Patrick was not only serious about evangelism; he was serious about holiness. And when one putative Christian transgressed the bounds of neighbor love, Patrick was swift in responding, as he explains in this excerpt from Patrick: A Devotional History found on pages 59 and 60
“One further incident will I relate:
Though I am but a sinner and not great
in learning, yet I am a bishop to
the Irish people, charged to care and do
for them all that I can that they might know
the saving mercy of the Lord. And so
I readily admit that what I am
is of the Lord. According to His plan
for me I live among barbarians,
and so I know the ways of all these sons
of demons. And when one of them, who claimed
to be a Christian—Coroticus was his name—
attacked the flock of God, I wrote to him
a letter, stern and harsh, and very grim…
“Coroticus and his men were out marauding—rustling cattle and seeking slaves—when they came upon a baptismal ceremony in progress. Declaring themselves to be Christians, they gained entrance to the ceremony, only to disrupt it violently, killing some of the newly baptized and carrying off others to slavery.
“Word of the slaughter reached Patrick, and he sent some of his colleagues after Coroticus, to confront him with his sin and demand release of the captives. Coroticus and his soldiers laughed them to scorn and continued on their way.“That’s when Patrick, acting in his role as Bishop of the Irish, took the drastic step of excommunicating him and his soldiers, and calling on all Christians to join in the condemnation and shunning that the act of discipline required.”
For reflection or discussion
1. Do you think churches should practice church discipline? Does yours?
2. What benefit comes from faithful and consistent use of church discipline?
Patrick can be seen to be following Jesus’ directions in Matthew 18. First, he sent some men to confront those who had sinned. That failing, he excommunicated them all and sent copies of his decision to all the villages on Coroticus’ route, instructing them to have nothing to do with this unrepentant sinner. Patrick was serious about holiness. Are we? Share today’s podcast with a friend, then get together and talk about the meaning and requirements of holiness. You can download a free PDF copy of our 30-day devotional, Patrick: A Devotional History, by going to The Ailbe Bookstore.
T. M. Moore
