Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Patrick was born in the 4th century A.D. to a wealthy family in Britain, and his father was a Christian deacon. When he was 16, he was kidnapped and sold into slavery, where he turned to religion for solace.  He later became a bishop and is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland.

According to legend, Saint Patrick used a shamrock to explain about God. The shamrock, which looks like clover, has three leaves on each stem. Saint Patrick told the people that the shamrock was like the idea of the Trinity – that in the one God there are three divine beings: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The shamrock was sacred to the Druids, so Saint Patrick’s use of it in explaining the trinity was very wise.  Instead of introducing something entirely foreign, he built upon a foundation that they already had.

I think that is always the best practice in sharing your faith--build upon what the other person already knows or believes.  If they are a scientist, speak about the God's blueprint on creation.  If they are a poet, use the words of the Psalms.  If they are a skeptic, begin with their difficult questions.

God is always at work around us, reaching and pursuing us in ways we sometimes miss.  Patrick recognized this with the shamrock.  Paul recognized this when he spoke to the people in Athens beginning with their poets and their altars.  We try, also, to begin with the felt needs and the deepest hurts of those who come to Christ Lutheran.  And from there, acknowledge God as one who is present in the middle of the tears and laughter, doubts and beliefs, joys and sorrows trying to make himself known.

The point is, start where people are at but don't leave them there.  They mean so much to God that he refuses to leave them they way he finds them.  Love doesn't always mean blind acceptance just the way you are.  God's love is that acceptance that then moves the person to become that person whom God created. . .sometimes even with a shamrock