This week offers a new Bank Holiday in Ireland. Always welcome – and this one in particular has been too long coming. Patrick has long had his – Brigid, of at least equal significance in Irish history – deserves the same.

But who exactly was she? Well, it depends who you ask.

Some would refer to her as the Pagan Goddess Brid (meaning ‘the High One). She was known as the Goddess of poetry and wisdom, who first introduced the tradition of ‘Keening’ on the death of her son. She was a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the mythical supernatural race that inhabited Ireland at the dawn of time, and was among other things, a protector of domesticated animals. The pagan festival of Imbolc on February 1 is regarded as the first day of Spring.

A different Folklore tradition says her father was a Chieftain, her mother a slave. The pregnant woman, who had been baptised by St. Patrick, was sold on to a Druid, who in turn became himself a Christian. Brigid grew up as farm worker, churning butter and shepherding the sheep. She subsequently was consecrated and eventually became an Abbess, founding a Monastery in Kildare and consecrating men and women across Ireland as well as performing many miracles – including turning water into beer. She is the Patroness of Ireland and of  healers, poets, blacksmiths, livestock and dairy workers, among others.

And perhaps it is her  example of living the Christian life – being salt and light, living the Gospel in the language of the ordinary men and women of her culture  that we rightly celebrate as the example in our own lives..

For the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God…

…subtitled ‘You couldn’t make it up…’

The world is in a state, and has been for thousands of years. There have been a seemingly never-ending succession of cruel tyrannical rulers, warring countries, occupying armies, ordinary people treated like slaves, unspeakable atrocities. In so many countries, you’re not even allowed the freedom of belief, at pain of imprisonment, family threatened, sometimes even death.

So. Imagine for a moment that to fix this, you have been given the job of setting things right, with whatever you need to deploy in the way of human resources, clever advisors and lessons from history.

Hands up if your chosen strategy involves you being ridiculed, tortured, humiliated and nailed to a tree. You’d be laughed at and labelled as a feeble minded dreamer who doesn’t live in the real world, someone completely off their trolley.

Problem is, everything else people have attempted since the ark didn’t work, despite God sending prophet after prophet. Things got better for a time, and then, insidiously, the Satan crept back into people’s lives and wrecked ‘em.

What was really needed was a once-and-for-all victory over sin – and it didn’t involve the exercise of military might or clever politics. Instead, the power of unconditional love won the last battle that will ever need to be fought. God allowed His Son, the Servant King, to climb the cross that saves and redeems the world.

It’s a pity that the world doesn’t appear to want to be saved – the way of the cross appears to be too much effort and too little faith. Nations choose the easy way that inevitably ends in disaster – again and again. When will they ever learn? They deny the simple fact that the war is won, that victory belongs to Jesus, and if we so wish, we can share it and live it. Now. This minute. A simple ‘yes’ to God’s call. That’s the best bit – we don’t have to wait for eternity – we can be the body of Christ right here, right now. And then we can begin to take our part in the healing of the Nations.