We finished up our Ten Commandment series today with commandment ten, do not covet or crave. It was a fun one to tackle and received the second highest number of votes from the congregation for possible sermons before the series began.
But we also acknowledged Valentine's Day and our administrator, Helen, came up with a great bulletin cover with a heart image on the front and a brief bio of St. Valentine on the back.
Of course Valentine was acknowledged as a saint for his sacrificial and generous love, not as the founder of Hallmark Cards. Don't get me wrong, I was romantic on Valentine's Day but the recognition has morphed from honouring someone who displayed love in the tradition of Jesus to yet another North American spendfest. Yesterday I was in the grocery store and a drug store and I had to smile at the desperate looking men, staring at racks of red junk and tired flowers in the hope that they would be inspired.
This morning on the CBC they recognized Valentine's Day by getting people to phone/text/email with stories of their worst dates. A movie reviewer chatted with the host about the most dysfunctional relationship movies. It was a downer!
I know this blog comes at you late in the day, but I would be interested to hear your comments on whether Valentine's Day matters to you, and any other thoughts on the nature of love. We all love comments!
The present incarnation of V-Day is absurb to its core; the most irritating of holidays.
ReplyDeleteI carry my humbugs over from December, as they're much better applied on the 14th of February.
We celebrate Valentine's Day, however we usually have a family dinner with the ones we love and don't bother much with the "stuff". We did have a lovely lunch out yesterday with family, not just as a couple. Spending time together is what it's all about, so yes it does matter.
ReplyDeleteThanks for these comments. A couple of weeks ago young Aleisha offered during childrens' time that Family Day and Valentine's Day were coming up and together they were reminders of love. We spent both days with members of our family as well, but we still managed to work in a little romance.
ReplyDeleteJeff and I celebrate our anniversary on Feb. 7, so we always take advantage of Valentine's Day specials. We always agree though that it's not about what we buy each other. We go away for a couple of days, spend time together, and celebrate our relationship.
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