The name "Valentine", derived from Valens (worthy), was popular in late antiquity. The first representation of Saint Valentine appeared in the Nuremberg Chronicle, in 1493; the text states that he was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudius II, known as Claudius Gothicus. St. Valentine was know for giving roses to the elderly, and doing acts of love and kindness wherever he went often only leaving a red heart as his calling card. He was arrested and imprisoned upon being caught marrying Christian couples and otherwise aiding Christians who were at the time being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. Helping Christians at this time was considered a crime. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner - until Valentinus tried to convert the Emperor - whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stoned; when that didn't finish him, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate in Rome.
Our church is called Celebration Church. True to our name we take every opportunity to celebrate just about everything, each another accomplishments, birthdays, babies, victories, etc. A few years ago Valentine’s Day fell on a Sunday, so I asked all of the married couples of our church to stand up and look romantically into each other’s eyes and tell each other how much they loved and appreciated each other. This was my way of helping to model love not only to those who many for the first time in many months or in some cases years had not looked their spouses in the eyes and spoken words of love and appreciation, but also to the single people in our church, many of whom have no role model to follow in the building of a romantic and loving marriage. This also afforded a chance to talk about one the values in our church and of the Kingdom, ‘We have a language of love’
St Valentine’s Day has been commercialized to such an extent these days that any meaning that might have been originally intended has be lost. I’ve even noticed that some couples seem to value and appreciate the gifts, cards and roses, more than they do the person who is presenting such items. Today the color theme of the day is red, gift items are displayed as “Valentine’s Specials”, and there are of course the now famous Valentines Cards.
This is one holiday I would really like to see reformed, and the cliché’ that says, “It’s not about the gift; it’s the thought that counts”, couldn’t be a better way to start. Whatever we give your loved one this Valentine’s Day should only be a symbol of what is already in our heart.
The red rose that Saint Valentines gave to people was his way of saying, “I love you and I appreciate you. I value the relationship I have with you.” St. Valentine was really a reformer, and was willing to die showing those he came in contact with that not only did he love them but Jesus Christ did too.
We don’t have to get roses, gifts or cards for our wife (girlfriend) or something red for our husband (boyfriend); we can simply do something to show them that we love them (although I must admit these kindnesses are nice). We however shouldn’t only show this love one day in a year to show our loved ones our love; we should make it our life style. Let’s all start being reformers in this area today and show an act of love or kindness to someone every day.
