The spirit of the Lord God is upon me
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, – Isaiah 61:1
Today is St. Patrick Day. Did you know that Patrick is recognized in Lutheran lists of commemorations of saints? Here is the entry from ELCA worship resources for commemorating Patrick:
Patrick, bishop, missionary to Ireland, died 461
A native of Britain, Patrick was kidnapped by pirates at age sixteen and sold into slavery in Ireland. After a few years, he escaped, returned home, and entered the ministry. Returning to Ireland, he successfully served as a bishop and missionary there.
Did you know any of those things about Patrick? I can’t say that I did. Reading a bit further, it seems he was forced into being an animal herder for about 6 years before escaping. Returning home, his call into ministry then included the call to return to the place of his trauma, bringing the good news of resurrection and the lordship of Christ to the people who had claimed control over his life. That powerfully reframes the legends of driving out snakes – that is, worldly claims on our life and the dehumanizing ways that humans treat one another – from Ireland.
To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day today, feel free to wear green. Eat and drink Irish food. That is fun and wonderful. But also take a moment to learn more about industrial slavery in our world today. Many people are still kidnapped and forced to work menial jobs without pay. Learn more about it and the ways you can be involved in stopping such dehumanizing practices. Find ways to proclaim Christ’s lordship over our lives and indeed life in its fullness over against the ways of death found in this world. That seems to me to be a proper celebration of the day.