Others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. (Hebrews 11:36-38)
Today is St. Patrick’s Day. Most people know that it has something to do with Ireland and you’re supposed to wear green. In Chicago they actually dye the river green. (And, probably their beer.) But, beyond that, people don’t really know a whole lot about the reason for this day, and that’s a shame. Just exactly who was St. Patrick, and how did he come to get his own day named after him? The following is an excerpt from an article on The Voice of the Martyrs website. It might be a little lengthy but worth the read:
He was born in Britain, in the fourth century A.D., during a time of great uncertainty for the Roman Empire. The Roman legions that once protected civilized Britain from barbaric invaders were called away to defend themselves in other regions of the Roman Empire. Therefore, Britain was left vulnerable to attacks.
Just before Patrick turned 16 years old, he and his family spent time at their holiday villa by the sea, located outside the town of Bannaventa Berniae, when Irish pirates attacked it just before dawn. Although Patrick’s family escaped, Patrick and many of the family’s workers did not; and soon they were in route to Ireland, where Patrick was sold as a slave to Miliuc of Slemich, a Druid tribal chieftain.
Patrick was given the task of a herdsman. Though raised in a Christian home Patrick never made a decision to follow Christ until he was kidnapped and made a slave. In his autobiography, Confessions, Patrick wrote, “The Lord opened my senses to my unbelief, so that, though late in the day, I might remember my many sins; and accordingly I might turn to the Lord my God with all my heart.”
He also wrote about how his faith in God grew as he prayed to Him while he shepherded the flocks: “But after l had come to Ireland, it was then that I was made to shepherd the flocks day after day, and, as l did so, I would pray all the time, right through the day. More and more the love of God and fear of Him grew strong within me, and as my faith grew, so the Spirit became more and more active. In snow, in frost, in rain, I would hardly notice any discomfort, and I was never slack but always full of energy. It is clear to me now, that this was due to … the Spirit within me.”
But Patrick’s devotion to God did not go unnoticed. He soon earned the nickname “Holy Boy” among his fellow slaves. One night Patrick had a dream. In it he heard a voice telling him, “Soon you will be returning to your own country.” In another dream he received a response to the first dream, being told, “Come and see where your ship is waiting for you.”
At the age of 22, Patrick escaped and made his way to the coast of Ireland. He later wrote: “I turned on my heel and ran away, leaving behind the man to whom I had been bound for six years. Yet I came away from him in the power of God, for it was He who was guiding my every step for the best. And so I felt not the least anxiety until I reached the ship.”
Patrick approached one of the men on the ship that rested on the coast. When he asked to board, the seaman scowled at him. Patrick started to leave when the man called back to him, saying the other passengers wanted him on board. Patrick wrote, “In spite of this, I still hoped that they might come to have faith in Jesus Christ.”
The journey by boat was long, including a stop where they journeyed on land for 28 days. After having run out of food, the captain turned to Patrick and challenged him to ask his God for more. Glad to oblige, Patrick responded, “Turn trustingly to the Lord who is my God and put your faith in Him with all your heart, because nothing is impossible to Him. On this day, He will send us food sufficient for our journey, because for Him there is abundance everywhere.” According to Patrick’s autobiography, when the men turned around, a herd of pigs was standing before them. They feasted for days and gave thanks to God.
When Patrick finally made it to his beloved Britain and into the arms of his mother and father. Patrick began to settle back into his life in Britain and studied to become a priest and a bishop. But one night Patrick had a dream of a man who seemed to come from Ireland and was carrying a letter with the words, “The Voice of the Irish.” As Patrick began to read the words, he seemed to hear the voice of the same men he worked with as if they were shouting, “Holy Boy, we beg you, come back and walk once more among us.”
His family shuddered at the thought of him returning to barbaric Ireland with the gospel, as the Druids were known to weave criminals and runaway slaves into giant wicker baskets and suspend them over a fire. Of this opposition Patrick later wrote, “So at last I came here to the Irish gentiles to preach the gospel… And, should I prove worthy, I am ready and willing to give up my own life, without hesitation, for His name.” Patrick had to sell his title of nobility to become the “slave of Christ serving the barbaric nation.”
Patrick journeyed across Ireland, preaching at racetracks and other places of worldly indulgences, seeing many come to Christ. However, this was not without opposition. The Druids often tried to poison him. One time a barbarian warrior speared Patrick’s chariot driver to death in an attempt to kill Patrick. He was often ambushed at his evangelistic events and was enslaved again for a short time. Another time Patrick and his companions were taken as prisoners and were going to be killed, but they were later released. In Confessions, Patrick wrote, “As every day arrives, I expect either sudden death or deception, or being taken back as a slave or some such other misfortune. But I fear none of these, since I look to the promise of heaven and have flung myself into the hands of the all-powerful God, who rules as Lord everywhere.” Patrick journeyed throughout Ireland, sharing Christ until his death on March 17, around the year 461 A.D. (persecution.com)
There you have it. How about that? St. Patrick wasn’t even Irish! But, his love for God and his desire to see the people of Ireland come to Christ drove Patrick forward with the Gospel, regardless of the personal price he might have to pay. The secret to his boldness and power lie in those words we just read: “…I look to the promise of heaven and have flung myself into the hands of the all-powerful God, who rules as Lord everywhere.”
May this account of Patrick’s courageous life inspire all of us to stand firm in Christ and stand strong for Him as we tell others about the greatest gift we can ever be given — salvation through Jesus Christ! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
I love being your pastor,
PC