Chicago's Green River

 

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:1-5 ESV).

 

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day. While Covid restrictions may hamper some of the festivities, I have read that the bagpipes will blare, while shamrocks will decorate the people who do gather, and “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” shirts will abound. It’s just the typical Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago, when the bustling sea of green found on the streets serves as a visual precursor for what will happen just moments later to the city’s iconic river. Every year the 156-mile system of rivers and canals is dyed green in honor of the holiday — an event that has been garnering thousands of spectators ever since its 1962 inception.

 

Whether St. Patrick would join in is a matter of debate. What is not debatable is that Patrick, like St. Nick and probably St. Valentine, were real men and very real servants of the Savior. Sadly, the importance of their work and the sacrifices they made to share the Redeemer's story of salvation with a sinful world are often overclouded by legend. I can't tell you if St. Patrick really used the shamrock to illustrate the truth of the Trinity. Nor do I know if "casting the snakes out of Ireland" is an allegory explaining how he battled the forces of Satan whose animal of choice is the serpent. I'm fairly certain the legend about Aspatria is just that. According to that story Patrick used an ash wood walking stick. Whenever he was preaching, he planted the stick in the ground. According to that story, the people were so slow at understanding Christ and the doctrines which are part of the church, that when Patrick finally did get through to them, his stick had taken root.

The story probably isn't true, but that doesn't mean there isn't truth behind it. No doubt, Patrick, like all of us, has encountered times when the soil upon which we sow the seed of the Gospel message seems to be particularly hard. Walk in the committed path of men like St. Patrick and so many other powerful proclaimers. By God's grace, at the right time and under the right circumstances the seeds you sow may take root and bear fruit. If so, we give thanks to God for His blessing; if not, we give thanks to God for giving us the story of the Savior to share. Dye the river green!