Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Hobe Sound, Florida (Jupiter)
Come near to God and He will come near to you. ~ James 4:8
Top ‘o the mornin’ to ya!! It’s St. Patrick’s Day!
So what do you know about St. Patrick? All I know of him is wearing green, pots of gold, leprechauns and lots and lots of green beer. Somehow, I had a feeling these things we’ve managed to associate with this day had nothing to do with St. Patrick. I was right.
St. Patrick, (flourished 5th century, Britain and Ireland; feast day March 17), patron saint and national apostle of Ireland, credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland and probably responsible in part for the Christianization of the Picts and Anglo-Saxons. He is known only from two short works, the “Confessio”, a spiritual autobiography, and his Letter to Coroticus, a denunciation of British mistreatment of Irish Christians.
Patrick was born in Britain of a Romanized family. At age 16 he was torn by Irish raiders from the villa of his father, Calpurnius, a deacon and minor local official, and carried into slavery in Ireland. He spent six bleak years there as a herdsman, during which he turned with fervour to his faith. Upon dreaming that the ship in which he was to escape was ready, he fled his master and found passage to Britain. There he came near to starvation and suffered a second brief captivity before he was reunited with his family. Thereafter, he may have paid a short visit to the Continent.
The best known passage in the Confessio tells of a dream, after his return to Britain, in which one Victoricus delivered him a letter headed “The Voice of the Irish.” As he read it, he seemed to hear a certain company of Irish beseeching him to walk once more among them. “Deeply moved,” he says, “I could read no more.” Nevertheless, because of the shortcomings of his education, he was reluctant for a long time to respond to the call. Even on the eve of reembarkation for Ireland he was beset by doubts of his fitness for the task. Once in the field, however, his hesitations vanished. Utterly confident in the Lord, he journeyed far and wide, baptizing and confirming with untiring zeal. In diplomatic fashion he brought gifts to a kinglet here and a lawgiver there but accepted none from any. On at least one occasion, he was cast into chains. On another, he addressed with lyrical pathos a last farewell to his converts who had been slain or kidnapped by the soldiers of Coroticus.
Careful to deal fairly with the non-Christian Irish, he nevertheless lived in constant danger of martyrdom. The evocation of such incidents of what he called his “laborious episcopate” was his reply to a charge, to his great grief endorsed by his ecclesiastical superiors in Britain, that he had originally sought office for the sake of office. In point of fact, he was a most humble-minded man, pouring forth a continuous paean of thanks to his Maker for having chosen him as the instrument whereby multitudes who had worshipped “idols and unclean things” had become “the people of God.”
The phenomenal success of Patrick’s mission is not, however, the full measure of his personality. Since his writings have come to be better understood, it is increasingly recognized that, despite their occasional incoherence, they mirror a truth and a simplicity of the rarest quality. Not since St. Augustine of Hippo had any religious diarist bared his inmost soul as Patrick did in his writings. As D.A. Binchy, the most austerely critical of Patrician (i.e., of Patrick) scholars, put it, “The moral and spiritual greatness of the man shines through every stumbling sentence of his ‘rustic’ Latin.”
It is not possible to say with any assurance when Patrick was born. There are, however, a number of pointers to his missionary career having lain within the second half of the 5th century. In the Coroticus letter, his mention of the Franks as still “heathen” indicates that the letter must have been written between 451, the date generally accepted as that of the Franks’ irruption into Gaul as far as the Somme River, and 496, when they were baptized en masse. Patrick, who speaks of himself as having evangelized heathen Ireland, is not to be confused with Palladius, sent by Pope Celestine I in 431 as “first bishop to the Irish believers in Christ.”
Before the end of the 7th century, Patrick had become a legendary figure, and the legends have continued to grow. One of these would have it that he drove the snakes of Ireland into the sea to their destruction, though many scientists hold that snakes have never existed in Ireland. Patrick himself wrote that he raised people from the dead, and a 12th-century hagiography places this number at 33 men, some of whom are said to have been deceased for many years. He also reportedly prayed for the provision of food for hungry sailors traveling by land through a desolate area, and a herd of swine miraculously appeared. Another legend, probably the most popular, is that of the shamrock, which has him explaining the concept of the Holy Trinity, three persons in one God, to an unbeliever by showing him the three-leaved plant with one stalk. Traditionally, Irishmen have worn shamrocks, the national flower of Ireland, in their lapels on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. ~ britannica.com
And from ancientfaith.com, Father Bill writes:
Patrick remained a humble man. He wrote, “I Patrick a sinner am the most ignorant and of least account among the faithful, despised by many. I owe it to God’s grace that so many people should through me be born again to him.” By the time he died in peace on March 17, 461, Ireland was almost entirely Christian.
Of course, there are no pictures of Patrick, but I liked this rendition from Father Bill’s article.
