Love on Valentine’s Day?
Someone at work griped that Valentine’s Day was just a day invented and promoted by Hallmark to have another opportunity to sell cards. I knew that wasn’t accurate, but it made me dig a little bit to find out about the origins of the holiday. You may be aware of this information, but some of it was new to me.
The actual history of Valentine’s Day is rather obscure. Legends and tall tales seem to have become interwoven with the truth. The roots of the day can be traced back to the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, an intensely pagan fertility celebration held on February 15th. When the Roman Empire finally embraced Christianity, Pope Gelasius I began to recast many of the pagan holidays and festivals as Christian celebrations. Somewhere around 496, the Catholic Church declared February 14th to be St. Valentine’s Day.
The “Catholic Encyclopedia” admits that it is a mystery which St. Valentine the pope intended to honor. Apparently there were at least three early Christian saints by that name. Remarkably, all three of the saints were said to have been martyred on February 14th.
Most scholars believe that the Valentine that was meant to be honored by the holiday was a priest from Rome who stirred the wrath of the Roman emperor Claudius II around the year 270. According to one legend, Claudius II had prohibited marriage for young men, claiming that bachelors made better soldiers. Valentine continued to secretly perform marriage ceremonies for the church, but was eventually put to death.
The legend grows. While in prison, awaiting his death, Valentine fell in love with the jailer’s daughter. Before he was executed, he allegedly sent a letter to the young lady, and signed it “from your Valentine.” Of course, the legends all develop the idea that the love was not romantic, but the godly agape love.
And so, my love, at the risk of copying an ancient phrase, as we settle into our sixties, here are the wishes and dreams from your Valentine.
If only I could slow my life and schedule down. We have dreamed for years that when you retired, we could finally have time to be together. We started our marriage with a ready-made family. We moved quickly into helping them launch their adult lives. We thought that eventually there would be time … time for us, time for dreams, time for time.
If only I could provide you more security. You have never wanted much. You knew from day one that the priorities of your life left little room for horded possessions and stockpiles of gold coins. But you have always wanted your security to be stable … sure, unchanging, trusted. I’ve too often pointed you to the spaces just over the horizon.
If only I could keep you from worrying. I’ve pleaded, begged, taught, prayed, and hoped. I’ve settled the shifting of a foot on one sand, only to find an earthquake trembling ‘neath the foot of the other. You are biblical … you don’t worry about tomorrow. But I would like to help you worry less about today.
If only you knew.
How much more I love you today than when we first met.
How I have wanted to be more for you than what I am.
How amazed I am at your strength.
How I am in awe of the sincerity and depth of your faith.
How I long for our trailer by the sea.
Happy Valentine’s Day