I have been doing substitute teaching in Bridgman at the elementary, middle and high school level. Friday, March 17, and the Thursday before it I substituted in a first grade class. The children had made leprechaun traps in hopes of capturing a leprechaun on St Patrick’s Day. The teacher had told me she usually goes all out but I didn’t have to do anything except have the kids set up their traps Thursday night before they left school and set a bag of treats for each child she had prepared with a note from a leprechaun for Friday. My teacher background kicked in and I decided we needed to have evidence that a leprechaun had in fact come to our classroom but no one was able to catch him. That naughty leprechaun had snuck in through the window, knocked over chairs, dumped out blocks and other toys, tied up chairs, and knocked over the children’s traps!
Leo The Leprechaun had also used the classroom bathroom which turned the toilet water green and left footprints on the toilet seat. He left his footprints around the classroom as well as notes that said, “You can’t catch me!”
Leprechauns are mythological creatures, a type of fairy in Irish folklore. According to Wikipedia they partake in mischief, are solitary creatures who spend their time making and mending shoes. They have a pot of gold hidden at the end of a rainbow. They are always on the hunt for more gold. The children in my classroom that day were certainly disappointed that we could not catch the leprechaun.
St. Patrick’s Day at school is focused on wearing green so you don’t get pinched and trying to catch a leprechaun. St. Patrick’s Day was actually named after a man whose real name was Maewyn Succat. At the age of 16 he was captured in Scotland by Irish raiders and spent several years as a slave in Ireland. It was during that time that he learned various customs, rituals, and the language of the Druids. He eventually told these people about Christ. Many people believe he used the shamrock as a symbol of the Trinity. He died March 17, 461.
It is said that the Celts, descendants of Noah, traveled from Spain to Ireland in the 4th century BC. The myth goes on to say that Celts took over the Tuatha De Danaan tribe. With time, the Tuatha De Danaan evolved into the “fairies and leprechauns of later Irish legend, whose spirits haunt the tombs and mounds that they once built” (How the Irish Saved Civilization, p. 80). If leprechauns were caught they always tried to outwit their captures of where the gold was hidden. Fortunately, St. Patrick was a stark contrast to the leprechaun. Patrick generously and graciously offered knowledge of the treasure of eternal life to his former captors.
Do you long for a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow? Maybe it’s a pot of something else. What would you like in your pot of gold?
Jesus Christ, the maker of the rainbow, is my pot of gold. Because I believe God is who he says he is, does what he says, and I have chosen to follow his ways I have the ultimate gift of eternal life. His gift of salvation, his word and promises are far more valuable than gold (Psalm 19:9b-11).
1 Peter 1:3-5 What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.
There is a prayer called St. Patrick’s Lorica. It was written out for protection and placed on shields of soldiers and knights as they went out to battle. This is my prayer for you today.
What’s at the end of your rainbow?
On the journey,
Trish