Embracing the Lessons of Saint Patrick and the Early Church: A Journey of Faith, Love, and Community

Embark on a transformative journey with me, Jake, as we uncover the resilient spirit of a boy named Patricius, later known as Saint Patrick. Spirited away into slavery, discover how his unwavering faith and compassion for his captors forged his destiny as a beacon of hope and a herald of Christianity in Ireland. Join us for a profound exploration of how Saint Patrick's unique approach to sharing his faith—immersing himself in the culture and language of the Irish—led to a legacy that endures to this day.

This Monday Morning Meditation is not just a historical recount; it's an invitation to examine the early Christian church's practices in Acts 2:42-47, and how their template for community and selflessness still echoes in our modern lives. From selling possessions to sharing meals, learn how the early believers' radical generosity and unity captivated hearts, grew their numbers, and can inspire us to foster a similar sense of Koinonia in our lives. Let's embrace these timeless lessons of faith, love, and community together.

All Things Mission 41:10

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:18

The year was 480 and a young, bright and boy who was 16 years old, by the name of Patricia S, was kidnapped by Irish pirates and he was taken over to the mainland in Ireland and sold into slavery. The people that purchased him, you could say, were the family of a very rich tribal leader in the area. He became indebted to them, inservitued to them, taking care of their household and taking care of their animals. He did this for six years. During those six years he learned three things. The first was that his faith in Jesus grew deeper. He grew up in a Christian home and he had heard the stories and heard the scriptures read to him, but he didn't really feel anything for them until he became a slave. Then he slowly grew closer to God. The second thing was that he realized that if he were to ever get out of the situation that he was in, that he would go into service for God. The third thing was that he loved his captors. He learned what made him tick, he learned their language, he learned all about their culture and he just began to fall more deeply in love with them. And then, after about six years, he had a dream that said go, your boat is ready. So in the dark of night he ran away and went back to England where he became a Catholic priest. He waited about 25 years and he just felt this pulling back to where he came from. So he took a group of people with him and they went back to Ireland and they moved into a community and they set up shop and they built houses and they lived their lives among the people of this area, which is completely different than what he had ever learned in seminary, because at the time their Catholic way of evangelism was to go to places and make them conform to who the Catholics were, rather than the people going conforming to who the people were around them. So Patricius did it differently he went to the people and he became like the people. He spoke their language, he listened and followed their culture. He became one with them and in turn was able to teach others about Jesus by living the lifestyle. And I'm sure you may have figured out who I'm talking about because we know him as a different name. His name is Saint Patrick, my name is Jake and this is your Monday Morning Meditation.

Speaker 1: 2:53

Now we've been talking this past month about going back to the basics and we've been looking at Acts, chapter 2, starting in verse 42 through 47. Last week we discussed how the early church did everything together and we looked at verses 42 and 43. This week we're going to talk about what that togetherness looked like. Starting in verse 44, we read and all who believed were together and had all things in common. The verse says that they had everything in common, which it means they were basically one in mission, one in mind, one in spirit and one in heart. Verse 45 says and they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as they had need. Now, this can be a tough one, because when we hear this, we immediately begin to think of Communism. However, that isn't what they were doing. In Communism, you're forced to share. The government makes you share what you have.

Speaker 1: 3:50

The early church willingly sold what they had to benefit the others as they had need. They saw their family struggling, they saw their friends struggling and they knew that they had to do something about it. In an only made sense to sacrifice what they had to help the other people in their lives. They followed a Savior who demonstrated a sacrificial love by dying on a cross, and while I'm sure they would have laid their lives down, if need be, selling their possessions to help others was the next best thing they could have done. In verse 46 we read and day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes. They received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people, and the Lord added to their number, day by day, those who were being saved. The early church was faithful in their worship and their praise. They did everything together. Remember, they were still Jewish believers, so they worshiped in the temples, but then they took that extra step and they began worshiping in their homes. They ate their meals together and they continued to build that Koinani or that Greek word for community. And this community lifestyle they were living began to become appealing to those around them and they continued to grow in numbers. This idea of community is still so important in the church.

Speaker 1: 5:10

Several months ago I took a survey on Facebook. It was nothing official, just a quick 10 question survey to see what people thought of the church, and the results were. They kind of surprised me. People look at the church today as a closed off social club, isn't really open to the outside world. Here's just one of the responses that I got when I asked about what people thought what their thoughts on church were. It says I think the church is a cult. It has some members slash leaders that truly believe, but it often is a way to manipulate and control people. It creates division and a hierarchy of false morality. There are churches that are kind and loving and I don't discount their intentions, but overall it's very harmful. Now, this negative outlook on the church has come from years of the church acting like it's better than those who dare not come into it, members who lift their noses because someone not like them dare to walk in their front door.

Speaker 1: 6:18

The early church was so successful because they had an open door and policy. All were invited in to hear this gospel message, because the message applied to everyone, and I know that we could make the argument that at that point in time it was only open to the Jewish believers, and yes, there is some truth to that. However, eventually it would be open to all Jewish and non-Jewish people alike, and later this month we're going to be talking more about that as well. But as we begin to move on from just Acts 2 and we look deeper into the timeline of the early church. What is it that we can take away from this one passage?

