So Far From God

This weekend, we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day as a nation. The irony is that in Ireland, they watch news reports about our celebrations which include corned beef & cabbage, green beer (usually way too much beer), parades filled with people dressed like leprechauns, and even rivers dyed green. And they wonder why we would celebrate one of their Holy Days with such foolishness.

You see, St. Patrick was an amazing missionary who brought the Christian faith to their island nation. And he was responsible for planting a church and a movement that was characterized by a profound understanding of the sent-ness of God’s people. The gospel for the Celts wasn’t so much about saving individuals, although that was certainly part of it. It was a powerful gospel which transformed lives, families, and communities. More than that, it broke down dividing walls between tribes, giving an island filled with tribal conflict a unifying identity in Christ. And the message, fueled by the Spirit of God, swept throughout the land and captured hearts all to the praise and glory of God.

Then there’s our celebration. Christ has no place in American St. Patrick’s Day. Some creative missional pockets are trying to restore the holiness of the day, but they are the extreme minority. Churches try to ignore or even condemn the holiday. And we miss a huge opportunity to remember faithfulness and to challenge God’s people.

And what does evangelism look like in America? Well, I took a picture of a sign at our local gas station. It’s below. Click on it to get a larger image if you have a hard time making out the object I have pointed out. The sign is advertizing gas station sandwiches. Yummy! But some well-meaning but misguided saint has put a tract on the sign. The message? I’m not sure. “Come inside and get a lousy, but cheap sandwich. And while you choke it down, read this literature that will probably make you nauseous if you are far from Christ.” And the person who put it there has annoyed a merchant in the community, provided a few laughs at the local pub, but feels like he has done his part to be a witness of the gospel in a broken world. It’s a good thing that it’s the Spirit that saves people and not us. But I’m sure that we’re called to a whole lot more than this.