Happy St. Patrick’s Day!☘
I love that America still venerates a Christian saint! Yes, some may have highjacked the day in order to drink too much and eat green food, but even so, it’s hard to miss the name of the day! If one gave it even a simple thought, he/she would know it is a day that celebrates a saint, one who was completely devoted to Jesus Christ!
Patrick lived his life between the years 400-490 AD. He was born in Britain, way back when that area was under Roman rule. His writings describe that at age 16 he was kidnapped (by pirates) from his family’s home and brought to Ireland to be a slave. In his writings he also says he was not a believer prior to the capture, but while working as a shepherd in Ireland, his prayer life and faith deepened. After 6 years of captivity, he escaped his slave master, got passage on a boat back to Britain, and eventually made his way back to his family home. He spent time learning more about Christianity and eventually traveled to Europe to be ordained into the priesthood.
Acting on a vision from God, he actually returned to Ireland, where he had been enslaved, to bring the gospel message to that country. Reportedly, under his teaching, 1000’s were baptized into the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Coins that were minted in the 1680’s depict Patrick holding a shamrock. This was in tribute to his use of the three leafed plant to illustrate the Holy Trinity.
So, how cool is that, to celebrate the evangelism Patrick did for the Kingdom?! I love it!! ☘
On another note, how is your reading going? 1Corinthians got me to take some deep dives on a couple topics. One in particular was the issue about ladies wearing head coverings while praying or prophesying in church (1 Cor. 11:1-16). I didn't dive into the topic because i was worried I was breaking some religious code. Particularly because I don’t stand up to pray or prophesy in my church. 😜 But if I did, would I need to don a scarf or hat out of respect from my husband? I wrestled a little bit with this topic because it is one of things you gotta ask yourself, is this a cultural or a timeless truth? After a quick dive on the subject I came to a conclusion that I thought I would share.
I am really glad that at the end of that section, Paul threw in, “But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God. (11:16). Right there, we can see this was a custom/culture issue. That means head coverings are not a timeless truth that needs to be adhered to today, since our culture does not use head coverings as a sign of submission. However, there is a timeless truth here!!! Women are still to be honoring to their husbands!
We can "slightly" use our wedding rings as an example. I would not want to take off my wedding ring in a room full of single men. That wouldn’t be respectful to my husband. I am married and my ring symbolizes that union. Taking it off would indicate, "I am available"! Now, I say that we can “slightly” use the ring analogy because it’s not easily applied to the context of praying or prophesying in church. But, you get the gist of what I am saying if you think of head coverings as showing honor to their husbands (like our ring symbolism in our culture). Paul is pointing out that the women, not wearing their head covering were showing that they were not under their husbands authority. They may have been flaunting their new found freedom in Christ (like Paul was describing in Ch. 8), but this knowledge was “puffing them up” (8:1). The culture around them didn't understand why they would feel so "free" in a culture that used head coverings.
Here is the timeless truth one is to get out of these instructions. Taking off the head covering was not sinful in itself, but it was dishonoring to the husbands in that culture. That dishonor resulted in shame for both husband and wife. That is sin! “Wives, honor your husbands” (Proverbs 12:4, Eph. 5:33, Col 3:18, Titus 2:4 & 1 Pet. 3:1).
Well, there you go. That was my deep dive for the week. Did you do a deep dive on anything in the reading? I would love to hear about it!!
Don't forget you have a free day in the reading plan tomorrow. Have a great week!