Author: Deji Okegbile

None of the legends and other folklores of green beer or leprechauns, banishing snakes from Ireland, using shamrocks to teach the Trinity, or walking stick growing into a living tree has anything to do with the real Patrick. St Patrick’s Day is more important than what he did in Ireland because of what he symbolizes in such a season as this and at a time when the church is loosing its identity, authority, and bearing.  Succat, meaning ‘warlike’ in modern Welsh and later known as St Patrick was born about the year A.D 372 A.D to a British family of Calpurnius, deacon of the church of Bonavern and Conchessa, sister to the celebrated Martin, archbishop of Tours. At his tender age, Conchessa, instilled into Succat’s heart the doctrines of Christianity. At sixteen years of age, Succat was captured by a band of Scottish slave-dealing pirates who sold him to the Druid chieftain, Milcho, who reigned in the north of Ireland. For six years Patrick herded the cattle of this ruthless pagan chieftain. Alone and in the solitary pasture, Succat, ‘the young slave called to mind the divine lessons which his pious mother had so often read to him.’ Like the prodigal son, in the heathen land, he surrendered his life to Jesus of whom Conchessa had so often spoken. Patrick’s “Confession” tells us the summary of his conversion: “When I...

Jesus called Lazarus and he came out of the grave and almost a week later, Mary, though not in the darkness of the grave, she was in darkness of familiarity, mourning, and loss, when her life goes on in different direction. The miracle of resurrection started when Jesus called Mary by her name and she knew who he was, not based on the past familiarity but now as the living Lord. Two related factors delayed her recognition of Christ. One was her unexpectancy, and the other was her preoccupation. Mary was preoccupied with her past experience, her beautiful memories of Jesus – the man, for whom she grieve and painful memories for whom she bleed. She wanted to find Jesus’ body in Joseph’s garden, in the tomb where it had been placed, she did not expect him to be walking around outside the tomb. Mary was totally disappointed, Jesus’ appearance to her was totally unexpected, and at first she did not recognize him hence, she calls Jesus, Rabbouni, his Friday name, on Resurrection day. The reflection is that Jesus is not limited by and to human calculations and denominational boxes and tomb of traditions/ideologies, but in personal encounter with the Risen Lord. Many are reluctant to recognise and accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour because his story did not fit in to their human interpretation and expectation. Resurrection...