SermonsWhere Have All the Snakes Gone? March 15, 2009
Today, historians say that St. Patrick really didn’t get rid of all the snakes in Ireland. It’s just a fable. But despite the fable, the symbolism of the snake reminds us of the reality of evil in the world. And evil is where our story of Patrick begins.
As a boy of 16 years living in England around A. D. 400, Patrick and other youth were abducted by pirates. They were taken as slaves to Ireland. This reminds us of the horrible African slave trade and the current abduction of girls and women in the sex markets. Even with all our so called progress, we still have the evil of slavery that Patrick experienced.
There on the island, Patrick was forced to tend sheep for six years. Over the years he learned the language and customs of the Irish people. Little did he know that this learning would come in handy in the future. As the days and months went by Patrick began to wonder about God and search for guidance. So it was, that God did not forget him. And as he prayed, God sent him visions and dreams. One reoccurring vision was of a ship that would take him to freedom. So one night, he followed that vision and escaped over the mountains toward the sea. It was no easy journey—matter of fact he walked over 200 miles to find a ship that would take him back to England. He had escaped.
Back in England, he continued to have dreams and visions. Like Samuel in the Bible, he heard God calling him – calling him to go into the priesthood. For over 12 years he studied and trained. Finally he was ordained as a priest and then as a bishop. He had successfully grown up.
But still the dreams and visions came to him. He felt restless wondering what God wanted him to do. This time, God called him -- go back to Ireland. "Go back to Ireland?" Why would he go back to that island of misery? Why would he go back to people who had enslaved him?
But the visions and dreams kept coming and nudging him. In his own words, Patrick said, "I saw a man carrying many letters, with the words, "The voice of the Irish." I read the letters and the people cried out to me, "We appeal to you holy servant boy, to come and walk among us."
We all have dreams and visions. God speaks to us even when we ignore his voice. Of course as human beings, we may pray to God, but how many of us are willing to listen, to listen for what God has to say. Most of the time, we have our own agenda. It’s like we say, "God, now hear this. I’m in charge and I know what is best." As a supervisor of the Princeton seminary students, I continually ask them to reflect theologically, "What is God saying to you today? Where do you hear the voice of God?"
Our good friends at the Allentown Presbyterian Church, Pastor Stephen and his wife, Liz Heinzel-Nelson, also had visions and dreams. Continually, they heard the voice of God calling them to the African nation of Malawi. And so they raised the money, learned about the people and spent a whole year in Malawi. I’ve talked with Pastor Stephen and I want to listen to what they have learned.
Dreams and visions are not just for the clergy or religious folk. There is no union shop for dreams and visions. You have dreams and visions. I have dreams and visions. But often times, we are embarrassed or afraid to follow them. We wonder whether people will laugh or call us crazy—but God gives us dreams and visions for a reason and we need to explore them.
Patrick did listen and he did explore. As he considered going back to Ireland again, my natural instinct would be to take an army along and get revenge. But Patrick was not intent on revenge. He was intent on reaching out to people in love.
In many ways this whole adventure of Patrick reminds me of the TV series Lost. There after a plane wreck, the people are lost on an island. Somehow they manage to survive. And once they escape and return to the USA, they sense this message to return to the island, to rescue those who had stayed behind. Of course it would be easier to stay at home, but the messages keep coming and so they returned to the island.
This return to help other people is mission and ministry. This return to Ireland and to the Lost island means reaching out to others. It is the fulfillment of the Great Commission of Jesus Christ in Matthew Chapter 28. Go ye into all the world and make disciples of all nations. As Dr. Darrell Guder Dean at Princeton Seminary would say, it is "missional."Missional--
that’s a buzz word on the seminary campus, it is the identity and nature of God’s call to the church to be a blessing to others.
So it is that Patrick returns to Ireland. He is not the first Christian to visit this island, but he is the most well known Christian. He goes to incorporate the customs and beliefs into the wider frame work of the Christian faith. That is why the Celtic Cross has a circle behind it—it was an effort to incorporate the Irish importance of the sun and moon. This is what people call "the Celtic approach" to mission and evangelism. This approach is different from the Roman way. Theirs was an emphasis on "In Rome do as the Romans do." In other words, "Become like us!" The Celtic approach of St. Patrick is to respect the customs and to honor the traditions of the people and make a bridge to the Christian faith. This is a way of accepting people and giving credit to their indigenous culture.
Patrick went on to share the love of God with the Irish Tribes. But like much in our Christian faith, the trinity was a mystery. How could God be a father, a son and a spirit? How could there be three gods and one god at the same time? And here, Patrick gave what came to be the famous explanation of the trinity. He bent down and took a shamrock, like a clover, and showed it to the chief. Here you have one shamrock, one clover. And yet how many leaves/petals are there? The chief answered "three.’ Yes, Patrick said you are right. There are three petals, three like God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. One shamrock, one God in three different parts. At this, the chief was astounded and amazed. He embraced the Christian faith and encouraged his whole tribe to accept Jesus Christ.
As Patrick worked in Ireland, Patrick reached out to others in their same language. What a great example. I can only hope that when we reach out to others, we can do the same. Today as we share God’s love, I pray that we respect and honor the different identity of people. For we are all created in the image of God. And Goes loves us all—red and yellow, black and white, we are precious in God’s sight. When we meet others, let us invite them to Cornerstone, not because we are better, but because we are all brothers and sisters together. Let us welcome others and respect their personal traditions and background. Let us listen to each other’s dreams and visions. Then maybe a fable will grow up that your Uncle Jake or sister Mary, that your friend Jim stood up strong against evil, evil like slavery past and present.
