Month: February 2015

Valentine’s Day. The day of St. Valentine. Cupid. Galentine’s Day (for those who do not have a significant other and are of the female part of society). While many feasts days of the saints have become increasingly neglected and forgotten Valentine’s Day continues on. Saint Valentine or Valentinus of Rome who is believed to have been martyred for performing marriages to soldiers who were forbidden to marry. This day, in my humble opinion, should be day that celebrates love. Love between men and women, men and men, women and women, in families, in friendship, in well being to perfect strangers. Today we often celebrate the romantic love, but neglect all the other forms of love that exist. Several months ago over Christmas I watched, as I rematch every year “Love Actually” which is a British film about love and all the forms that it can take in life. Although I continue to watch it at Christmastime, I enjoy taking a few moments to reflect on it at this time of year. When the nights are dark, the temperatures are cold, and it can seem like there is not much to make the world a bright and warm place. “Love is all around us” and that makes things better, so please do not let contemporary traditions take away what there is to celebrate, or to diminish such a holy day as this. Spread the love.

“Love is All Around” by Reg Presley

I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes
Love is all around me and so the feeling grows
It is written on the wind, it’s everywhere I go
So if you really love me, come on and let it show

You know I love you, I always will
My mind’s made up by the way that I feel
There’s no beginning, there be no end
‘Cause on my love, you can depend

I see your face before me as I lay on my bed
I kind a get to thinkin’ of all the things you said
You gave your promise to me and I gave mine to you
I need someone beside me in everything I do

You know I love you, I always will
My mind’s made up by the way that I feel
There’s no beginning, there be no end
‘Cause on my love, you can depend

It is written on the wind, it’s everywhere I go
So if you really love me, come on and let it show
Come on and let it show, come on and let it show
Come on and let it show, come on and let it show
Come on and let it show

It is interesting that the long standing superstitions of Friday the 13th should be traced back to the last supper of Jesus on a Friday where 13 disciples are supposed to be present. I had been inquisitive about the superstitions regarding various things, in particular Friday the 13th and after much digging, this link to Jesus is all that can be found. Although thirteen does represent bad luck on other days such as Tuesday in other originating from other traditions. It amazes me how much we are influenced by the course of events on one day several thousand years ago, but often remain oblivious to the events and impacts in our own lives. How do we take the time to enjoy the company of our friends, and what could be our last supper? So often we look to religion to give our lives meaning, when the meaning is already there and religion should just be a means of helping those special moments become more apparent. I find it scary because of the endless consequences and how demeaning it is to the sacredness of religion, to use it as a means to worry or alienate. Another common suspicion is about black cats (in some traditions are considered symbols of good fortune), which were believed to belong only to witches whose misfortunes often came about by the hand of the church or by the hands of those who claimed to be of the church. So, today on Friday the 13th I choose to believe that only good things will come, and to the owners of the blacks cats out there prosperity.

This Monday past we in the Christian church celebrated Candlemas. Within Protestantism this is often a long last holiday however the holiday is threefold. Firstly it is forty days after Jesus’ birth, which in Judaism coincides with Mary’s purification and return to normal society after the birth of a son. Secondly is Jesus’ presentation and entrance into the temple, another part of the Jewish tradition. Finally, Candlemas is sometimes termed the “Christian Festival of Lights” as it falls exactly between the shortest day of the year and the vernal equinox. It is also on this occasion that traditionally many churches have taken the opportunity to dedicate their lights.

As someone who went without electricity yesterday for around 10 hours, most of which fell after dark, the presence and dedication of light took on a certain significance. It was a gentle reminder that in the post modern world in which we live, we often are outside the scope of daily traditions and rituals. Religious rituals in particular seem only to surface when we need them such as moments of crisis, in the same way that pulling out the candles is something we may only do when we have no electricity after dark. For me though, I think I need to pull out those candles, cling to those traditions, to give a sense of meaning and deliberateness to an occasion or a day.

The season of Epiphany is all about light, recognition, and celebration. In Western Christianity this season consists of three such events: the arrival of the Magi (Wisemen), the Baptist of Jesus, and Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana (in Eastern Christianity there is just one, the Baptism of Jesus). During the season of Epiphany we witness Jesus’ call into ministry, and through the events of the season we also witness the responses of the community and Jesus. I have a good friend and mentor who always says that you have found your true calling if you recognize your call, if others recognize your call and if you have gifts in that area. In this season of epiphany then, we seem to find Jesus’ calling. This is first recognized by the Magi, further by the church represented by John the Baptist, by his family with  Mary and finally accepted by Jesus himself with the miracle at the wedding, and so Jesus is enlightened, recognized, and celebrated. As with most of us finding our calling in life is difficult, and time consuming. Perhaps it is humbling to remember that it took Jesus twenty to thirty years to find his calling in a very different world than the one in which we live. As we pause to reflect in this season, I would encourage you to seek the light in your life and as you recognize that it takes time to celebrate your calling whether as a child, a parent, a sibling, a student/worker etc.