Today is St. Patrick’s Day.
I barely remembered to grab my shamrock socks to put on on our way out the door to church this morning. They were not seeable inside my boots…but I was able to check the “green on St. Pat’s Day” box.
I don’t know much about St. Patrick; I did get curious enough to do some Googling today and enjoyed this article over at Crossway: The Life and Mission of St. Patrick.
But even though I am not very knowledgeable of the man, I have had one of his prayers (by tradition; there is no confirmation that he truly wrote this) saved in my files for several years now. It typically comes to my mind once or twice a year, when I dig it out and read through it. I always come away from that exercise with a renewed sense of the glorious depth of the trinity and the rejuvenated cry from my own soul that God be all around me…that I never stray from remaining hemmed in by his grace, mercy, and sovereignty.
So, on this St. Patrick’s Day, I pray to my God:
I arise today, O God. I arise today, as I arose yesterday, and the day before, and the day before.
I arise and continue to arise, even when battered and worn. I arise to meet with you, even when I may not sense your presence. I arise, sometimes, when the night has been dark and difficult. Sometimes when I arise, your goodness and kindness and mercy overwhelm me. I arise to face that which comes my way in the hours of this day, knowing that you alone are God, and I am not. I arise, knowing that I am in your sovereign hands, and there is no surer place to stand, than in you – and that you see and know me and go before me as this day awakens.
I confess that I do not understand the Trinity. I do not grasp how you can be three in one – how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit commune in the perfection of oneness. And maybe, just maybe we are not meant to understand, but rather to take this mystery upon faith. Maybe this is one of those things where I can borrow the words of Psalm 139:6, because surely God, they are true of my soul when it comes to the trinity – “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.” And you know, God, how important it is for me to strive to understand. To gain knowledge. Help me to sit still in the mystery of who you are; yet revel in the glory that even in that mystery, you are still intimately knowable to my soul. What a gift, what a tremendous gift it is, my God, to know you as my Savior.
And then to borrow again, from the words in Psalm 139, I grasp hold of the truth that you “…hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.” (vs. 5). I wonder if St. Patrick had this beautiful words from scripture in mind as he declared “Christ with me; Christ before me, Christ behind me.” O father, hem me in. Let me not stray from your hemming, let me not step away from your loving corral. Let me not look upon it as restriction, but rather freedom…and safety, dear God, Safety! in you.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down.
Amen and amen, my Lord and my God.
Before me, as behind, God is…
And all is well. (John Greenleaf Whittier)
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the 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 way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
