Love Defies Unjust Decrees!

Saint Valentine, the Patron Saint of candy, flowers, romantic dinners, and kind words written on decorative cards, lived a love much more courageous than the images depicted by his very own holiday!

So often in our society today everyone is talking about unity and tolerance and believes that these are a direct expression of love. I do believe these are expressions of love; however, sometimes they can be expressions of selfish protection, convenience, and expediency. Sometimes love calls us to stand for what is right and just. Sometimes love calls us to defy unjust laws or decrees!

It is not always wrong to question authority and to even stand against it when that authority, whether government, corporate, or even Church authority, is behaving in abusive and unjust ways toward its citizens, corporate members, or Christ followers.

“Sometimes love calls us to stand for what is right and just. Sometimes love calls us to defy unjust laws or decrees!"

What I am saying is that love does not always look like flowers, candy, and romantic dinners on a patio at an outdoor café. Sometimes love is courageous, lionhearted, stalwart, and strong. Love dauntlessly, fearlessly, stands up for the protection and benefit of others.

Are we willing to stand up against the “Gates of Hell” for our brothers and sisters in Christ? Do we love enough to stand against those same gates for the homeless man we met in the street today? In Matthew 25, Jesus says that how we see and treat the least of these is how we will treat Him!

“Love does not always look like flowers, candy, and romantic dinners on a patio at an outdoor café. Sometimes love is courageous, lionhearted, stalwart, and strong. Love dauntlessly, fearlessly, stands up for the protection and benefit of others."

Interestingly, Saint Valentine, the Patron Saint of candy, flowers, romantic dinners, and kind words written on decorative cards, lived a love much more courageous than the images depicted by his very own holiday!

In the 3rd century, an oppressive Roman Emperor Claudius rose to power. He persecuted the Church as well as young men and women all over the Roman Empire. Emperor Claudius forbade young men and women to be married so that the young men would make better soldiers. This was his theory anyway.

The early Christian Church was trying to encourage young people to marry in the Church and make a lifelong commitment of their love for each other. This was in direct contrast to the Roman culture of the day which was filled with polygamy, sexual immorality, and all sorts of abuses of love, commitment, relationships, and family. Therefore, Christian young people were affected more than any other group of people by this Emperor’s decree.

In courageous and direct defiance of Emperor Claudius’ decree, as a 3rd Century Priest, Saint Valentine continued marrying Christian young people secretly in the middle of the night. This was at the risk of his own life! Saint Valentine knew that this was an unjust, oppressive decree and he was determined not to give in to its oppressive rule. Saint Valentine believed in love all right, but not an easy love, not the Hallmark card kind of love, but a love that cared for others above himself. A love that stood up to oppression rather than giving in to it! A love that was willing to risk his life rather than capitulate to an oppressive emperor and his unjust decree.

“It is not always wrong to question authority and to even stand against it when that authority, whether government, corporate, or even Church authority, is behaving in abusive and unjust ways toward its citizens, corporate members, or Christ followers."

This is the message of the real kind of love. A love that is strong, giving, kind and compassionate, undaunted by setbacks and continues to press on for those they love. Love is moved out of compassion, for the needs of the broken human condition rather than needing to comply with unjust leadership. Love listens to the Holy Spirit and knows when to shout out a resounding NO to those doing evil to the innocent!

Saint Valentine lived a life of courageous love, self-sacrificial love, and defiant love! Saint Valentine was beaten, stoned and then beheaded, all because of his stand for Christian marriage. Saint Valentine did not live under the false concept of “no questions asked” submission to authorities, no matter what oppressive thing they are doing!

“Love is moved out of compassion, for the needs of the broken human condition rather than needing to comply with unjust leadership. Love listens to the Holy Spirit and knows when to shout out a resounding NO to those doing evil to the innocent!"

As True Believers, we need to live in love toward each other and toward people in the world. In fact, we must show them love and honor their voices even if we completely disagree with them. However, we must also remember that for love’s sake, and for the truth of the message of the Gospel, in direct defiance of the Pharisees, Jesus healed on the Sabbath, Jesus allowed his disciples to work (pick grain) on the Sabbath, Jesus touched a leper, spoke to a Samaritan woman, did not rebuke the woman with the issue of blood, hung out with tax collectors and prostitutes, Jesus defied every pharisaical law he possibly could, ALL FOR LOVE’S SAKE! Jesus was a REBEL LOVER! Jesus wanted to show them that humanity, including the Jewish people, had gotten off track as to what God the Father is all about.

Saint Valentine understood the radical, self-sacrificial, heroic nature of the love of God. Even though Saint Valentine had been imprisoned by the Emperor Claudius and his unjust decree, he did not react in an unloving manner to those who had judged and imprisoned him and would eventually kill him. Catholic historian Father O’Gara says it like this:

"One of the men who was to judge him in accordance with the Roman law at the time was a man called Asterius, whose daughter was blind. He was supposed to have prayed with and healed the young girl with such astonishing effect that Asterius himself became a Christian as a result."

In the year 269 AD, Valentine was sentenced to a three-part execution of a beating, stoning, and finally decapitation all because of his stand for Christian marriage. The story goes that the last words he wrote were in a note to Asterius' daughter. He inspired today's romantic missives by signing it, "from your Valentine."

“Saint Valentine believed in love all right, but not an easy love, not the Hallmark card kind of love, but a love that cared for others above himself. A love that stood up to oppression rather than giving in to it! A love that was willing to risk his life rather than capitulate to an oppressive emperor and his unjust decree."

The next time you sign a Valentine’s Day card, consider the price that Saint Valentine paid to stand up, courageously against an unjust decree for love’s sake! Consider the price it cost Jesus and the Father to say to you, “I love you! Would you please be my Valentine?”

John 3:16-17 Amplified Bible (AMP)

“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.”

Ephesians 5:1-2 J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

“As children copy their fathers you, as God’s children, are to copy him. Live your lives in love—the same sort of love which Christ gives us and which he perfectly expressed when he gave himself up for us in sacrifice to God.”

“Saint Valentine understood the radical, self-sacrificial, heroic nature of the love of God."

(Originally posted by David Clancy on February 17, 2014)