Daily Update - March 17, 2026

St. Patricks Day Is Not About What You Think

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About Reuel Sample

This is the Wilmington Standard Daily Update for Tuesday March 17 2026.

Today is not about leprechauns, lucky clovers, or getting drunk on bad beer with food coloring put in it. It is not about chasing snakes out of a country or chowing down on corned beef and cabbage. It is not about being Irish at all because the man at the heart of it – Patrick of course – was British. He was actually kidnapped by Irish raiders when he was 16 and forced into six years of slavery until he escaped back to his homeland.

Ireland comes into play because several years later Patrick returned to that country, not as a slave but as a missionary of Jesus Christ. His success in the field was phenomenal – preaching Christ crucified to a land of Celtic paganism and druidism, baptizing those who came to believe, planting churches, ordaining ministers and priests, and establishing monasteries. He did not drive snakes out of Ireland – but he did drive away the false and utterly destructive religions of those who did not know the Risen Lord.

Everything you have ever heard about St. Patrick is probably not true except for one thing – the Ireland that we know today would be far different if Patrick had not dedicated his life to bringing God’s truth to its people.

Today is not really about Patrick at all – it is about the message he preached and his certainty that it is utterly transformative. The Christian Scripture proclaims that the smallest of amount of faith in Jesus can move mountains if God wills it – all we have to is believe and be faithful. Because of his belief – and an incomprehensible love of a people who kidnapped him – Patrick’s work moved a huge cultural mountain and transformed a nation from paganism to avid Christianity.

This is the legacy that Patrick leaves us today. The message of Christ is just as powerful – and just as personally and culturally transformative – as it was in 5^th century Ireland. Patrick tells us that it is not about Republicans or Democrats in office who will save America. It is not about passing this law or that law to protect the moral good of our people. Those things are important – but they rank far below Patrick’s major question – do we as a people know and believe in the saving power of Jesus Christ.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

For the Wilmington Standard, I’m Reuel Sample. Thanks for listening.

Reuel Sample is the Editor-in-Chief of The Wilmington Standard. A graduate of Grove City College and Princeton Theological Seminary, he has served as both a Presbyterian Pastor and a Navy Chaplain. He is the product of a classical liberal arts education combined with real world experience in politics and business and conservative Christian worldview firmly rooted in the Reformed tradition. He is the host of several podcasts including the NHC GOP Podcast, the Pastor's Voice, and co-hosts the Nikki and Reuel Podcast Experience. An avid sailor, he has sailed around the world as a youth and to the Azores as a teen as well as extensive trips up and down the east coast of the United States. He is honored to be married to his wife Pam and makes his home in Wilmington, NC.