Sermon - Oculi 2020 - Luke 11:14-28

“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.” Christ is the stronger Man who casts out the demons from our midst. In order to help illustrate this, I’d like to look to the example of St. Patrick.

This coming Tuesday is St. Patrick’s Day, although for many Americans it’s not Patrick  or what he did that we celebrate, but it’s Ireland. Or rather, it’s a caricature of Ireland, in which we drink green beer, wear kilts, sing Irish music, eat corned beef and cabbage, and go to a parade. 

But Ireland, at least the Ireland which existed in the days of Patrick, wasn’t something worth celebrating. In the 4th Century Ireland was a fierce barbarian nation made very wealthy because of their formidable warriors. These warriors would go out as Irish pirates up and down the coastlands, raiding and pillaging villages, taking back the treasure and kidnapping women and children to make them into slaves. 

These Irish raiders were the same Celtic people who fought against Rome and won. They would go into battle naked, except for their vibrant body paint, armed with modern formidable weapons. When the Irish returned home they made jewelry and tableware out of the bones of their victims. They worshipped murderous monster gods and their druid black hooded priests practiced human sacrifice and cannibalism, in addition to dark magic.

On one of their raids into Britain, they kidnapped a 16 year old boy, St. Patrick, and his two sisters. Patrick later on wrote that even though his father was a deacon and grandfather a pastor, he didn’t himself believe in God when he was kidnapped. But after spending 6 years in cold dark caves as a slave taking care of sheep for his slave master, he remembered what he’d been taught and came to faith in God, finding comfort in Christ in the midst of his suffering.

At the end of 6 years as a slave in Ireland, Patrick had a dream to go to a certain town along the coast to a certain dock where he would find a certain boat from which he could leave Ireland. When he awoke he did as the dream described and escaped back to his parents in Britain. But upon returning home he had another dream in which he returned to Ireland to bring them the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Patrick spent years studying to become a pastor and petitioning the pope that he might go to Ireland as a missionary. Repeatedly he was refused, for decades, because it was too dangerous. It wasn’t until he was about 60 years old that finally he could return. 

Upon his return to Ireland he repeatedly came across groups of princes and warriors who wanted him killed, but upon preaching to them the Gospel and declaring Christ to be the light of the World, these pagan Irish barbarians were converted by the Holy Spirit to Christianity. Until the end of Patrick’s life he travelled Ireland, preaching the Gospel, spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sins, casting out the works of darkness and turning people to Christ.

While Patrick never actually drove the snakes out of Ireland, since snakes aren’t native there, He did more importantly drive out one serpent in particular. He drove out Satan, the strong man, by the Word of God. When you consider how frightening and barbaric Ireland must have been, you can’t help but conclude that Satan was active there and treated it like his palace. Satan was strong! Roman armies couldn’t defeat the Irish barbarians, instead Rome just built walls to try and unsuccessfully keep the Irish out.

But a stronger man came. That strong man wasn’t Patrick. Patrick began his writings with: “My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers.” No, the stronger man who came was Christ, who cast out demons by the finger of God! 

Before Patrick returned to Ireland, he penned and sang the hymn we sang at the beginning of our service today. It’s the only hymn known to be written by St. Patrick. In this hymn he makes it clear that it wouldn’t be by his power that the demon would be cast out, but by God’s power. “I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity by invocation of the same, the Three in One and One in Three.” Patrick, being bound to the Trinity, into which name he was baptized, entered into Ireland unafraid of the demons that lay before him, knowing that they would be cast out by the Triune God.

We join right along in singing St. Patrick’s Breastplate, as the hymn is called: “Against the demon snares of Sin… I bind to me these holy powers! I bind unto myself the name, the strong name of the Tinity!... Salvation is of Christ the Lord!”

We face a frightening battle in our day too. Satan might dress up a little differently and threaten us with different weapons, but he’s still the same ancient enemy Christ defeated on the cross and Patrick preached against in Ireland. Here in America Satan still practices human sacrifices in the pagan ritual of abortion, selling the body parts of these babies on the black market. Children are made slaves to puberty blockers that alter their bodies dramatically for life. Satan is active and some even say that he’s won here in America. Satan is a strong man, a formidable ugly foe.

But we, like Patrick, have been called by God to do battle against Satan with Christ, the stronger Man. Jesus says: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” So let us be with Christ and gather with Him! 

Like Patrick, we’re not anything special. My name is John. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. We confess this same thing every Sunday: “I, a poor miserable sinner…” However, not only do I confess my sins, but before that at the beginning of the service “I bind unto myself today, the strong name of the Trinity.” In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! We go out against the demon hordes in our country, bound to the stronger Man, Jesus Christ our Savior!

My brothers and sisters in Christ, be strong and encouraged! You’ve been doing battle against Satan since you were baptized and through you Jesus has been winning. Both when you were baptized and when you were confirmed, you were asked “Do you renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways?” And you responded with confidence: “Yes, I renounce them.”

This strong name of the Trinity was bound to us in the waters of Baptism! “I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” When we emerged from those waters, we were thrown into a battle against Satan, but having been bound to Christ our victory was assured! 

My friends, the battle against Satan has not been lost! The war we’re fighting against the demon barbarians in our culture isn’t a lost cause. Even though things around us look pretty ugly and we appear to be getting smaller, there is hope on the horizon. The Son of God rises with healing in His wings! Don’t be discouraged or dismayed, remember that Christ has already cast the devil out of you in baptism. He’s bound you to Him and cleansed you of your iniquity. Christ has done it all! “Praise to the Lord of my salvation; salvation is of Christ the Lord!”

This St. Patrick’s Day, don’t just drink green beer and pretend to be Irish, even though we’re all Americans now. Instead, be like St. Patrick, be a Christian, and be bound to the stronger Man who defeats Satan through the strong name of the Trinity. Walk not as druid priests in dark arts, but walk as children of light. Because you are standing in the light of Christ.