Trinity Lutheran Church

During the wonderful Hallmark holiday month known as February, the focus of those around us, from retail stores to even our loved ones is love. Originally the day was marked to honor the martyr, Saint Valentine.  There are two legends telling different stories of the saint.  One legend has it that Valentine was a priest who ended up in jail after marrying Christian couples under the rule of Claudius the Goth. He was going to be persecuted because he was helping people commit a crime. As Valentine began his time in jail, the Emperor liked the priest, until the Valentine tried to convert him. This angered the emperor, who ordered his execution.  And even though he healed the jailor’s daughter of her blindness, Valentine was killed. He later became the Patron Saint of lovers, couples, and bee-keepers.
His story became the holiday that most Americans celebrate as a day of love. The love Valentine was willing to risk his life for, by marrying couples in the church, and trying to convert the emperor, is the same love we are called to share every day in our lives. We are called to love our family and friends and we are called to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. When we live in the love of God and when we remember daily that God loves us, no matter what, we can do nothing else but share it with others. Valentine’s day will come and go. Flowers will be put away, chocolates will be eaten, but the love of God for you and for all creation, will never leave. It is this love Saint Valentine believed in and wanted to share with the Emperor, and it is the love we are called to share with those around us. May we remember to share the love of God with all our family, friends, and neighbors, not just on the 14th, but all of our days.