In a few days’ time, we will celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. This date is significant to people for a variety of reasons, which may vary depending on your background and location. While I was ministering in congregations in counties Londonderry and Donegal, there were colourful local parades each year. However, in my mind, Saint Patrick’s Day takes me back to two particular things growing up.
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Remembering St Patrick
The first and most crucial association was that it was a day off school. It was great to be ‘free’ and be able to work outdoors on the farm. I am sure that many young boys growing up on farms today view each and every school holiday with similar enthusiasm!
The other association that comes to mind is Saint Patrick’s Day serving as a date in the farming calendar to signify the approach of spring. With Easter fluctuating each year, Saint Patrick’s Day is always a fixed date in the calendar, that helps to make key assessments.
For example, if the reserve of silage was seriously depleted by Saint Patrick’s Day, there was good reason to be concerned, especially if there was a real prospect of a late spring. It was also a target date to get fertilizer sown to spur the growth of early grass for the dairy herd. From my time on the farm, I always remember my father sharing his hope that as shortly as possible, after the arrival of Saint Patrick’s Day, it would be possible to get some of the ‘light stock’ out to the fields.
From those early days, I also learnt some basic truths about the faith of this celebrated saint, who was responsible for bringing the good news of the gospel to Ireland. To me, this day, which is dedicated to his memory, is therefore far more than a holiday from school or a fixed date to calculate supplies of fodder.
Separating myth from the fact
Accounts of Patrick’s life have been greatly embellished and many find it hard to separate myth from the fact. However, we have his writings and in his ‘Confession’ Patrick writes, “I am Patrick, a sinner, most uncultivated and least of all the faithful and despised in the eyes of many.”
Patrick also wrote that it was the Lord who opened his unbelieving heart. This was like the story recorded in Acts 16, of Lydia from Philippi, whose heart God opened. In Romans 3:11 Paul tells us “there is no one who seeks God.” We are lost in sin but oblivious to our condition, until God, by His Spirit, opens our eyes.
While Patrick did not believe that he merited salvation, his writings also affirm that he was thankful for the grace of God in forgiving his sins. Today his memory is celebrated, but so many fail to notice what he preached. He accepted he was a sinner in need of God’s grace. He trusted Christ alone to change him and save him from sin and rejoiced in the mercy of God.
Today if you wish to experience the salvation that Saint Patrick enjoyed, the path to it has not changed. You must admit your sin, turn from it in repentance, and trust in Christ alone for salvation. If you do, you will have something life changing to celebrate, as you share the timeless joy and hope that Patrick experienced – the hope of Christ.
Having grown up in rural Tyrone, after leaving school at the age of 16, Knox worked for over 20 years on the family dairy farm near Aughnacloy. Having felt the call of God to full-time ministry, he was ordained in 2005 serving as minister of two Presbyterian congregations for 14 years. In 2019 he was called to be minister of Aghadowey and Crossgar Presbyterian Churches in County Londonderry.
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If you would like to talk to someone about this article, please email Rev Kenny Hanna at khanna@presbyterianireland.org or call him on 028 9753 1234.