So I want to set the expectation early this evening. This post isn’t really about St. Patrick’s Day… But each year I am reminded of an incident that happened when I was in seventh or eighth grade. The school, like most organizations in Chicago, celebrated St. Patrick’s Day and most of us got in on the fun. Except for one of my “friends.” Each March 17th, he would wear a paper fleur-de-lis pinned to his shirt, stating in big, bold letters, “I’m French…”
Undoubtedly, he was proud of his heritage, but Toussaint is a very French name as well and I was somewhat embarrassed by his yearly proclamation of his French ancestry. This didn’t happen just once – it became a yearly occurrence and I even went to high school with this fellow, where the custom continued.
Now it is important to know that at the time, Mayor Daley was in charge of the city, and the Irish community was huge. There were parades, all kinds of celebrations and I am sure that most of you have seen pictures of the Chicago River actually dyed neon green. We all got in on the fun.
In fact, it was kind of like Valentine’s Day. Back in the day, you brought a Valentine for everyone in class. They were all signed and put in envelopes and then we went around our classrooms and passed out our cards to every classmate. It was also exciting to come back to my desk and see the stack of cards that had been left for me.
And while I believed that St. Patrick’s Day should be like that, it never seemed to have the universal appeal that Valentine’s Day had. And, eventually, Valentine’s Day lost its luster as well. People were left off the list of receiving cards and things became more polar. Birthday parties got smaller as well – you know what I mean if you grew up in the sixties.
I kind of had dismissed most of these memories until I ran across a current friend of mine on Tuesday who professed that he was from another country – and proud of it. He didn’t participate in St. Patrick’s Day, I guess. he said that he “forgot” to wear green, but I wonder…. And of course, the forum now with social media is much broader and engaging than it was back in the day when classmates were the only ones who really knew how you felt. I actually texted him and asked if couldn’t be just a teeny, weeny, little bit Irish for a day… he defended his comment. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and hope that he was just kidding… But it is especially disconcerting when people wear the badge of Christianity so proudly.
Janet is part Irish, and I am not (primarily French and German), but regardless of that fact, I firmly believe that we can all be Irish for a day, at least a little bit – if we don’t want to celebrate, at least we can be happy for those who do. This year, I even cooked corned beef and cabbage for the family on the smoker. It was great.
What I am saying here is that we need more unity in this country. I don’t think I have ever seen things as polar as they are now. Divisiveness permeates every corner of our lives. I’m tired of it…
Christians attend Seder dinners with the Jewish community. Jewish folks acknowledge the Christian celebration of Christmas. And if nothing else, we could remain silent on subjects we disagree with rather than profess our opposition publicly – especially on social media. As I said, this week woke up all those dormant memories about something as innocuous as St. Patrick’s Day.
The Scripture is full of verses about unity and we would do well to pay attention to them. Tonight’s verse is one that most of us are familiar with. It comes in Paul’s letter to the church at Galatia. Paul tells us, in Galatians 3:27-29, “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
My encouragement this evening is that Christ died for everyone – Christians and non-Christians alike. That’s important to remember. If we profess our faith, then it is important to realize that while we can be witnesses for Christ, we don’t have the power to “save” anyone. That is the job of the Holy Spirit and the rest of the Godhead. My prayer is that we will demonstrate a behavior that is more in line with unity and realize that that such things as “being Irish” for a day promotes our commitment to at least understanding others. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…