Dear Peace Members and Friends,
Happy Valentine’s Day! This is the day that the church celebrates the memory of a saint who fell in love.
Let me take a few moments and tell about St. Valentine. Valentine lived back in the 3rd century and was either a priest or bishop from Rome. At that time, it was illegal for Christians to worship in public. Many got arrested, simply for believing in Jesus. Valentine would visit Christians who were in prison. Because of that, the Roman authorities suspected that Valentine was a Christian too! So, he was arrested and sent for trial to a judge named Asterius.
And here is where it gets interesting. When he was called before the judge, Valentine should have kept his mouth shut; that is how he could guarantee his safety. But Valentine was in love—in love with Jesus Christ—and he could not stop talking about Jesus and his Gospel.
So instead of staying quiet before the judge, Valentine kept talking about this Jesus whom he loved. And a funny thing happened. The judge was so moved by what Valentine told him, that the judge himself asked to be baptized!
Well, this did not sit well with the Emperor, whose name was Claudius. So Claudius had Valentine brought to him. And at first, the Emperor liked Valentine. That is, Valentine started talking. And, you guessed it, the only thing that Valentine wanted to talk about was Jesus. It’s what happens when you’re in love!
The emperor was not happy that Valentine was trying to teach him the Gospel, so eventually the emperor said to Valentine, “You either stop talking about this Jesus, or I will cut off your head!”
For Valentine, there wasn’t really a choice. He was a man in love; in love with Christ. And loving Christ meant more to Valentine than anything else. So he didn’t count the cost of loving Christ. He gave everything he had because that’s what people in love do. People in love understand: my life only makes sense because of the one I love. Our hearts belong to Christ. We belong to Christ. And so don’t be surprised today if you find yourself out of the clear blue praying, “Jesus, I love you very, very, much.”
Continuing this Sunday, I’ll still be taking some vacation time with my wife, Marcie. Daina Sivanich, our Communication’s person will tell you more about worship on Sunday (below).
In the Adult Education Hour (10:45am), we will welcome to Peace, Per Nilson, from MN Adult and Teen Challenge, will be presenting on “Substance Use Disorder.”Join us for this important topic on a struggle that affects us all!
Last of all, the season of Lent is approaching (Ash Wednesday is March 5th). As part of our traditional Lenten observance, congregational members contribute a brief daily word and prayerin a Lenten Devotional booklet that will be available to all via email or print. Contributions are still needed. Instructions and sign-up are available in the church narthex or by calling the church office (952.944.6510). The Lenten Devotional Booklet is a source of encouragement to many others. I thank you ahead of time.
In the meantime, again, Happy Valentine’s Day. And remember: Jesus loves you very, very, very much!
See you Sunday!
Mark