Tell That Fox...

“Tell that Fox…”

Rev. Stephen Milton

Lawrence Park Community Church

March 16th 2025.

Luke 13:31-35

Tomorrow is Saint Patrick’s Day. All over the country, people will be wearing green, listening to Celtic music, and hopefully, sharing some good cheer. Saint Patrick’s Day always occurs during Lent, which may seem like it poses some problems. Afterall, many people would like to have a drink on Saint Patrick’s day, but in days gone by, giving up alcohol was a typical Lenten fast. Within the Catholic church, this wasn’t a problem since Saint’s days were exempt from the usual rules on giving things up for Lent. The same is true for Sundays, as Roberta reminded us last week. 

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, and is known as the man who brought Christianity to the emerald Isle. Scholars suspect there had been other Christian missionaries there before[1], but he certainly deserves credit for establishing the faith in a lasting way. And his story is also a good one to be heard in Lent, a time when we are asked to give up some of our favourite things, and become more introspective in our relationship with God.

Patrick was born in England in the late 300s[2]. His parents were Christian Romans, part of the settlements that were established by the Roman empire. His grandfather was a priest, his father a deacon.[3] He lived near the coast in a village. Across the waters lay Ireland, which was inhabited mostly by pagan Celts. When Patrick was 16, an Irish raiding party descended on his village. They had come looking for people to kidnap to sell into slavery in Ireland. Patrick was captured and taken prisoner, with many others. 

In Ireland, he was sold to a herder on the coast. Young Patrick was enslaved, forced to tend to his master’s flocks on the windswept hills of what is now Leinster, south of what is now Dublin. In Patrick’s autobiography, he describes these years as very hard. He was miserable, and alone. He had no idea if he would ever return to see his parents or England. His young life appeared to have ended before it could begin.

In his misery, he turned to God. He says that he wasn’t very religious as a child, but now, he had no one to talk to, so he started talking to God. Not just once a day for prayers, but constantly. He says he spoke to God a hundred times a day[4], God was his only companion. He begged God to get him away from Ireland. And one day, after six years of slavery, God’s voice told him there was a ship headed to England, and he should try to get on it.[5] That sounds wonderful, but it was very risky. Patrick needed to run away from his master, and he could be caught any time as an escaped slave. He reached the ship, where they initially refused passage, then accepted him. Those were very different times. To show that he would be loyal to the pagan sailors, they asked him to show his devotion by sucking on their nipples, a common ritual at that time. Patrick says he refused, trusting only in God. [6]

Patrick returned to England, and eventually found his way back to his parents and their village. Due to God’s help in winning his freedom, he decided to join the church, and study to become a monk. He went to a monastery in France for his education and ordination.[7] But his freedom was not care free. In his autobiography he reported that he had troubling dreams. They were not, as you might expect of his days as an enslaved person. They weren’t of the pain he experienced all alone on the hills. Instead, he reports he had dreams of the people of Ireland standing in front of him, carrying letters of petition. The island’s pagan people were begging him to come back with the news of Christ.[8]

But could he go back? Would he be captured and enslaved again, or killed for running away?[9] Patrick knew very well what danger lay in Ireland for him, and for any person who might come with the good news. What should he do?

That same quandry is faced by Jesus in today’s scripture reading. Jesus is in Galilee, teaching anyone who will listen. Word is out about his ministry, and it has even reached the ears of the local ruler, one of King Herod the Great’s sons. He has already killed John the Baptist[10], and now, Jesus is told, he will try to kill Jesus if he gets the chance. 

Jesus knows that if he goes to Jerusalem he is likely to be killed. He knows the scriptures and the prophecies. He has told his disciples that he thinks he is the fulfillment of Isaiah’ prophecy, where the blind and the lame will be healed. But he also knows the other part of Isaiah’s prophecy. That God’s Messiah will suffer. He will be tortured and humiliated by those in charge. To go to Jerusalem as this kind of prophet is to face certain death. 

There are times when we can tell that hard times lie ahead. This is one of those times in Canada. We can tell that we are facing threats to our economy and our sovereignty which leave us worried about the future. It has become clear that those who would attack us mean to do everything they can to destabilize us, to make threats, withdraw them, then reinstate them. To see agreements as irrelevant. It promises to be a rough few years. 

So how do we get the courage to weather these storms? Christ’s example here gives us a clue. Jesus speaks with absolute confidence. He knows what he stands for, and what he needs to do to fulfill His mission. He intends to keep healing people physically and mentally. He will be teaching them the good news of God, providing hope and the assurance that in God’s eyes, every person is worthy of dignity. 

Jesus knows who he is and what he stands for. That gives him to courage to speak plainly about what he thinks of the local ruler who threatens his life. He doesn’t cower or start compromising his message in fear of Herod. He refers to Herod as “that old fox,” a term even then that meant Herod is a liar and not to be trusted. If you stand for truth, then you also call out the liars for what they are. Giving them false respect perpetuates the lie that what they are doing is just. 

