I think most of us remember St. Patrick's Day as the one time of the year green became an important social signal: you were either wearing it, or you got pinched. Later we heard tales about snakes, shamrocks, and leprechauns. If you're lucky someone might have told you that the holiday centered around a Catholic bishop turned saint who ministered to the Irish.
This holiday falls during Lent, which is the period of time starting on Ash Wednesday (last week) leading up to Easter. Lent is a period of fasting, prayer, and preparation. St. Patrick's day has become a day of excess, pride, and celebration. At first glance the two holidays appear mutually exclusive.
But they are both Catholic holidays that have expanded to include new traditions from the wider world, from wearing green to giving up texting. There are superstitions that surround both, and each has a real liturgical meaning. Neither is found in Scripture, but both provide symbols whereby Christians can explore and further their faith.
The Gospel of Matthew broaches the subject of different guises of holiness in Chapter 11. After responding to questions from his cousin John's disciples, Jesus turned to the crowd at large and said,
To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
"We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not mourn."
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He has a demon." The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners."
Jesus and John had very different styles of ministry and lived very different lives, but both are true to the call laid on their lives. Jesus fasted for a season and then returned to the world of men, while John separated himself and lived on a diet of locusts. Each called people to repent and live better lives, but each served different purpose in the plan of salvation.
Is it wrong, then, for St. Patrick's Day, with all its foibles, to fall during Lent, the dour time?
Or is it a reminder that not everyone is called to the same task, that not all holidays must be alike to remind us of God's grace?
