Sunday 02/08/26 – Adams Village Baptist Church
Sermon Title: “Valentine’s
Day for Everyone!” –
1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 1 John 4:19-20
This Saturday, February 14th, is the holiday of
Valentine’s Day. How many of us here love and look forward to Valentine’s Day
every year? How many of once loved Valentine’s Day, but no longer love
Valentine’s Day? How many of us have never liked of loved Valentine’s Day at all?
How many of us think that Valentine’s Day has become over commercialized and just
too much?
For those that read my February pastor’s newsletter article,
I cited the many things that this month of February is, such as, American Heart
Month, Black History Month, National Bird Feeding Month, along with Groundhog
Day, World Cancer Day, President’s Day, and others. Yet for me, I think that
often Valentine’s Day steals the show of this month. Unless I am wrong, I have
never seen a display at a department store for President’s Day cards, or
President’s Day gifts. Maybe they exist, but do not think that they do. I have
never gotten a call from someone saying, “Pastor Paul, I can’t believe you
forgot President’s Day again and didn’t send me a President’s Day card this
year!”
As I am getting older though, I am becoming more and more
painfully aware of how the various holidays, times of the year, and special
days affect us all differently. We might have different views of Thanksgiving,
for example, whether good or bad. We might love the Christmas season, or it
might be a sad time for some of us. For some of us, we might love the holiday
coming up this Saturday, Valentine’s Day, and some of us might not. This is
generally seen as the holiday where you get the person that you love
romantically gifts and show them that great love that you have for them.
In fact, as I wrote in my monthly pastor’s newsletter
article, let me give you a little history of Valentine’s Day. Here is how
“Valentine’s Day” developed over the years:
Valentine's Day, also
called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint
Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a
Christian feast day honoring
a martyr named Valentine, and through later folk traditions it
has also become a significant cultural, religious and commercial celebration
of romance and
love in many regions of the world (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day).
In fact, here is a little more history of “Valentine’s Day”:
The day became associated with
romantic love in the 14th and 15th centuries, when notions of courtly
love flourished, apparently by association with the "lovebirds" of early spring. In
18th-century England, it grew into an occasion for couples to express their
love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and
sending greeting cards (known as
"valentines"). Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include
the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the
winged Cupid.
In the 19th century, handmade cards gave way to mass-produced greetings (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day).
While Valentine’s Day, does have Christian roots, and while
it is a day in some Christian Churches that they remember an actual Christian
martyr named “Valentine,” we made up most of the rest.
From what I have read and studied there where actually two
men named Valentine that were martyred in the 200’s for their Christian faith.
One of these men named “Valentine” apparently wrote a letter signed “your
valentine” to his jailor’s daughter before execution. Or maybe that is just
made up, we are not sure. Either way, how did we get from a Christian Martyr
named “Valentine” to this?
(Show Cupid Picture)
Yes, “Cupid” a
mythological Greek god of love. So, this got added to Valentine’s Day too.
Cupid’s arrows make someone fall in love. So, what is my point, brothers, and
sisters? How ever you feel about Valentine’s Day, outside of the Christian
roots of the two Christian martyrs named “Valentine,” this holiday is mostly
something that we created and developed over the centuries.
What if though, that person that you love romantically is
no longer with us. What if what was once the exciting holiday of Valentine’s
Day, is now a holiday that you dread, care little about, or do not like at all?
Since Valentine’s Day is all about “love,” I want to talk about “Valentine’s Day
for Everyone!” I am challenging us all this morning to rethink the holiday of
Valentine’s Day to be a holiday that is “Valentine’s Day for Everyone!” Why
because, this holiday of “Valentine’s Day” coming up this Saturday February 14th,
is hard for people that have do not have a “special someone”.
In looking at our first scripture for this morning from 1
Corinthians 13:4-8, it says once again this:
4 Love is patient;
love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or
rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or
resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but
rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never
ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they
will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end (1 Cor. 13:4-8,
NRSV).
This is a beautiful scripture, that I have heard read aloud
at many weddings, and many other occasions. I have sometimes then had to jokingly
remind the husband or wife that this was in fact a scripture that they agreed
to when they got married. For example, I might have someone come to me and say,
“Pastor Paul, do you know what my wife did!” “Pastor Paul, do you know what my
husband did!” I have then jokingly wanted to say, “remember how you both wanted
me to read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 at your wedding?” I have never actually said
this aloud before, of course, but I have thought it!
