More Than a Valentine

Dear Beloved,

Each February, Valentine’s Day invites us to pause and think about love. We see it in cards exchanged, notes written, candy shared, and small gestures of affection offered to one another. Beneath those familiar traditions is a deeper question worth asking: where did Valentine’s Day come from, and what does it have to do with our faith?

By most accounts, the Valentine behind the holiday was a Christian clergyperson living in the third century Roman Empire. During a time of persecution, Valentine was arrested for aiding Christians and for refusing to deny Christ before the emperor Claudius II. He was ultimately executed outside the gates of Rome, and February 14 became the day the church remembered his witness and martyrdom.

One enduring legend adds a tender note to the story. While under house arrest, Valentine prayed for the healing of a judge’s blind daughter, and she received her sight. Humbled by what he witnessed, the judge converted to Christianity and released imprisoned believers. Valentine himself, however, was later arrested again and condemned to death. On the day of his execution, he is said to have written a farewell note, signing it, “from your Valentine.”

Over time, Valentine’s feast day became associated with courtly love. In the Middle Ages, poets imagined it as the season when birds chose their mates, and writers like Geoffrey Chaucer linked the day with romance. By the 1400s, people were exchanging handwritten “valentines,” and the holiday slowly took on the shape we recognize today.

Today, Valentine’s Day is largely a secular celebration marked by classroom cards, flowers, and chocolate. Love is worth celebrating. Yet as Christians, we remember that love is not something we create on our own. Scripture reminds us, “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them” (1 John 4:16).

When we share love through kindness, patience, forgiveness, and care for our neighbors, we reflect the love that first claimed us. May we live as people shaped by that love—not just on Valentine’s Day, but every day.

See you in church!

Grace and peace,
 Pastor Kevin