Padraig was kidnapped when he was a teenager and sold into slavery in a foreign land. He was a follower of Jesus and after several years of bondage, he escaped, walked to the coast, and made his way onto a ship to his homeland. There he sensed a call to ministry. Years later in a dream he felt called to return to the people who had stolen him when he was a teenager and share the Gospel with them. The people that Padraig returned to were the Celts who lived in the island nation of Ireland. Padraig is the Caelic form of the name Patrick. Every March 17 we remember his many contributions to the Christian faith.
Patrick’s method of evangelism is worthy of remembering today. To spread the Gospel to a new frontier, Patrick invested in the lives of curious young people and commissioned them to become ministers, which multiplied the efforts of the Church. Two things are remarkable about Patrick’s ministry to the Irish: He loved the people who had once been his enemy, and he worked within the cultural realities of the Celts to find places of connection to develop an authentic and genuine faith in Jesus.
Is there someone who hasn’t heard the Good News of the Gospel? This Holy Week coming up is the perfect time to invite them to our Palm Sunday Cantata or Easter Worship? What a great way that would be to celebrate St. Patrick.
Brave Journey,
Bill
