Mark 16:15-20

Back when I was in college, I spent part of one Valentine’s Day evening with some friends in a dorm room. We sat around drinking cheap boxed wine and discussing love. Some of us were single, some of us were in relationships, and I had one friend in the room who had just gone through a bad break up. As the evening went on we all took our time waxing eloquently about our experiences with love and relationships, my heart broken friend let out a long sigh and said, “Valentine’s Day, ugh”. Sighs too deep for words!

Like most holidays, Valentine’s Day brings out all sorts of feelings from us. Feelings like sweetness and nostalgia, but also sometimes feelings like annoyance, insecurity, and even bitterness. We all know love is a powerful experience and our experiences with love can often stay with us for life.

Every year on the week of Valentine’s Day, I spend a little time each day reflecting on love. Every year, I come back to asking myself similar questions. Questions like where could I be just a little bit more loving? Where could I open my heart just a little bit more right now? Do I really believe, whole heartedly, that God loves me?

Having been celibate for seven years now, my belief in the importance of love has only grown. With the growing stresses in the world around us, we are always in danger of thinking that love is not worth the effort. We are always in danger of thinking that love is a luxury we do not have the energy for. We are always in danger of slipping into a coldness of heart and stonewalling ourselves off from all those who love us, including God. We are always in danger of thinking that self-reliance and isolation are the only way to protect ourselves.

To love and be loved is certainly a risk, but Jesus was clear that we must love one another. The good news is that God loves us. Start there. Start by vulnerably accepting that love of God. That infinite supply of unconditional love is equally accessible to us all at all times. That’s good news.

Keep coming back to the power of love again and again in your life. Refresh that love within you as if your life depended upon it. Spread that love around you unconditionally and let it soak into everything that you do. God wants us to love. God is with us in our love. God is love. Amen.