From the Vicar
Dear friends,
There’s plenty going on in February! The first week marks National Story Telling week, National Apprenticeship week, World Wetlands Day, World Cancer Day and UNICEF Day For Change. And later in the month we can look forward to National Chip Week to celebrate “the nation’s favourite food” along with several other days of more serious reflection. Alongside these recent additions to the national calendar, the Christian festivals of Candlemas, Valentine’s Day, Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday still have meaning and significance
Candlemas, on the 2nd February, remembers the time when Mary and Joseph took baby Jesus to be presented at the Temple. On seeing the child Simeon proclaimed Jesus as “A light to lighten the gentiles.” Light is necessary for life and growth as well as for seeing clearly. The Sanctuary light in church reminds us of God’s constant presence with us and many of us like to light a candle at home or in church to help us connect with God. At Candlemas many churches bless the candles that will be used in church during the coming year.
February is also associated with romantic love and the celebration of Valentine’s Day. According to legend, Valentine was a Roman priest, martyred for his faith in the early days of the church because he had secretly married Christian couples. In another legend, he signed his letter to a friend “from your Valentine”, which may be the origin of the cards we send today. We may never know the full details of St Valentine’s story but we remember him for his faithful witness to the gospel at a time when Christians were undergoing brutal persecution for their faith. This year Valentine’s Day falls shortly before Ash Wednesday, allowing little time to enjoy flowers and chocolates before Lent begins.
Lent and love are deeply connected in Christianity for Lent is a season for working on our relationship with God through honesty, reflection and self-discipline. On Ash Wednesday the sign of the cross is made in ashes on our forehead and we are urged to repent and turn back to God with the sombre reminder that “you are but dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Lent recalls the forty days alone in the wilderness when Jesus wrestled with temptation, but the experience taught him hard but important truths and provided him with new insight and strength. This is why our own observation of Lent should give us hope that we too may discover new understanding and turn us away from self-centeredness to embrace God’s transformative love and live a more Christ-like life. Ash Wednesday speaks of a love that is stronger than death, and a lover who has conquered death on our behalf. Whether or not we are on the receiving end of roses on this Valentine’s Day makes no difference to the passion that sent Jesus to the Cross on our behalf. We are all held in the love of God who loves us in this lifetime and in the lifetime to come.
Rev’d Brenda
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