OK, it’s also Valentine’s Day, but not on our saints’ calendar. Cyril and Methodius were a pair of Greek brothers in the ninth century. They were missionary priests sent to the Khazars, near the Black sea in what was later Russia. They learned the local language and translated much of the Bible into Slavonic, which had no written form, so local people would be able to read Scripture for themselves. Their work to give it a printed language gave rise to the Cyrillic alphabet (Cyrilà Cyrillic), still used (in a modified form) in Russian and its linguistic cousins. They are regarded as the founders of Slavic literature, and celebrated today because Cyril died on this date in 869. You can read more about them at (http://satucket.com/lectionary/Cyril&Methodius.htm).
A lot less is known for certain about “St Valentine.” There was a historical St Valentine (or several—of the early church martyrs there are three by that name—it was actually pretty common), and there are many legends surrounding the name and the reason Feb. 14 has come to be associated with it and romantic love. One story holds that Valentine was a priest in Rome, and the Emperor (Claudius II) ordered young men not to marry. He thought he’d have more soldiers if there were no wives to convince their husbands to stay home. Valentine, a priest, secretly married young lovers. He was supposedly martyred on Feb. 14. We also may have Gregory Chaucer, author of the medieval Canterbury Tales, to thank for Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14. He mentions it in the context of the mating of birds halfway through February to encourage all of creation to, well, mate.
So which is it? Cyril or Valentine? Obviously, the Christian tradition has a lot to say about love: “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and God’s love is perfected in us.” (1 John 4.12). The church has not historically been very excited about the romantic love that Valentine’s Day sentimentalizes. Sex is bad, sex is dirty, and nice people don’t talk about it. Or, on the other extreme, sex is so elevated and so otherworldly, regular people don’t talk about it. The problem with this attitude is that it’s allowed our cultural conversation about relationships to be totally dominated by gender stereotypes and one-dimensional, frequently antagonistic views of human relating. None of us are from Mars or Venus—we’re from earth! All of us! We can speak to each other, and share what’s on our hearts in trust and in faith. We can show our love for each other in mutual and life-giving ways. But you wouldn’t guess that watching “Wife Swap” or “Desperate Housewives.”
So, here in my newsletter, I’m encouraging all of you to take this February 14 for both Cyril AND Valentine. Cyril and his brother worked to make the word of God intelligible to people, so they could understand each other and God. Love in all its forms is surely the word of God and a sign of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So sit down with the person you love and ask them: where is the word of God in this relationship for you? How can we speak God’s love to each other, in all of the ways, physical as well as emotional, we relate to each other? If you aren’t part of a relationship like that, pray for a moment about how God is glorified in the way that you show love for yourself; how you take care of your health, how you eat well, how you exercise and how you make time for friendships and community. Thanks be to God for all of our saints.
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