In truth, Jesus
calls us to love everyone. We do not have to agree with everyone, but we are called
to love everyone. Amen. Valentine’s Day is a holiday all about love, so why
can’t we use Valentine’s Day as an excuse to love anyone? I would not show
extensions of romantic love to everyone, obviously, but for those that are
single or widowed, what is Valentine’s Day coming up on this Saturday February
14th supposed to mean for them?
I mean if we just celebrate Valentine’s Day as we know it,
but then many people get left out and left behind. I do not really like that,
do you? In the gospels, Jesus went to all manner of people, of every walk of
life, and this shows us that Jesus did not want to leave anyone behind.
Again, we should distinguish this from a “special someone”
if we have a “special someone,” but Valentine’s Day can be a day that we show a
friend, a relative, a neighbor, etc. that they are loved by you and by Jesus.
At the end of the day, we all want to feel loved, and because of this, I think
Valentine’s day can be for everyone! Amen.
In fact, looking at our 1 John 4:19-20 reading for this
morning, once again, it says:
19 We love because he first loved us. Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen (1 Jn. 4:19-20, NRSV).
Valentine’s Day then is about expressing love. In fact, in
the original “Koine” Greek that the New Testament of our Bible was largely
written in, there were four different words for love. What are these words, you
might ask? Here they are:
·
Agape (Noun:
ἀγάπη, Verb: ἀγαπάω - agapao): This is the most common, referring to
unconditional, sacrificial love, such as God's love for humanity or the love
Christians are commanded to have for others. It is characterized by willful,
intentional, and action-oriented love (e.g., 1 Corinthians 13:4-7).
·
Philia (Noun:
φιλία, Verb: φιλέω - phileo): This term refers to affectionate love,
friendship, and camaraderie, often described as "brotherly love" or
affection between friends. It appears when describing close companionship, such
as in John 21:15–17
·
Storge (Noun:
στοργή): This refers to natural, familiar love or affection, such as
between parents and children. While the noun does not appear in the New
Testament, the negative form (astorgos—"without natural
affection") is used in Romans 1:31 and 2 Timothy 3:3.
·
Eros (Noun:
ἔρως): This refers to romantic or passionate love (https://www.google.com/search?q=greek+words+for+love+in+the+new+testament&rlz).
So “Agape” love is the
love Christ calls us to share with everyone. “Philia” is friendship type of love,
as Philadelphia is often called the city of “Brotherly Love.” There is “Storge”
love that we have for family member and children. Then there is “Eros” love
with is romantic or passionate love, which the vast majority of people associate
Valentine’s Day with. With all this said, once again, I think that Valentine’s
Day can be a day where we express any of these types of love. Let us make this
Saturday February 14, 2026, “Valentine’s Day for Everyone!”
Here is a good summary of the Christian view of Valentine’s
Day, which brings this whole message home this morning:
From a Christian perspective, Valentine's Day
honors St. Valentine, a martyr who exemplified sacrificial love (agape)
for God and others, linking the day to divine love, marriage, and selfless
giving, rather than just romantic Eros, allowing Christians to celebrate God's
love and relationships within faith, even while acknowledging the holiday's
commercialized forms. It's seen as an opportunity to reflect on biblical
love (patience, kindness, forgiveness) and express affection, with some viewing
it as a secular celebration to be adapted, and others emphasizing the saint's
martyrdom over modern romance (https://www.google.com/search?q=christian+view+of+valentine%27s+day&rlz=).
So, brothers and sisters, I am not asking us to get rid of
Valentine’s Day, but I am saying that we need “Valentine’s Day of Everyone!”
Just to have a little fun, one of my favorite Christian
skit duos is named the “Skit Guys.” They do hilarious skits that bring the love
and hope of Christ alive, and they add humor along the way. This is one of
their skits, reminding all of us to remember Valentine’s Day. Let us watch this
together:
(Show “Skit Guys” –
Remember Valentine’s Day Video)
I also wanted to show you this picture
quickly:
(VALETINE – Picture)
Explain this picture.
So once again brothers and sisters, this Saturday may we have a “Valentine’s Day of Everyone!” Amen!
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