Eric and Sandy attend Grace Immanuel Bible Church, so that’s where we went today. By the time we arrived for the second service, there was no place to park, not even in the overflow! But that’s a great problem for a church to have. Eventually, Blaine was able to parallel park when someone left, but it took a few minutes. By the time worship began, the sanctuary was packed. We’re going to estimate 300 or so. Not sure how many it holds, but just about every seat was filled. And they dress more traditionally here – many men with suits and ties, or shirts and ties, women in dresses. . . I didn’t notice a single pair of blue jeans. So nice to see people demonstrating the kind of respect the Father deserves. But while the dress may be traditional, the music was not. Not a single hymn. Still, it was worship-filled, and all the music this morning had an Irish sound to it. I’m guessing because it’s St. Patrick’s Day. 😊
Just as another reminder before I begin on today’s message, all the Sunday messages I share are a combination of what the pastor taught and my own interpretation and insights.
The Pastor spoke for 45 minutes, but much like our Pastor Mike in Green, Ohio, you really weren’t particularly ready for him to stop. His message was on Luke 15:11-32, the prodigal son. Those of us who’ve been to church at all, know the basics of the prodigal son. There’s two sons, one gets fed up at home and wants to venture out on his own, dad gives him the means to do so, the son blows everything on partying and winds up practically homeless, returns home and dad welcomes him back, but his brother’s not too happy. Sound about right?
Do you know the meaning of the word ‘prodigal’? Are you like we were and always thought something along the lines of ‘returning home’ or maybe ‘returning to right living’? If you do, you – and us – are wrong. It actually means ‘spend-thrift’. The actual definition is: spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant. A couple of prodigal synonyms (besides the ones I’ve mentioned) would be excessive, irresponsible, self-indulgent, reckless.
The Pastor began this morning by reviewing the most common excuses people make about why they think they can’t give their lives to Jesus.
1. God can’t possibly forgive me for what I’ve done. (This was my grandmother’s excuse when I tried to talk to her.) But God is in the business of forgiveness. If He wasn’t, none of us would be redeemed. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. ~ Romans 3:23. The apostle Paul was what we would consider today a serial murderer, yet God redeemed him and he went on to become arguably the most important, influential, recognizable apostle of all.
2. I need to clean up a bit first. Once I get better and start making better choices, or decide to give up my current lifestyle, then I’ll be ready for God. But no one knows when their hour will come. ~ Ecclesiastes 9:12a.
And besides, Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”? ~ Proverbs 20:9
3. I can handle life just fine all by myself. I don’t need God. And that’s fine and dandy – until the bottom drops out and they find they have nothing to hold on to. Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. ~ Jonah 2:8 These are usually the same people who spend their lives immersed in hate (especially for Christians) and bitterness and unforgiveness. They don’t understand the Love that’s waiting for them.
The parable of the prodigal son would have come as a shock to the Pharisees (the spiritual leadership at the time), a wonder to those who think they need to clean up first and amazing to those who believe they’re beyond saving. The fact is, sin never says, “Enough!”. And calamities (unforeseen circumstances) only add to the problem. When a hard heart refuses to be humbled to the love and grace of Jesus, the hard heart will eventually fall. Having resources only masks the spiritual condition. Sin will never satisfy.
All of these excuses fall under the category of Pride. Pride that limits the ability of God to forgive. Pride that believes God will wait indefinitely for them. Pride that shakes a fist at God and believes themselves better than God and others.
The first sign of repentance is crushed pride. When you realize the depth of your sin – even if it’s ‘not that bad’ by earthly standards.
When faith-filled Christian parents see the behaviors and attitudes of their wayward children – especially adult children, they often pray the most frightening prayer of all – – “whatever it takes”. I know I prayed that for each of my sons, so I can attest that it’s a truly frightening, even terrifying, prayer because we don’t know what it will take to bring them to their knees. And we don’t know how long it will take.
This Prodigal in Jesus’ story saw his life, his creativity, his sense of adventure being thwarted by his father. Isn’t that just how we feel about God? That His rules to live by are stifling us? That He never lets us have any fun in life? That being a Christian is nothing more than a list of ‘Don’ts’? But what those who have no faith, who want to live without rules don’t see, is that the rules are full of love and mercy and concern for our well-being. Consider this – – what if there were no rules in this life? Think about what that would look like for a moment. What if everyone lived with reckless abandon?
The Prodigal Son lived a ‘free life’ with no rules. He lived a carefree life and eventually, ended up starving and living in a pig sty. Until he ‘came to his senses’. And then the repentance came.
He faced and embraced his shame. The full weight of his sin-filled life hit him, and he claimed it. He didn’t make excuses, blaming others like his parents, society, etc. He said, “I am guilty. I did it because I wanted to.” He saw himself rightly as undeserving of the salvation of Jesus. None of us deserves it.
He returned home humble and ready to assume a position as less than a son of his father. But he realized that he desperately needed his father. Just as we come to recognize the need for our Heavenly Father.
