You might celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day this Saturday by wearing green and patronising your local Irish Pub, but to really celebrate the man, you might want to bring a friend along and tell them about Jesus!
Patrick is the apostle of Ireland – credited with most of the population of the island embracing Christ within his lifetime. There are some who would say that he is the first true missionary since the apostle Paul: if not, he is surely the first missionary to venture outside of the Roman Empire.
By the time Patrick died at the ripe old age of 115, after 60 years of ministry, the vast majority of Ireland would have adopted his very indigenous, very vibrant Christian faith.
In many ways it was best explained as a conversion not to Christianity, but to Christ. Patrick was not spreading a religion: to have more people under the control of the Church; but he was spreading the Good News that the Creator wanted to have a relationship with them through his Son. It was the good news of inviting people to live the life that they were created to live, in the family of the One that they were created in the image of.
Patrick’s message was good news that pulled people out of fear based, and often-oppressive religious systems and beliefs. Patrick himself recognized that the gospel was good news as he suffered as a slave on the hills of Northern Ireland. He returned to Ireland not to conquer it for Christ, but to woo people into Christ’s love.
Patrick was a missionary unlike many others. Patrick was not Irish (gasp!), he was born in Roman Briton. But he didn’t reach the Irish as his “target audience.” In his writings he speaks of “we Irish:” he sees himself as one of the Irish. Because of his enslavement, he already had an understanding of the culture and ways of the Irish, and he felt no need to “civilize” them into Roman ways.
Even the Celtic cross is a sign of the marrying of the Celtic culture and Christian faith – The circle was an important symbol to the Druids, and instead of destroying it as evil and devilish, Patrick placed the cross over it. This doesn’t mean that he adopted the traditional religion into his Christianity: there was much to be discarded it was a fear-based religion that included human sacrifice and fearsome and arbitrary gods. But the Celtic Christian faith was one that spoke to the same earthy “felt needs” of the people, and it adopted much of what was good and pure from the traditional culture.
George G. Hunter III writes about Patrick’s method of spreading the gospel in “The Celtic Way of Evangelism:” “Patrick’s entourage would have included a dozen or so people, including priests, seminarians, and two or three women. Upon arrival at a tribal settlement, Patrick would engage the king and other opinion leaders, hoping for conversion, or at least their clearance, to camp near the people and form into a community of faith adjacent to the tribal settlement. The “apostolic” team would meet the people, engage them in conversation and in ministry, and look for people who appeared receptive. They would pray for sick people, and for possessed people, and they would counsel people and mediate conflicts. On at least one occasion, Patrick blessed a river and prayed for the people to catch more fish. They would engage in some open-air speaking, probably employing parable, story, poetry, song, visual symbols, visual arts and, perhaps, drama to engage the Celtic people’s remarkable imaginations. Often, we think, Patrick would receive the people’s questions and then speak to those questions collectively. The Apostolic band would welcome responsive people into their group fellowship to worship with them, pray with them, minister to them, converse with them, and break bread together. One band member or another would probably join with each responsive person to reach out to relatives and friends. The mission team typically spent weeks, or even months, as a ministering community of faith within the tribe. The church that emerged within the tribe would have been astonishingly indigenous.” - p. 21
Patrick’s is a great model for evangelism today in our post-Christian world. Some of the people who walk in his spirit today are The Alpha Course, Ed Silvoso & his model of Prayer Evangelism & the people involved in the MoveIn movement.
Wish someone a happy Saint Patrick’s Day & tell them about the Jesus that Patrick loved!
By the time Patrick died at the ripe old age of 115, after 60 years of ministry, the vast majority of Ireland would have adopted his very indigenous, very vibrant Christian faith.
In many ways it was best explained as a conversion not to Christianity, but to Christ. Patrick was not spreading a religion: to have more people under the control of the Church; but he was spreading the Good News that the Creator wanted to have a relationship with them through his Son. It was the good news of inviting people to live the life that they were created to live, in the family of the One that they were created in the image of.
Patrick’s message was good news that pulled people out of fear based, and often-oppressive religious systems and beliefs. Patrick himself recognized that the gospel was good news as he suffered as a slave on the hills of Northern Ireland. He returned to Ireland not to conquer it for Christ, but to woo people into Christ’s love.
Patrick was a missionary unlike many others. Patrick was not Irish (gasp!), he was born in Roman Briton. But he didn’t reach the Irish as his “target audience.” In his writings he speaks of “we Irish:” he sees himself as one of the Irish. Because of his enslavement, he already had an understanding of the culture and ways of the Irish, and he felt no need to “civilize” them into Roman ways.
Even the Celtic cross is a sign of the marrying of the Celtic culture and Christian faith – The circle was an important symbol to the Druids, and instead of destroying it as evil and devilish, Patrick placed the cross over it. This doesn’t mean that he adopted the traditional religion into his Christianity: there was much to be discarded it was a fear-based religion that included human sacrifice and fearsome and arbitrary gods. But the Celtic Christian faith was one that spoke to the same earthy “felt needs” of the people, and it adopted much of what was good and pure from the traditional culture.
George G. Hunter III writes about Patrick’s method of spreading the gospel in “The Celtic Way of Evangelism:” “Patrick’s entourage would have included a dozen or so people, including priests, seminarians, and two or three women. Upon arrival at a tribal settlement, Patrick would engage the king and other opinion leaders, hoping for conversion, or at least their clearance, to camp near the people and form into a community of faith adjacent to the tribal settlement. The “apostolic” team would meet the people, engage them in conversation and in ministry, and look for people who appeared receptive. They would pray for sick people, and for possessed people, and they would counsel people and mediate conflicts. On at least one occasion, Patrick blessed a river and prayed for the people to catch more fish. They would engage in some open-air speaking, probably employing parable, story, poetry, song, visual symbols, visual arts and, perhaps, drama to engage the Celtic people’s remarkable imaginations. Often, we think, Patrick would receive the people’s questions and then speak to those questions collectively. The Apostolic band would welcome responsive people into their group fellowship to worship with them, pray with them, minister to them, converse with them, and break bread together. One band member or another would probably join with each responsive person to reach out to relatives and friends. The mission team typically spent weeks, or even months, as a ministering community of faith within the tribe. The church that emerged within the tribe would have been astonishingly indigenous.” - p. 21
Patrick’s is a great model for evangelism today in our post-Christian world. Some of the people who walk in his spirit today are The Alpha Course, Ed Silvoso & his model of Prayer Evangelism & the people involved in the MoveIn movement.
Wish someone a happy Saint Patrick’s Day & tell them about the Jesus that Patrick loved!
St. Patrick is worthy of special attention as this move of Christ followers was unlike any others around at that time. A well-written piece.
ReplyDelete