Speaker 1: 6:53

Well, first of all, we need to live out the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to be the living embodiment of what Christ did for us. So many times we walk around with a scowl on our faces and we act like someone woke up this morning and just kicked our dog. We let life kick us in our teeth and we have the attitudes and the mindsets to prove it. But the only problem with that is the fact that we know for a fact that there is a risen Savior who died for you and me, so that I don't have to be miserable in my life. One of the things that was so appealing to the outsiders of the early church was the fact that they went through the same hardships as everyone around them, and yet they were still able to do it with a smile on their faces. They had found the true joy in life the fact that, no matter what life threw at them, they have a Savior who died for them and that, in the end, all of those hardships, all of those things in life, they're going to go away and that they're going to live with Him in eternity.

Speaker 1: 8:06

Secondly, we have to have this mindset that what we have isn't ours. Yeah, it's really nice to have the newest technology, the flashiest cars and the biggest houses, but would you be willing to give it all up if someone you knew needed it? Greed has overtaken our culture and I'm not going to help you. You should help yourself. I try really hard to leave politics out of church, but unfortunately, politics have been invading our churches in a massive way, and so it needs to be spoken about. We live in a nation where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The divide continues to grow and we become cold and we become callous to the poor. We've developed this mindset that says why should I help them when they can't even help themselves? And we look at each person who's hurting and struggling and we tell them to suck it up, buttercup, I have to work hard, so why shouldn't you Get a job, you bum? They're all around you, everyone around us is hiring, but this isn't the mindset that we should have as followers. We need to humble ourselves and realize that God has blessed us with what we have and that we're just stewards of it. We're stewards of the money. We're stewards of the stuff that we possess, it could be gone in the blink of an eye. Would you be willing to give it up if it meant that someone else could be helped out of the hole that they found themselves in? And lastly, we need to be a community within the community and not a church within the community.

Speaker 1: 9:41

The reason that the not only the early church, but that Celtic church that it worked was because they took the church into the community. They lived among people who didn't believe. They invited them into their houses. They showed them a new way to live their lives. They set the example of who Christ is and what he can do in their lives, so that eventually, that unbelieving neighbor looked at them and said how do you do it? What is it that you have that I don't have that can get you through all of these same struggles that I have? And you're still doing it with a smile on your face. They didn't tell the people that they were lost and centers and they needed to find Jesus, or that they would go to hell. Instead, they helped people to find Jesus on their own by living the example for them.

Speaker 1: 10:30

We as a church are called to be the hands and the feet of Jesus Christ, and the only way that we can do that is by being that we can't just sit here and talk about it day in and day out and not do anything. We need to have actions. Actions speak louder than words. Imagine how much more different we would look if the church building was just that secondary place in our community, that the building was just a place for communities of believers to come together and worship and celebrate the work that we are doing in the community, instead of that once a week social club where we go, we sing some songs, we listen to a message that makes us feel better and then we just go about our week like nothing has even changed. I know that it's hard to sit there and think that you know I'm struggling, other people are struggling. Why should I have to give of myself? It's what Jesus would have done. It's what the early Celtic Church did. I've been spending a lot of time studying the early Celtic churches and they did things so much differently than anybody I've ever seen.

Speaker 1: 11:55

I think that we need to get back to that place where we are a community that lives within the community and then we go to church to celebrate with other believers that are all parts of that other communities within their communities. I think that's the way that we bring about change in our society. I think that's the way we bring about change in our culture. That's the way that we bring change in our own lives. It's the way that we find joy.

Speaker 1: 12:26

I was studying the book of Philippians in my morning devotional time and the author that I was reading, warren Wearsby, said that joy stands for Jesus, others yourself. Could you imagine how your even just your life would change if you put Jesus and others ahead of yourself? You would have this unspeakable joy that you could share with other people. Let's pray, heavenly and Holy Father, you who puts the world in motion with your hand. Lord, you know what this looks like if we all just have that sacrificial love. Like your early church did, father, you built this church to not just be a building that sits at an intersection, but as a community of believers, a family of believers, a group of believers that did in life differently. Father, I just I hope and I pray that we begin to examine how we do our relationship with you differently, that we begin to do it in community with each other, and that, instead of telling people how horrible their lives are and that they need Jesus. We show them that there is a better way to live, through love and service and kindness and compassion and grace In your name, amen.

Speaker 1: 14:09

Well, everybody, I hope you guys enjoyed this Monday morning moment. And remember our goal at Mission 4110 is to help people to experience the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, a couple weeks ago, I told you that this was going to be an audio-only podcast. Well, it's a work in progress, so there's actually YouTube now. I'm putting the morning moments up on YouTube and so if you want to see my smiling ugly face on Monday mornings instead of just listening to my grovly voice, head on over to YouTube, like and subscribe there. Also, if you found encouragement in this message, don't be afraid to like and subscribe there on your podcasting app as well, and share it with someone that you know. That needs encouragement. Everyone, I hope you guys have a great week and I hope that today's message has helped you to experience the gospel of Jesus just a little bit more. Until next week, take care and God bless.