A WORD FOR TODAY, March 17, 2025
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, March 17, 2025
“For though I was free from all, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became as weak, that I might gain the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. Now I do this for the sake of the Good News, that I may be a joint partaker of it.” 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, WEB
I’ve never done an ancestry search, but from what I’ve heard through family, I’m a bit of a mutt. This means that I have heritage from several different countries. We aren’t entirely sure about all the details, but it has been generally agreed that my father’s family came from Germany. Our last name as it is spelled appears to be from Normandy, but many of the immigrants changed the spelling from the German. There is some evidence that my grandmother had a Native American ancestor, but it has never been proven. I probably should do the research and see what I can find. My mother’s family is less complicated. Her grandparents emigrated from Wales and Cornwall. We visited their hometowns with my mom when we lived in England.
The relationship between the Welsh/Cornish and the Irish is complicated, there were moments when they were allies and other times when they were enemies. They were all Celtic, but they had different ways of governing and speaking. This caused conflict between tribes and societies, which often led to war. The relationship became even more complicated when invaders from mainland Europe became involved, like the Roman and then Anglo-Saxon cultures and subsequent Germanic migrations. Some of the Celts allied with the foreigners against the other Celts. Because of this history, my mom always had an issue with St. Patrick’s Day. She would tell me that we don’t celebrate an Irish saint, we celebrate St. David, the patron saint of Wales.
It never really mattered one way or another to me one way or another. I always wore green on St. Patrick’s Day. As a matter of fact, I wore green today. I have written about St. Patrick and taught about St. Patrick’s Day when I was a preschool teacher. They say that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, and though that is not literally true, it is fun to join in the wearing of the green. When I was in school, wearing green was a necessity if I didn’t want to get pinched!
While I’m not Irish, there is something fascinating about the St. Patrick story of faith. The irony is that St. Patrick was not even Irish. He was living on the Isle of Britannia, the son of Roman parents; he was sixteen when he was kidnapped by Irish marauders. He served as a slave in the hills of Ireland until he was able to escape on a boat to Gaul. In Gaul, which is now France, Patrick was educated. He returned to Britain to live with relatives and while there he had a vision calling him to serve as a missionary to the people in Ireland. He went back to France to study and was eventually consecrated as Bishop of Ireland. He returned to the land of his captors and preached the Gospel to the people there. His preaching against the pagan religion was first met with resistance but he was eventually able to convert the high king. The rest of the Irish followed.
It must have been difficult to face his enemies. How would you have felt if you had been given a vision from God calling you to go to a place where you only knew oppression and pain? Would you have listened and done all that was necessary to do the task to which you were called? Or would you have run in the other direction? Could you live in the midst of your enemies and share the love and forgiveness of Christ with them? Patrick went back to Ireland and became part of the community that made him captive so that he could share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. Eventually they listened.
I’m not Irish, and perhaps at some point in history the Irish were enemies of my ancestors, but Paul tells us to be all things to all men so that we may by the means save some. I imagine it was difficult for Patrick, just as it was for Paul, to be surrounded by people who did not think or believe or live as they did. Yet, they both heard God’s voice and responded with humility and grace. I’m not Irish, but it does not hurt for me to wear a little green on this day, to join in the history and remembrance of a man who willingly stood firm in the Gospel until those to whom He was sent, believed. Patrick remained faithful in the midst of his difficulty so that his enemies might come to know the love of God. Through it all, he trusted that God would keep him safe. This is the life we are called to live, glorifying God as we share our faith with the whole world.
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