MEITHEAL

Umm, what?

Get ready for the "Wearing of the Green" is soon upon us. 

Sorry, this article is partly a result of my upbringing. Mom considered herself Irish and the only question left unanswered asks, "Was she really ONLY 50% Irish?"

So this time of year, I can't help but notice the approaching St. Patrick's Day celebrations for all Irish and those wishing they were. Personally, I had best make sure that I am viridian adorned when in public - at the very least.

Of course, when I came across this obviously Irish word recently, I needed to check it out. Here's what I found.

Meitheal (meh hal) is a rural Irish term that refers to a 'work team' of neighbors answering the call of need from one of their own. It's a group of people working together to provide support and assistance where needed. 

If you had been born to an Irish farming family in yesteryear, I suspect that you'd be very grateful to be part of a community of people who would be there in times of planting, harvesting, thatching, baling hay, or at times, tragedy. The community banded together to make sure the needs of all were met. It's just the way it was. 

We live differently today. Working outside of the home and community, we receive wages and hire the help we need. It serves us well as we feel more independent and self-reliant, I suppose. Well, to clarify, it works well if we make enough money to hire for all of our needs. If we don't, we might find ourselves isolated in today's society. If we can't pay for help, there might be literally nobody who will help us.

I wonder if this whole thing is just a bit of nostalgia for a time and place nestled within a habitat I have never occupied.

Is this simple Irish word destined to become a memory of past years? Will we lament its spirit like a lost gem of life (an emerald, of course)? Or could we, just maybe, consider the prospect of resurrecting a tradition  - something of value from a time long past?

And that begs the question, "Do we even have traditions anymore?"

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;
if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;
if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Romans 12:4-5