The Upload
Posted on Feb 14, 2014 by
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I pray that you have had a blessed week.
So, did you celebrate Valentine’s Day? Most of the time, Jill and I do not go out right on Valentine’s Day, because the restaurants are just too crowded. We normally stay home and cook a nice meal together, but this year we are invited to spend the evening with some good friends.
For many people, Valentine’s Day is not a happy day. For some, it is a holiday that reminds them that they do not have someone special in their life. For others, it is just another day that reminds them that their loved one has died and that they are now alone. And for still others, it is a day that reminds them that the one they thought they loved has left them, or that they are now separated from their loved one because they are in the military and they are serving overseas. For many, it is just not a day of celebration.
But did you know that Valentine’s Day originally was a liturgical holiday? That is, it was a day that many in the church remembered St. Valentine. Actually, there were several St. Valentines in the early church history, but prior to 1969, many Christians, including Lutherans, recognized St. Valentine’s Day, February 14, as a feast day.
There are several St. Valentine legends that are told, but the most popular account is of Saint Valentine of Rome, which states that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers, who were forbidden to marry, and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment, he healed the daughter of his jailer, and the embellished version of this story states that, before his execution, he wrote her a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell. Originally, this day celebrated Christian love, not romantic love. It was not until the 18th Century in England that it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards.
I do think it is awesome that we have a day when we can celebrate the romantic love people have for each other, but I do wish we would also celebrate this day as it was originally intended, as a day to lift up Christian love. You see, Christian love is a love that does not involve our feelings. When Jesus speaks of loving each other in the Gospel of John (which we will read about on Maundy Thursday), he is challenging his followers to respect each other, honor each other, and hold each other in high regard. When Jesus says, we are to love our enemy, he is not saying we have to feel good about them, but he is saying we must remember that they, too, are children of God and that, as a child of God, we need to treat them with dignity and respect. In this modern world where we are so quick to chastise those we disagree with and call each other names, and in a world where bigotry seems to be commonplace, I want to celebrate Christian love. Christian love knows no boundaries. It is a love that challenges all of us to see the world through the eyes of Christ. Saint Valentine understood this Christian love when he willingly healed his persecutor’s daughter and, thus, brought joy to his enemy.
I pray you, too, can celebrate Christian love, and that each of us might work a little harder to love this world as Christ has called us to love it, for Jesus has commanded us to love each other as we love ourselves.
Shalom,
Pastor Dave