st george

St George is an interesting character. As I have commented before he is, perhaps, an unlikely choice for the patron of this nation, as he almost certainly never came here – if, indeed, he is more than a mythical character at all.

But the story of St George is a good story. A dragon, a princess and a handsome young knight. It is easy to understand and leads to the conversion of, apparently, fifteen thousand people as the dragon is deafeat under the sign of the cross.

The versions of the legend vary. The historical George is more likely to have been from Turkey and his story, lost in the myths of time, revolves around the Roman army and his rebellion against the persecution of Christians which led to his martyrdom.

Story is immensely important to us as human beings. We live in a world surrounded by books full of stories, films, television programmes and, of course, real life. We are naturally curious about stories, we love to find out what happened, want to know why someone is so kind or so cruel, we long to understand the world around us and to learn of new and interesting stories.

There is no doubt that stories cast all sorts of interesting light on our lives. Stories are often the best way of communicating social conventions, moral absolutes and religious truths. We tell children stories endlessly.

Our problem with stories comes when we get caught into the cycle which much of our world is caught in – that of sensationalism. The media whips up stories into a frenzy and we can all too easily get caught up in that – it is like gossip on a large scale designed not to educate or encourage but to feed salacious and escapist appetites. It does not take too much looking, each and every day, to find stories which are being hyped and exaggerated in order to grab our attention, people who are being manipulated and used in order to feed our appetites, people who are so caught up in the lives of others that they forget to live their own.

I am not accusing the legend of St. George of being merely sensationalist – the clear message that even the greatest foe can be overcome in the name of Christ, subdued and subjected might well be seen to relate to the Christianising of the beast of the Roman Empire which occurred shortly after his death – and its then demise. (Although modern scholars might question the efficacy of the Christendom project!).

If a patron saint though, is supposed to reflect in some way the character of the nation, I wonder where St. George fits. Certainly there are still dragons to be overcome in our world and in our nation. Dragons of children who learn fear and not hope, dragons of massive fiscal inequality, dragons of lack of opportunity and lack of faith, dragons of consumer appetite and loss of self worth. We could list them all. But there is another side to slaying a dragon – you have to know where your strength comes from – you have to believe deep inside that the cross really means something and is a transformative presence and that starts with each and every one of us.

Extraordinary bravery is not the norm – dragons and monsters often do not present in fiery fury but in a much more insidious and seeping way. The beasts which beset us wear away at our souls. And perhaps for that every day living we need a different sort of pattern, a different sort of patron for a much quieter battle.

In one version of the legend St George takes three goes to defeat the roaring dragon. In a highly symbolic rendering of the story he twice retreats to an enchanted orange tree to rest his wounds. The dragon has fought him back and then split his armour from his body. Vulnerable and wounded he gains strength under the shadow of the tree which protects him from the poison of the beast – then he emerges and runs in, mortally wounding the great animal in close combat.

It is not the most common version of the tale, but it has something worth pondering – a patron with the need for rest and return. A patron who draws strength from something outside himself, who needs help and protection. A patron who of himself would have been defeated and is reliant.

Enchanted orange trees or God's loving arms, we are all called to be heroes, to defeat the roaring and creeping dragons alike but from a place of weakness and vulnerability, a place of reliance and self knowledge.

So what sort of patron is St. George and how are we, as the body of Christ, building God's kingdom here, in this green and pleasant land?