But in the parable, mercy comes running in the form of the loving father. And God longs to be merciful to all of us. Jesus says, Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ~Matthew 11:28. The father ran to the son and showered love and forgiveness upon him and the son remains the son. Jesus takes on every sin and the punishment for that (those) sin(s). He graciously heals and restores all those who recognize that they are sick and come to Him for healing.
If you haven’t already come to Jesus, set aside your pride and excuses and come to Him. No one who does is ever disappointed.
After church, we made our way home to change clothes and get food together.
Tonight we do the cooking! Tonight, they get to experience two dishes my Okinawan Aunt taught me to make. Tonight, we dine on Geosa and Fried Rice. And for dessert? They requested the chocolate cake I made when we visited on Valentine’s Day last year.
But before dinner, we took off on the boat. It was just too nice a day to pass it up. Only Eric, Adam and Eliana (very briefly) actually got into the water. Oh. And I forgot about them throwing Lex into the drink. He wasn’t too happy about that. Lex is Eric and Sandy’s lap-sized dog. Anyhoo, it was good to see the water in the sunlight. 😊
Blaine and I also received pictures of our two youngest grandchildren, Kade and Harper. Look at these pictures! Are they adorable, or what? And can you believe they’re only about 2 ½ and 3 ½ ? They look much older! Can’t wait to get home in a couple of months and squeeze ‘em!!
Fried rice is easy to make and the only work is cutting up whatever veggies you want and cook some rice. Geosa is much more labor-intensive, especially when you’re making over 100 of the things. I was thrilled to have so much help from Jessica and Sandy! They learned fast! Over an hour of work and they were gobbled up in no time at all! We only had about 20 left! I guess that’s a good thing. I assume it means they liked them.
And of course, there’s chocolate cake. Is there anyone who doesn’t like rich, wonderful dark chocolate cake (besides my mother)?
Notice we’re all in our assigned seats. . . haha!
GEOSA (Aunt Mitchi)
1 pound hamburger
1 medium head cabbage, diced fine
2-3 carrots, shredded
2 bunches green onions w/tops, chopped
6-7 cloves garlic, minced
Salt & pepper
1 pkg. Wonton wrappers
1 small bowl of water
Soy sauce for dipping
Mix together first 6 ingredients. Put one spoonful into the center of 1 wonton wrapper. (Be careful not to put in too much filling or the wrapper will tear.) Dip finger into bowl of water and wet two sides of a wrapper. Fold wrapper across the filling to form a triangle. Press together. Crimp in the sides. Set aside until all are made.
May be cooked in two different ways, depending on whether you want them soft or crispy.
Soft: Fry both sides over medium-high heat in a small amount of oil until browned. Add a small amount of water and quickly cover the pan. Steam for 2-3 minutes. Remove to platter.
Crispy: Fry both sides over medium-high heat in a small amount of oil until browned.
Finished batches can be kept warm in 250-300 degree oven.
Makes about 50 pieces.
HINT: While preparing them for frying, do NOT stack them – they’ll stick together! You can put wax paper between layers if you need too, but it’s best to just use a large platter and keep them in a single layer. Use the leftover filling to make fried rice.
FRIED RICE (Aunt Mitchi)
Options:
- Cook leftover Geosa meat till done. Meanwhile, cook 4 servings of rice. Mix together. Add soy sauce if desired.
- Make fried rice from scratch by using any type of vegetables you want, lots of minced fresh garlic and SPAM. Cube the SPAM into small chunks and brown a little. Remove from pan. Add veggies and cook until well done, adding some soy sauce to taste. Meanwhile, scramble 2 eggs in a separate pan. Mix everything together into cooked rice.
Serving size depends on how much rice and how many veggies you make.
HINT: You can cook veggies and fry SPAM in sesame oil for a bit of a different flavor, instead of the leftover Geosa mix.
DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE (Hershey’s Special Dark)
2 C. sugar
1 ¾ C. four
¾ C. Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa
1 ½ t. baking powder
1 ½ t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 eggs
1 C. milk
½ C. vegetable oil
2 t. vanilla
1 C. boiling water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour two 9” round baking pans (or line 28-30 muffin cups that are 2 ½” in diameter) with paper baking cups).
Stir together the sugar flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed of mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (the batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans (or fill cups about 2/3 full).
Bake 30-35 minutes for cake or 22-25 minutes for cupcakes or until wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from the pans onto wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with “Especially Dark” Chocolate Frosting. (see below)
Serves 12 or 30 cupcakes
FROSTING:
½ C. butter
2/3 C. Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa
3 C. powdered sugar
1/3 C. milk
1 t. vanilla
Melt the butter in a small, glass mixing bowl. Stir in the cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading constancy. Add small amounts of additional milk if needed. Stir in vanilla. Makes about 2 cups of frosting.