is her day. She will play Celtic music, make traditional Irish dishes and invite her sons, daughter, and any one else who will come for a family meal. Today, it does not matter if you are of Irish decent or not it seems everyone will celebrate with you
Who do we celebrate today but the patron of Ireland, Saint Patrick and he is a perfect reason to celebrate our Gospel message today. This message confounded everyone in His time, in Saint Patrick’s time and us today.
The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.” The guards had originally sought to arrest Jesus but instead were left confused with no direction. Jesus’s words from Matthew 28:18-20 “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has given to me.Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.* And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” been
Saint Patrick a missionary to Ireland used the “three” leaves of the Shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish people. The idea of the Trinity is a daunting concept but the efforts of Saint Patrick and the other Irish monks were successful in converting a whole nation. Saint Patrick and his monks were inspired by Jesus and his words.
When my wife and I visited Ireland we saw one page from the “Book of Kells” which were the Gospels in Latin written on sheep skin by Irish monks. The print is so small, only a young person with extremely good eyes could have copied the scripture by hand. They must have all been young men with very good eyes.
My point about Saint Patrick is that he followed Christ’s command in Matthew. We here on earth in 2018 have the same mission as Saint Patrick bringing the good news to a pagan world that is dumbfounded by the message that “Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said,“This is truly the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.”
We live is a world where we do not talk about religion or politics. Supposedly it is not polite. However,religion is something, like Saint Patrick, that you live. You don’t have to use a great deal of words, but always be ready to explain your faith. Rather than argue with someone, you can declare the reason for your happiness. Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
God Bless You!
Bob Burford
Readings: Jeremiah 11:18-20; Psalm 7: 2-3, 9BC-10, 11-12; John 7: 40-53
