Greetings …
… or should I say Happy Valentine’s Day!
I’m not sure how you spend Valentine’s Day, but it is not particularly special in our
house. We might buy each other a card but mostly that’s as far as it goes. We certainly
do not get caught up in the commercialism of the day, which is seen so clearly in shops
with cards, flowers, jewellery and all the other things we are encouraged to buy for that
special person. St Valentine would be shocked if he knew what the day, named in
honour of him, has become.
So who was St Valentine? There are three possible St Valentines that are recognised by
the church but the most well-known St Valentine was a Roman priest and physician who
suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Christians by emperor Claudius II
Gothicus about 270.
Roman soldiers were forbidden by law to get married during their period of military
service and a married man was not allowed to enlist. This law was enforced to ensure
that the emperor would have an army full of young, health soldiers. Valentine defied the
emperor’s orders and secretly married couples to spare husbands from having to go to
war. Valentine was imprisoned before his death and, according to legend, he wrote a
letter to his gaoler’s daughter, whom he had befriended and healed from blindness. He
is said to have signed this letter ‘Your Valentine’.
Even legend has basis in fact, so it’s fair to say that whatever we know or don’t know
about Valentine, he is remembered as someone who took a stand against what he saw as unjust and showed compassion towards others, no matter what he was going through. Actions like these are also an expression of love – a love that we are able to have because of God. As scripture tell us “we love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
This Valentine’s Day, and every day, may we be known as people who show the love that is a reflection of the love that God has shown us.
Blessings – Rev Heather.