A Beautiful Community: Righteous and Just - A Righteous People

Yesterday, western cultures celebrated the life of St. Patrick. Catholics typically wear green and drink some good Irish Ale. Protestants in the British Isles typically wear orange as the continuation of their protest of Catholicism and to celebrate William of Orange, a protestant monarch. Whatever color you wore, and whether you got pinched or not, the short story of St. Patrick (unknown true name) is that he was born in a Roman province but was captured by the Irish at sixteen and made a slave for about six years. After escaping, he returned home and engaged in religious studies, becoming a priest and later a bishop in the Catholic Church in Britain. Then, after having a vision of the Irish, he felt called to return to his captors to bring them the gospel. He ministered among the Irish establishing churches, monasteries, and schools, while condemning the practice of slavery. According to tradition, he died on March 17, 461.

It’s a good story of how Christ can transform a person and a community. His famous quote is “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 when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.”

It’s a good example of what Christ has come to create. In a world of “survival of the fittest,” where power and strength are used for self, Christ establishes a community of righteousness. Here we are not talking about our justification (the declaration of righteousness before the court of God), but the harvest of righteousness from a people who align with God by the power of the Holy Spirit. This Sunday we’ll consider what it means to be a righteous community as we worship the One who has come to establish righteousness on the earth. Join us!