Respect is earned for living up to one’s calling, one’s position. Herod betrays his people every day by being in league with the Romans, shovelling tax money to them. He is a traitor to his people. Christ calls him out for it, just as John the Baptist did. Truth cannot compromise with lies. Truth demands truth.

It is because Christ is clear about his identity and values that he can choose to go to Jerusalem. He knows he may be killed there. But if that happens, he will be killed for being who he is. His identity will be confirmed, not snuffed out. The lying rulers will kill him on false charges, claiming he is the king of the Jews, and that he threatened the safety of the temple. But all will know that he was killed because his message of compassion and love was threatening to those who wanted wealth and comfort for the few. Jesus can die on the cross because he will die as he lived.

Patrick feared that he, too, would die if he returned to Ireland. He might be captured as an escaped slave. He could be attacked for introducing a foreign religion to a pagan culture. Ireland in his day was an island of fiefdoms, with as many as 100 warring kings[11], and many people enslaved. They, like Herod, would not welcome Christianity’s message of love and compassion for all.

Patrick was wracked by doubt and fears, but in the end decided to dare to enter the country once more. Like Jesus, he knew where he stood, and what he represented. He felt that he owed his life of freedom to God, so how could he say no if the people of Ireland entreated him to return in his dreams?

Patrick returned as a bishop, accompanied by a small group of Christian monks. [12] Tradition says that Patrick’s first stop in Ireland was to see the man who had enslaved and mistreated him. Patrick did not want to arrest him or punish him. Instead, he came to bring him the good news of Jesus. But when the master saw Patrick and his monks approaching, the man went into his house and set fire to himself and his home. [13]

Patrick’s  time in Ireland was not easy. The local kings were hostile. He was frequently mistreated. He and his companions were taken prisoner and thrown in chains for two weeks at one point. Death was always a possibility.[14]

But, it did not take long for the people of Ireland to respond to Patrick’s message. They were tired of the wars between the rival kings. They were tired of being enslaved. They were amazed by this message that even the most common person was loved by God, the author of all creation. The kings who had mistreated and enslaved them looked like petty crooks in comparison. Christianity quickly spread across the island, and numerous Christian communities were set up. Patrick says that his most enthusiastic converts were young women and enslaved people. They were delighted to join monasteries to escape the life their fathers and masters had planned for them.[15] Patrick even bought enslaved people and freed them.[16]

Patrick’s ministry is a clear example of what happens when a person sticks to their core values, even in the face of adversity and death. Patrick taught that all people are loved, no matter how poor or marginalized they may be. All are considered important, as Christ says to the people of Jerusalem, whom he wishes he could gather up like a hen does with its chicks. It was precisely because Patrick was willing to risk his life for his values that people listened to him, and sensed the truth of what he was teaching.

In our time, we are being threatened with economic woe. But the Canadian soul will not be won or lost in dollars and cents. Our nation, inspired by Christianity among its founders, has sought to embrace people of all kinds, in a widening understanding of equality. This is an ongoing project, one that is not complete. We have gone from a country formed when only white men could vote to one today where every adult can vote. Perhaps someday, we will include children in the voting. The trajectory of equality and liberty is never easy to predict, for we are always caught in the myopia of our prejudices. But as a nation we have committed ourselves to protecting and promoting the rights of all. Those values are more important than a temporary dip in our GDP or average income. With these values as our truth, we can stand our ground and call out the foxes which appear at the fence wanting in.  For, as Patrick discovered, a message of love and equality for all will always appeal to those who are impoverished and mistreated by the foxes who rule them. Amen.  

[1] J.B.Bury, Ireland’s Saint, Ed. Jon M Sweeney (Paraclete Press, 2008). 21.

[2] J.B.Bury, Ireland’s Saint, Ed. Jon M Sweeney (Paraclete Press, 2008). 41.

[3] Saint Patrick’s Confession,1. 

[4] Saint Patrick’s Confession, 16. 

[5] Saint Patrick’s Confession,17.

[6] Saint Patrick’s Confession,18.

[7] J.B.Bury, Ireland’s Saint, Ed. Jon M Sweeney (Paraclete Press, 2008),63.

[8] Saint Patrick’s Confession,23.

[9] Saint Patrick’s Confession, 55.

[10] Herod Antipas, Tetrach of Galilee. https://www.biola.edu/blogs/good-book-blog/2014/how-many-herods-are-there-in-the-bible

[11] J.B.Bury, Ireland’s Saint, Ed. Jon M Sweeney (Paraclete Press, 2008), 97.

[12] J.B.Bury, Ireland’s Saint, Ed. Jon M Sweeney (Paraclete Press, 2008), 142.

[13] J.B.Bury, Ireland’s Saint, Ed. Jon M Sweeney (Paraclete Press, 2008), 102.

[14] Saint Patrick’s Confession, 52.

[15] Saint Patrick’s Confession, 42.

[16] Saint Patrick’s Confession, 53.