Today is the day after St. Patrick’s Day so
I thought that I would start off our time here with a little St. Patrick’s Day
quiz. (ANSWERS BELOW)
1. Where was St. Patrick born?
The place is part of which contemporary
country?
a)
Ireland
b)
Scotland
c)
France
d)
Saskatchewan
2. What was the nationality of St.
Patrick's parents?
a)
Irish
b)
Scottish
c)
Roman
d)
Martian
3. What is the traditional colour
associated with St. Patrick?
a)
Blue
b)
White
c)
Green
d)
Orange
4. What object to St. Patrick famously use
to share the gospel?
a)
Clover
b)
Shamrock
c)
Rainbow
d)
Snake
5. In Eire what would one call criminal who
comes down with a skin disease?
- a leper con
1 (b), 2 (c), 3 (a), 4 (b)
We know basically the story of St. Patrick,
right? He is the one credited with bringing the Gospel to Ireland. He is
famously known for using the shamrock as a metaphor for the trinity in his
evangelistic efforts and he is mythically credited with driving the snakes from
Ireland – this was probably a euphemism for driving paganism from the country
by introducing them to Christ and Christianity.
St. Patrick was born in what is now Scotland,
the wealthy son of Roman parents in the 4th Century. He was kidnapped and taken
away from his family to Ireland. He escaped and then later voluntarily returned
to Ireland bringing with him freedom in Christ to the country in which he was
held in captivity. Can you imagine? You are kidnapped by terrorist, you escape,
and then you return to the country and the people that kidnapped you trying to
point each and every one to salvation. That is what St. Patrick did. He gave up
everything so that his captors and kidnappers might be free. This seems a more
important thing to celebrate on St. Patrick’s Day than green beer, leprechauns,
and pots of gold!
The North Eastern US in general and New
York in particular has a long Irish-Catholic history. We just returned from spending
March break in New York, so today on this St. Patrick's Day weekend, I thought
that I would share some lessons I recalled in New York.
LESSON 1
- Matthew 5:43-45: 43 “You have heard
that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell
you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you
may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the
evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
- Romans 5:3-5 And not only so, but
we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation works patience;
And patience, experience; and experience, hope And hope makes not ashamed;
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost
which is given unto us.
- James 1:2-4 Consider it all joy, my
brothers, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of
your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result,
so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
- Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope,
patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
My family and I really were blessed to
visit New York this week as my children were on a break from school. It was a
bit of a drive from Toronto but we don't mind, we are used to long drives.
It is great we got to see the Brooklyn
Bridge, the Barclay Centre (where the Islanders play – they were a favourite
team of mine in the early 1980s), 5th Avenue, Broadway, Times Square, and
Central Park, among other places.
We walked around outside quite a bit and enjoyed ourselves - and then it got cold. Have you noticed how things can
change in an instant? A day can be perfectly enjoyable and then it becomes too
cold (or too hot) and all of a sudden everyone's mood changes. The scenery
hasn't changed. The neat things to see and do haven't changed. The monuments and
parks haven't changed. Your enjoyment however can change quite a bit if it all
of a sudden becomes windy and cold!
This is like life in general. Life happens
to every one of us. We all have many exciting and enjoyable things to
experience just as we have many trials and toils to endure. The difference is
how we experience these situations. If we focus on ourselves, it is like we are
inviting a cold wind into our day to make us miserable in the midst of all the
wonderful sights around us. If we, however, focus on Christ, we will also
notice others and have our hearts warmed and our lives enriched by his love as
we take in all that He is doing around, in, and through us. Today let us take Jesus up
on his offer of pleasant warmth and comfort in the midst of everything we are
seeing and experiencing in this life. Lesson one: Romans 12:12, Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
LESSON 2
- 1 Peter 2:11-18: Dear
friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful
desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among
the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your
good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
13
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the
emperor [President], as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent
by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For
it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of
foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a
cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone,
love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
18
Slaves [Employees], in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters,
not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are
harsh. 19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust
suffering because they are conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your credit if
you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for
doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 2:11 again: Dear
friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires,
which wage war against your soul.
