Ostara: Vernal Equinox McMinnville 3-17-13

"Ahhhh, Spring: a heart lifting in hope and a shoe squishy with mud." Today is St. Patrick’s day. It is a day to wear green in celebration of the Irish, of the Celtic heritage and to celebrate Saint Patrick. The story goes that Saint Patrick got his sainthood because he drove the snakes out of Ireland. There are pictures of him wielding a big stick and looking fierce. There’s even one of him punting that last snake off the shore. There’s a small problem with that story. There have never been any snakes on the island of Ireland. So… What “snakes” did St. Patrick banish? Well, we are talking about a Catholic Saint here. So, Hmmm… What is the most famous snake in Christianity? Yep, you got it. The snake who talked to Eve in the Garden of Eden. The snake who gave her the knowledge of good and evil. That snake gave Adam and Eve the power of using their minds to understand things. Who did St. Patrick drive out of Ireland? He drove out the druids and wise women. The cunning men, the hedge witches, and the midwives who had the power to ease the pains of childbirth and even turn a child in the womb in order to ensure a successful birth. He drove out those who practiced the old religion. Those disobedient “snakes” who related to the earth and the Goddess and didn’t accept the teachings of the invaders. So. In that case… I’m on the side of the SNAKES! I’ve been boycotting St. Patrick’s day for years. I’ve refused to wear green and instead I wear a snake. But…Turns out that Ireland is actually the place where the wisdom of the sages was preserved during the dark ages. While books were burned and mouldering in the rest of the former Roman empire, language, writing, the philosophers, Latin, and learning survived because of the monks in Ireland. Also, there is an Irish SAINT named for a Celtic goddess! Saint Brigit of Kildare, the other patron saint of Ireland, along with St. Patrick. The two of them, Brigit, and Patrick, are symbols of the old religion and Christianity. Two supposed opposites that each pass down their gifts to us. Today I’m happy to celebrate the gifts that the Irish passed down to us. They passed down a deep reverence for the earth, for learning, for poetry, and for a flexible and joyful spirituality. Today I’m wearing the Green, AND a snake! Maybe I should be wearing a snake wrapped around a green growing wooden cross. Both/And. The balancing act is difficult, but without both, we would miss out on half our heritage. ... look for the Audio on my web site for the REST of this sermon.