Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective.

How should we respond to our genuine fears and concerns that arise from the coronavirus?

We should take our cues from brave Christians that have gone before us, such as the great St. Patrick.

St. Patrick was not always St. Patrick, nor was he even Irish. He was an ordinary youth born to well-to-do parents in 5th century Romanized Britain. However, at about age 16 he was kidnapped by the Irish, who at the time were notorious pagan tribal warriors, famous for stringing the skulls of their conquered foes around their belts. After six years of captivity, Patrick escaped. However, after some time he received a vision that he should return to the land of his captors, not in order to bring them justice, but rather to bring them Jesus. He did. And the rest, as they say, is history. He bravely went back and faced his captors, not with fear but with faith.

By the sovereign grace of God, the Irish become Christians at an astounding rate. However, this did not happen without significant danger and threats to Patrick’s life.

And where did he turn with his fears? To the promise of Christ’s presence with him. His faith-filled courage is preserved for us in a famous prayer, that comes to us as “The Shield of St. Patrick”. Here’s a bit of it:

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

Like Patrick of old, how can you today live in faith and not in fear, especially in the midst of the present challenges? The key is calling on the presence of Christ with us, moment by moment.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.