It was a lot of fun seeing the sights in
New York. We had never been there before and our family really enjoys learning
about the history of places as we visit them. We read every plaque we see and
visit as many museums as we can.
We went to Buffalo, New York before we went
to New York City. In Buffalo we saw plaques and monuments to US President
Fillmore. He was from Buffalo; he was the last Whig President. We saw a
monument to President McKinley who was assassinated in Buffalo. We saw a statue
of President Lincoln. I put a Salvation Army 614 toque on him for a picture; we
did this unknowingly on or near an anniversary of one of his massacres of
indigenous peoples. (Lincoln, sadly, was responsible for many brutal acts and a
lot of death and destruction). We saw a monument to Canadian and American
friendship noting that our two flags should fly side-by-side for eternity but,
alas, they had Ireland's flag flying instead of Canada's. (This was ironically on
the same day that our Canadian government mixed up the Belgian and German
flags).
In New York we saw monuments to President
Roosevelt and others and we visited the New
York Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan
Museum of Art. Many great things have been accomplished by Americans. Some
of the things celebrated by some of the monuments, however, were things that
offended my Canadian sensibilities. But here is the thing: I am just a tourist.
I can't vote in US elections. I can't change their laws or their culture. I
don't have the rights of a US citizen and I shouldn't because I am not one.
Even though many Canadians seem to forget it in this day and age as in both our
social and mainstream media, we weigh in on their domestic policy as if it were
our domestic policy. It is not. They are a foreign country. I am a tourist.
When I am there, I am a gracious guest and I do not forget that I am no more
than that.
It is the same in our life here on earth
for those of us who are Christians. We need to stand up for Christ and we need
to serve him. We can't get drawn into audiaphoron, matters of spiritual
indifference - things that have no relevance to his eternal kingdom. I have
seen Christians detract from the policies of Christ by promoting INSTEAD the policies
of Conservatives, Liberals, Republicans, or Democrats as if Christ supports any
of these parties over the others: he
doesn't! (They should support him!) We should support him! We need to serve
Christ remembering that if indeed we are Christians our allegiance belongs to
him for - just like us last week in New York - we Christians are just visiting
until we return to heaven or until Christ returns to earth as Lord of it all.
Let us not forget where our Citizenship belongs.
Question for reflection rather than
response necessarily: how can we act as Christians in an other than Christian
world?
LESSON 3
- Matthew 28:18-20: Then the
eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told
them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And
surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
This week was our family’s first ever visit
to New York City. It is not that long of a drive from here in Toronto. In the
past few months we have also driven to Ottawa, Montreal, Kingston, Niagara,
Buffalo (and flown to Victoria).
When we are in those places, the world
comes to life. In Montreal, Quebec, and Kingston, our history and identity as a
people (as Canadians) is revealed and we can understand it in ways I never
could if I never stood on the walls of the Quebec Citadel or looked out over
the plains of Abraham.
In New York, we experienced a lot of American culture. It is really quite something to see one of the cultural centres of the US: so many of their TV shows, movies, and figures of their culture are set right there. We
were able to walk through Central Park, see the Statue of Liberty, stand in Times
Square and see so many other things that we recognize from their songs, books,
and music. Like a great children’s book pointed out to me once: their
thanksgiving history (and other history) is much different than ours. And so it
is even the more amazing to see things like Central Park, the Statue of
Liberty, 5th Avenue, and ride the ferry to Staten Island.
All of these sights mean a lot more when
you actually experience them for yourself rather than just seeing them in
movies and on TV. I have a much greater understanding and appreciation for New
York than ever before now that I have walked its streets and experienced it
with my family.
This is the same with Jesus. Jesus is as
real as any of the places we have visited. The more time we spend walking
around with Jesus and getting to know him with our friends and family, the
greater we will love him. He wants us, he does want you to come see him and
spend time with him. As you do, even more than visiting a new city, I promise
your life will be much better for it. As such, my final encouragement for you
today is this. If you have never experienced the joys of Christ before, I
invite you to accept his offer as tour guide, host, and saviour today. I
promise you will never regret it.
And that concludes the lessons God affirmed
in me this week in New York.
.
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