Feuruary 2007
THE LOVE MONTH
It’s probably no news flash to anyone that winter has finally arrived. It is surprising though that it didn’t happen until the latter half of January and even those of you in the south and the southwest have had opportunity to enjoy the plummeting temperatures and maybe even a little snow. I was very surprised to hear on the news today that Tucson, AZ had an inch of snow on the ground.
As we head into February, we have a couple of church holidays coming up: St. Valentine’s Day, and Ash Wednesday. Neither of these days is important to the general public as religiously significant; although they once were. You could probably say that most people today are more inclined to have plans to celebrate Fat Tuesday than receive ashes on Ash Wednesday. But, in truth, both provide us opportunities to reflect upon our relationship with God through His son Jesus and how that relationship presents itself to others. But today I want to focus our attention on Valentine’s Day.
Although Valentine’s Day began as a Roman “lovers” festival that was celebrated on the 15th of February, in 496, Pope Gelasius appropriated the day for the church and moved it to the 14th. The only thing that he kept was a box used to draw names. Originally, it was used by the young men to draw the name of that special young lady they would court, but the Pope revamped the process so that people would draw the name of a saint that they would imitate for the remainder of the year. Much to the disappointment of Pope Gelasius, the celebration of Valentine’s Day today has eroded back to its roots, as a day for lovers.
But even with this being the case, all hope is not lost. We can still use this day as an opportunity to reflect on all our relationships with others and not just the romantic ones. The Apostle Paul shared with us priceless wisdom in 1 Corinthians 13; wisdom that, without question, is divinely inspired and worth incorporating into our lives. Although these verses are often read at weddings and the words used to describe the love relationship between husband and wife, Paul’s intent is much broader in scope. The love he describes is our proper Christian response to ALL people; not just those who are special to us.
It is so easy for us to read those words through the lenses of our romantic relationships and say to ourselves, “Oh how great it would be if we could truly live out what Paul describes here as a couple…” But I would invite you to read those words again, but this time think of them in relation to everyone we meet. When we do; those relationships, no matter how short-lived, become far more significant. Imagine how different the world would be if we all treated others with the Christian response of love that Paul describes here. Kind of sounds like the kingdom of God doesn’t it? The radical difference is we don’t have to wait until we get to heaven; it can become a reality in this world; in the here and now. That’s what it would be if we all worked at expressing that kind of love for one another. The million dollar word here is “if”. But isn’t that where all great things start; with a vision of how it could be?
If we are serious about our Christian faith, we have to realize that we have all drawn Jesus’ name from the box. All it takes is the commitment on our part to be imitators of Christ. Kindness is contagious. We may not see fruits right away, but isn’t it ultimately better to love those around us rather than deny them the very thing we want for ourselves? Paul calls it “the most excellent way”.
Take a moment and picture that kind of world in your mind; imagine what a wonderful world it could be…
Grace and Peace, The Rev. Rob Hughes
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O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing