Lent 5 (Year C)

17-3-2013

Pastor Lester Priebbenow

Patrick's Breastplate

Philippians 3:8-11

I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ and be completely united with him.
I no longer have a righteousness of my own, the kind that is gained by obeying the Law.
I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is based on faith.
All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death, in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life.

Today, 17th March is St. Patrick's Day. Personally I have not given much consideration to St. Patrick's Day over the years; nor does our liturgical calendar.

For some, it is an opportunity to dress up in green and join in the festivities at "Irish Murphy's" over a pint or two of Guinness or Kilkenny. But 'to be sure' most of them wouldn't know who St. Patrick was or what they were supposed to be celebrating.

The celebration of St. Patrick's Day has deeply spiritual origins. Patrick himself was a deeply spiritual man whose life and teaching, as far as we know, reflected the words of St. Paul in our text (Philippians 3). Patrick has become known as 'The Apostle to the Irish'.

Patrick lived about 400 years after Christ and was most likely born in Roman Britain. At the age of sixteen he was seized from his Father's farm by raiders and sold as a slave in Ireland where he worked as a shepherd. Some years later he escaped and returned home. His experiences had, however, deepened his Christian faith and fervour to the extent that he sensed God's call to go back to Ireland and share the good news about Jesus with its people. He recalled a dream where he heard the voice of the Irish people calling: 'We beseech you to come and walk among us once more.'

Patrick returned to Ireland as a bishop in 432 and ministered there for thirty years, establishing monasteries and training monks. Monks trained in these monasteries went on to bring Christianity to much of Western Europe during the sixth and seventh centuries.

Patrick's conferred title as 'saint' and the 'Day' observed in his honour are meant to hold his life up before the world as an example of a faithful child of God, in order to encourage others in their faith in and fervour for Christ. According to the Bible, everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ as Saviour is a 'saint' in God's eyes. And there are many humble servants of God whose lives can be held up as examples for us to follow in our response to the Good News about Jesus.

In our Gospel reading today (John 12:1-8), Jesus commended Mary for the sacrificial act which she did in honour of her Lord, saying that pouring her expensive bottle of perfume over his feet had honoured him by preparing him for the day of his burial. When Mark tells this story he records Jesus as saying: 'I tell you the truth, wherever the Gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will be told in memory of her' (Mark 14:9). In a similar way, the lives of Patrick and other faithful people of God can be held up as examples of a fitting response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps the best window into the spiritual heart of Patrick is one of his writings known as "Patrick's Breastplate." This was his armour of spiritual defence against the danger of falling away from true faith in Christ and from the attacks of the enemy. Some of its words are familiar to us. At the end of this service we will sing part of it in a song known as 'St. Patrick's Prayer' (AT 100). I have become familiar with other parts of it in my ministers' prayer books. One of those parts, we sang last year on Trinity Sunday to a hymn tune. The entire writing called 'Patrick's Breastplate' echoes very much the sentiments of St. Paul as he wrote to the Christians in Philippi.

In Philippians 3 Paul holds his own life up as example for us, not because he considers himself any better, but because he wants us to learn what he had learned. He tells how he used to take pride in 'external ceremonies' of the Jewish religion in which he was educated, in his birth as a Hebrew, and in his obedience to God's Law. When he came to trust in Christ, however, the significance of all those things diminished and there was only one thing truly valuable in his life – Jesus Christ.

Paul shares seven of his own deepest desires and prayers which could rightly be called 'Paul's Breastplate.' His desire is:
1. to know Christ and to grow in the knowledge of his grace;
2. to gain Christ as the only enduring thing in life;
3. to be completely united with him; Christ in him and he in Christ;
4. to know the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ; and not to trust in a righteousness that might come through anything he could do;
5. to know the power of Christ's resurrection in his own life as it became his own in baptism.
6. to become like Christ in his sufferings; acknowledging that Christ suffered to identify with us in our sufferings and to bring us his victory in them; and
7. to be raised with Christ from death to life

All these desires are part of the Apostle's striving to claim the ultimate prize which Christ has already won for him on the cross; and to be ready for God's call, through Jesus Christ, to the life above.

St. Paul urges his readers: All who are mature should take such a view of things... Join with others in following my example... and take not of those who live in the pattern we gave you (3:15,17).
Let's follow Paul's and Patrick's example; and the example of all faithful believers who live according to the pattern of faith and life that God gives in his Word. Let's imitate their faith in Christ, their faithfulness and their spiritual fervour by which they brought honour to his name.

Let's now join with Patrick in taking up his breastplate as our own prayer and confession of faith. Then, like Patrick, we may also hear God's call to share Christ with those who don't know him or his gift of salvation.

Patrick's Breastplate

I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One, and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever,
By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river;
His death on cross for my salvation.

His bursting from the spicéd tomb;
His riding up the heav'nly way;
His coming at the day of doom;
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, his might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need;

The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heav'nly host to be my guard.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,

Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death-wound and the burning,
The choking wave, the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till your returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One, and One in Three,

Of whom all nature has creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of my salvation:
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

Translated by  Mrs C. F. Alexander