Saint Patrick and the Dreadful Snakes

A Pre-St. Pat's History Lesson


Genesis 3:14-15

The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,
cursed are you among all animals
and among all wild creatures;
upon your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.”

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"Snakes Alive" instrumental by The Dreadful Snakes [Bela Fleck (banjo), Jerry Douglas (dobro), Pat Enright (guitar), Roland White (mandolin), Blaine Sprouse (violin), and Mark Membree (bass)] from "Snakes Alive"

The legend of St. Patrick begins with his kidnapping from England and being taken to Ireland at a young age. He eventually escaped his captors and returned to England where he became a priest. I say legend because there are so many stories about the man with so little corroboration that legend is a better word than fact. Then again, there is often as much truth in legend as there is in fact.

Years later, Patrick returned to Ireland, there he began to spread the gospel. One of the things which evangelists today should take from Patrick is that he knew the lay of the land, he knew Ireland and its people long before it became "the mission field." I wonder if he ever thought of it in the way many people think of "the mission field." He wasn't a stranger to the land or its people. He knew what they valued and he knew how to share what he valued.

He was a captive and when he returned he returned with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Knowing the land, knowing the people, he took the three leaved shamrock and explained the Trinity. He explained that God was in three persons like three leaves on the clover. He explained that God was still one as the flower was one plant. He shared three in one in a way they would understand.

Patrick is beloved in Ireland. He is the Patron Saint of Ireland. By him, Ireland became a nation that worships the Lord. For this, I say "Happy St. Patrick's Day." But there is a more popular part of the legend of Patrick, and if I didn't go there there would be no reason for this scripture and this song.

According to the legend, Patrick banished all snakes from Ireland using his staff when snakes confronted him during a forty day fast. Fighting the dreadful snakes off with his staff, he was like Aaron before Pharaoh. Then again, since the glaciers receded and Ireland became a land mass, there has never been evidence of snakes on the island. Britain has snakes, but none have made it to Ireland. There have never been any snakes for Patrick to banish so the legend is just that, a legend.

Or... this part of the legend could have referred to the serpent symbolism used by the druids, and when Patrick brought the Good News, the Gospel shared by Patrick banished those snakes. See what I mean, not literal snakes, but the snake symbols and the druids who worshiped them. They were banished and the Lord was worshiped. Not factual snakes, but legendary snakes. Like I said, this is one time when the legend has even more truth than the facts. Then again, Patrick wouldn't have known any of this if he hadn't known the people he came to serve in the name of the Lord.