Making a Difference

 Good Morning Friends,

This weekend we were treated to a concert of the (infamous) "Murphy's Pigs".  We had no idea what to expect, but were actually quite delighted with what we found.

12 men ranging from young to old, with a 60-year age gap, made up of many active or retired policemen. They played so many instruments we lost count.  And, just for fun, they threw in some pretty little dancing girls to do some flings.  They introduced themselves as "Celtic  (pronounced, we noted, as Keltic, not Seltic, as we've always called them), by nature … Pigs by Choice”.

Another introduction they offered was this. 

"Once in a lifetime a band emerges from nowhere....to redefine the world's perception of Celtic music........Murphy's Pigs is not that band.”

We had some toe tapping fun, learned a bit of geography and came away with a new understanding of so many of our heritages, especially here in Australia, where they are a LOT of people of Irish descent.

All of this excitement around March 17th, led me to remember a famous guy there from the 4th century.  His name was Patrick ....... well, at least after awhile.

You can see where this is leading ........

The kid was actually named Maewyn Succat, and was born to some upper class Romans in what is now called Great Britain.  The year was 385 AD.   

One day, in his family villa, while minding his own business, some marauding Irish Brigands broke in and captured him. He was trundled off to Ireland where they sold him to be a slave.  He was about 15 or 16  at the time, and little is known if he was even missed.  

He 'landed on his feet' and was given a simple job of minding sheep.  Apparently, those Druids and Pagans at least were not that terrible, and basically left him alone to do his job. I'll refrain at this point about the virtues of leaving some teenagers alone with nature and dumb animals .......

But would you believe it, in this 6 year solitude, somehow Patrick found God!   Here's how he put in (in his own words):

“The love of God and His fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was roused, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same. I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain.”

And then, led by a dream or a vision, he orchestrated his own escape, walking unchallenged onto a ship and returned home!!

And this is where it gets interesting ….. 

After a few years, being reunited with his family and getting trained to go into the ministry, he had another dream.  In this one, he felt compelled to go BACK to his captive land, Ireland, and there he became the first (at least documented) missionary!

He got busy, staying there more than 40 years, and working from no response to quite a large impact. He went on to be credited for was introducing the Shamrock, using the three leaves of the clover to explain the one life of the Trinity.  

Rumour has supplied a lot of stories, such as Patrick’s driving out all the snakes in Ireland. Archaeologists these days have noted that there probably weren't any snakes to speak of already, as the climate is too cold.  

Patrick died on March 17th, around 461 AD, but there is no doubt that his being there made a difference. It's interesting that he was neither Irish, nor was he actually ever 'sainted'. And yet no one can deny his contribution to making the world what it is today!

And then there’s that colour thing. Apparently all things Patrick are associated with the colour BLUE, not green.  Lost in translation I guess.  

Have a great Monday and remember even if you're in slavery, you CAN make a difference!

Marsha