18 Mar Happy Day-after St Patrick’s Day
18 March 2026
Happy Day-after St Patrick’s Day!
I was re-reading a book I read long ago about St Patrick…The Celtic Way of Evangelism by George Hunter. Patrick’s story is long & involved, so to make a long story short & probably skip some crucial details…Before Patrick became a missionary to Ireland, he was a captive slave to some of the Irish tribes. He was allowed to return to the Roman Empire & became a priest asking if he could go back to his captors as a missionary.
What is critical about that is that in going back to where he had spent some formative years of his life, he knew the language & culture of those tribes. Above all else, he was not really a stranger among them trying to import some foreign notions & undermine their way of life. He used the language of the tribes to speak to the deepest longings of the tribal people. He understood the purposes & goals of their pagan religious practices & spoke (like Paul in Acts 17) the word & work of Christ into those longings & religious behaviours lifting up Christ as the true way for satisfaction, fulfillment, & hope-filled life beyond the daily drudgery & sad dying that they knew. He invited people into an experience of the Christian community long before he led them to committed faith. They belonged before they believed. They were welcomed before they were called to worship.
Those two insights alone are still pertinent to our mission in Wagga Wagga today. We live imbedded in a pagan culture…Christ is not the first object of devotion on the heart of most Wagga residents. There’s a lot of religion around us. Listen to the non-Christian wedding or funeral celebrants or attend a baby naming or baby’s gender-reveal party. All of that is religious language & religious ceremony but it cannot truly satisfy…just like the ceremonies of the pagan Celtic tribes or pagan Rome or Babylon.
But Patrick got close enough to listen & offer his insights from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He got close enough to those he had learned to love to earn their trust & know their hearts. He was welcomed in their tribes & he introduced them to the tribe of Jesus followers. And over time, tens of thousands of Irish became disciples of Jesus. Sadly, the 20th & 21st centuries have undone much of Patrick’s work in Ireland…but he showed us the way. We have been entrusted, as followers of Jesus, with a message & offer of life in Christ that is available to all…from the oldest promises in the covenant with the Israelites to the church of today with a sure hope for eternity…
Deuteronomy 32:47 – These instructions are not empty words—they are your life! By obeying them you will enjoy a long life in the land you will occupy when you cross the Jordan River.
John 10:27-29 – My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.
Hebrews 9:27-28 – And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.
You know the language & longings of the people all around you. You know the promise & hope & assurance Christ gives. You know how to welcome someone into a friendship that’s safe & open & trusting where you can be real in your faith…and offer it in love to others. Let’s be Patrick here as we prepare for the celebration of Christ’s triumph at Easter.
God also provides opportunities to strengthen our fellowship & calls us to invite others to join us…
- Sunday 22nd March – We conclude our Lent worship & teaching series: Closer to Jesus: From Self to Self-Sacrifice. Just as Jesus came not to be served but to serve, our call is to do likewise…to die to ourselves & live the cross-carrying way of Jesus. We’ll explore that together this week.
- Saturday 28th March – LWF Prayer Morning @ the Guilfoyle home…10:00-11:00 a.m. Always a faith stretching & strengthening time.
- Holy Week is right around the corner…our worship series for that week is Jesus is More…be part of that experience of fullness & abundance in Christ…We’ve printed some handy flyers for you to give to your friends so they can have the details…or direct them to this part of our website!
- Palm Sunday – 29th March @ our regular 10:00 a.m. time
- Maundy Thursday – 2nd April @ 7:00 p.m.
- Good Friday – 3rd April @ 9:00 a.m.
- Easter Sunday – 5th April @ 10:00 a.m.
A reminder: Set your clocks back one hour on Saturday the 4th of April
We’ve seen our financial emergency goal met & exceeded! Thank you! Thank God for his faithfulness through each of you! Now to keep the regular necessities well-funded & our reach beyond ourselves into the wider world in Christ’s Name growing!
See you somewhere along the way this week!
John
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