Psalm 27
The Rev. Hal Chorpenning 
Plymouth Congregational UCC,
​Fort Collins, Colorado
The Feast of St. Patrick

My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many. My father was Calpurnius. He was a deacon; his father was Potitus, a priest, who lived at Bannavem Taburniae. His home was near there, and that is where I was taken prisoner. I was about sixteen at the time. At that time, I did not know the true God. I was taken into captivity in Ireland, along with thousands of others.
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So begins The Confession of St. Patrick, which is thought to be authentic, unlike just about everything else we have been told about this fifth-century British saint. No shamrocks, no snakes, no green beer. Wait…British?! Though it comes as a grave disappointment to some, one of the three patron saints of Ireland came from Scotland or the north of England – easily accessible to Irish raiding parties. Britain had been a Roman province, and at the time of Patrick’s youth, Roman political influence had waned and their occupation of Britain had ended, so it was a time of political instability.

And we have an early manuscript of The Confession in the 8th-century Book of Armagh, which lives at Trinity College in Dublin. In this document, Patrick details how as a slave he came to embrace the faith of his father, a deacon, and his grandfather, a priest. He speaks of how after being enslaved he had a vision of how to escape, of his reuniting with his family, and his temptation by Satan. Even without shamrocks, it’s a gripping story!

Patrick writes of his difficulties and mission: “It was not by my own grace, but God who overcame [adversities] in me, and resisted them all so that I could come to the peoples of Ireland to preach the gospel. I bore insults from unbelievers, so that I would hear the hatred directed at me for traveling here. I bore many persecutions, even chains, so that I could give up my freeborn state for the sake of others.”

The Confession is one of the great spiritual testimonies of late antiquity, and we learn from it that Patrick, like so many prophets, sensed the divine call to speak on God’s behalf, and like so many apostles, was sent by God into an alien land as an exponent of the Gospel. Patrick’s mission to the Irish was not only surprisingly successful in introducing the Christian faith, but there was something distinctive from the mission to virtually every other country: it was bloodless. Patrick’s mission was nonviolent, which is especially striking given the circumstances under which he was taken to Ireland as a youth. 

But it isn’t just The Confession that I want to introduce you to, but another writing attributed to Patrick, a prayer called "The Breastplate." It takes the form of a plea for protection in troubled times. Here is an extract of the prayer…I won’t read the whole thing, because it does go on a bit:

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.
…
I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.
I arise today, through
God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s shield to protect 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.

Patrick, whether he wrote this prayer or not, certainly needed the protection of God as he re-entered the land of his captivity. He demonstrated his faith in, his deep trust in, the triune God, whom he sensed was within him, around him, and infinitely far beyond him. That sense of panentheism – God as close to us as our breathing and at the same time beyond the reaches of the universe – is central to the experience of Celtic Christianity then and now. God is not simply “in a heaven, lightyears away,” but near to us, and can be a help in times of trouble.

And that, too, is the expression of faith and trust in Psalm 27. God “is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” The confident faith of the psalmist is something that we can use today. I actually use the prayer in your bulletin every morning in my own devotional time, and it has echoes of Psalm 27: “The Lord is my light and salvation,” and “Christ as a light illumine and guide me.”

The horrific attack on the mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday was the latest chapter in the tragic history of terrorism by white men who feel threatened by the prospect of not being in control of a world of diverse peoples. And yet, as Christians, we have the example of Patrick, who not only didn’t attack those whom he could justifiably see as a threat…he loved and embraced them. That courageous ability to not be threatened, but to love one’s enemies is at the core of the real St. Patrick, and that is far more valuable to God and to us, than chasing a few snakes away.

I know that many of us are overwhelmed because we are living in fraught and dangerous times and that zero-sum politics are tearing our nation – even God’s planet – apart. I am concerned about you, the members of this congregation, because I see you working for justice and feeling a sense of oppression. I know that some of you are disheartened by the state of our republic and its politics…and with good reason. And I want you to be able to use the tools of your faith to keep on keeping on. I want you to be able to use the oaken staff of your faith to lean on as you go into the world. 

The Psalms, especially the 27th Psalm, can be a part of your toolkit for protection. The 27th Psalm can be your breastplate that you put on like armor to protect yourself from the dishonesty, avarice, and ill will that seem to dominate the news. 

Prayers for protection are an essential part of the literature of the Celtic saints, including Patrick. Here is the beginning of a prayer attributed to St. Brendan the Navigator: “Help me to journey beyond the familiar and into the unknown. Give me faith to leave old ways and break fresh ground with you.” And one of St. Columba of Iona: “Be thou a bright flame before me: be thou a guiding star above me; be though a smooth path below me; be thou a kindly shepherd behind me…today, tonight, and forever.” And a prayer from St. Columbanus, an Irish monk who founded monasteries in today’s France, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy: “Lord, kindle our lamps, Savior most dear to us, that we may always shine in your presence and always receive light from you, the Light Perpetual, so that our own personal darkness may be overcome, and the world’s darkness driven from us.”

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear. The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” The words of saints and the psalmist are the words of courage, of confidence, of reliance on the intimate presence of God. 

The psalm ends with a theological claim, which the Celtic saints would affirm, but it is more than that: it is a statement of what is in the heart of the psalmist, and I pray that it is in your heart as well: “I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” As a newer paraphrase of this psalm says, “Stay with God!”

Many of you want to know more about how to pray, so here is one way to go deeper: Pray with the psalms. When you go home, pull out your Bible and find Psalm 27, make a space of five minutes, and open your heart and mind to God, and read this psalm with an attitude of prayer. Do it five times this week, and see what changes happen within you. (And you can have your pint of green beer first!)
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The saints of old have stood up against fear of the other, against oppression, against tyrants, against injustice, and against violence. You can, too, because the Lord is your light and your salvation…you have nothing to fear.

Amen.

© 2019 Hal Chorpenning, all rights reserved. Please contact [email protected] for permission to reprint, which will typically be granted for non-profit uses.