Valentine

 

“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? ”Luke 6:32

 

Today is St. Valentine's Day, now seen as a day for celebrating romantic love. The origins of this day are rather obscure. Several men named “Valentine” (Valentinus) were recognised as saints by the church. One of these was buried near Rome on February 14. Medieval tradition held that this particular Valentine, a priest, was marrying Christian couples at a time when the Roman emperor prohibited this. For this crime, he was arrested and killed by the Roman government.

This connection between St. Valentine and romance was popularised by Geoffrey Chaucer and later, writers on the saints embellished Chaucer’s story, leaving us with the Christian saint who is associated with love. And so this day became associated with cards with loving messages and gifts showing our love.

 

I heard about one  school, where on Valentine’s Day the practice was to express love beyond those loving them. Valentines were given not only to friends or those they hoped might like them, no, the primary school children were expected to give valentines to every person in the class, including those whom they didn’t care for or like, “enemies” in the playground.  A true reflection of the kind of love Jesus commends in Luke 6!

 

It’s good to be reminded to express love to those who are most special to us. If Valentine’s Day encourages us to say “I love you” to each other and friends to commemorate their friendship, that’s great. The world would be a better place if people expressed their love more often. But Jesus encourages us to love, not just those who love us back, but also those who do not reciprocate. All of us have such people in our lives.  Our calling, as followers of Jesus, is to love them and do good to them, not in order that they might respond, but so that we might live each day as beloved children of our heavenly Father.

 

Dear Lord, on this day when we celebrate romantic love, I thank you for this gift. It enriches our lives. Yet you call us to so much more than what romantic love entails. You call us to love, not just our friends, but also our enemies. You challenge us to love those who do not return our love.

Help me, Lord, to express my love for those who are closest to me, but, even more, I ask that you help me to love as you loved, to spread your love even and especially to those who cannot or will not reciprocate. Teach me to love even those I don’t like, the people I’d rather avoid. May I love as you love, Lord. Amen.