A DAY TO REMEMBER SLAVERY

Slavery has a long and sordid history, and in the slavery business of the early 5th Century no tribe was as brutal as the Irish. They were known for their violence, and feared on account of their barbaric culture. They made a practice of abusing, selling and enslaving children. They had their system down to a science.

Irish slave traders would go to England under the cover of night, and kidnap sleeping children form their beds. They were rarely caught as they moved in and out of towns and homes without making a sound. Occasionally, large war parties would raid towns and take forcibly take children to be sold into slavery. The Irish did this to thousands of children.

One of those young slaves taken during a raid was was the son of an English Nobleman. He was sold to a man named Miliucc, and forced to work as a shepherd. He lived in terrible conditions, was often beaten, was given little clothing to protect him from the bitter cold of the Irish countryside. He lived the tortured existence of a slave for more than six years. These circumstances caused him to cry out to the God of his father and grandfather.

One night, while he was praying, he heard a voice say to him, "Your ship is ready." He was not entirely sure what that meant. As a slave if he was caught wandering away from his master he could be beaten, maimed or even killed. The chances of his being caught were good too as he was more than 200 miles from the sea. But none of these obstacles stopped him.

He journeyed those 200 miles and found a ship ready to set sail. He prayed the captain would allow him - an obvious runaway slave – to board the ship. And to his astonishment, the captain and crew did just that. With that, he sailed out of slavery into freedom.

A few years later, he found his way back home. His delighted parents, unable to bear the thought of losing him again, begged him never to leave. He remained at home for more than a ten years. It was during this time that he was visited, in a vision, by the people of Ireland he had left years before. In his dream, he was handed a letter, and heard the voice of the Irish - those who kidnapped, sold, and tortured him - crying out, "Come and walk among us once more."

He knew God had called him back to the island he escaped from years earlier. He decided to study and learn the Scriptures, but his lack of education was an obstacle. He was young when he was kidnapped, which meant he had only a basic understanding of Latin. Still, he struggled through his studies, and at last was ordained a priest. Soon after he set off for Ireland.

He knew the danger that awaited, and was ready to be murdered, and maybe even enslaved again. However, he was not afraid as he was convinced he was called to go, and was confident he was in God’s hands. He lived for nearly thirty years in Ireland, facing danger every day, but knowing there was nowhere else he should be.

In time he came to love the people of Ireland as his own, calling them his brothers and sisters and sons and daughters. It was his work, love, life and courage that brought true and lasting healing – not just to a few people – but to the entire Irish tribe.

During his thirty years spent serving in Ireland he started 300 hundred churches, and, some claim, baptized more than 120,000 Irish citizens. As a result of his work, violence, tribal warfare, and murder greatly decreased. Perhaps his greatest legacy is that he is also the first human on record to ever protest slavery, and as a result of his being in Ireland, the Irish slave trade ceased. He was not just a pastor – he was an abolitionist. While slavery largely stopped in Ireland 1,500 years ago, it is still alive and well in most of the world today.

In Denver, where I live, a major crossroads for slave trading in the United States is just three miles north of my home. Interstate 70 goes East and West across our country, and Interstate 25 goes from north to south. There are times when I feel helpless, wondering what can I do? What can any of us do? Then I think of that one Irish boy who was forced into slavery.

He redirected the history of an entire people – doing all of this as a simple, uneducated shepherd-slave who received a vision by God to serve and love those who tormented him. His name, of course, was Patricius, which is Latin for Patrick, and today we rightly remember him as a saint. Perhaps today, as we celebrate his legacy, we should do far more than raise a pint of Guinness, wear green or tell people to kiss us because we are Irish.

The best thing we can do is carry on his legacy as the first abolitionist. So what can you do? Much more than you think. Just 18 days ago the “End It Movement” shined a bright light on the continuing problem of slavery. The good news is we don’t have to stop shining the light. A simple first step is to visit them, and learn more about what you can do. Visit http://enditmovement.com Together we can end slavery around the world – just like an Irish slave did among those who became his people.

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