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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, Bishop of Newcastle.

Good morning.

Today is Valentine’s Day, and love is in the air. But who was Valentine? Not surprisingly, there are several theories. One is that Valentine was a third century priest in Rome. The emperor had decided that men who were married didn’t make good soldiers, so he banned marriage. Valentine however had other ideas and arranged marriages in secret. When this was found out Valentine was put in jail and sentenced to death. He found love in captivity, with the jailer’s daughter and when he was put to death on this day, he sent a letter signed ‘from your Valentine.’

While we are contemplating the saint whose name we remember today, I wonder sometimes what love really means? In the New Testament there are quite a few Greek words for love ranging from friendship to something much more lasting between two people. What they all have in common is the human desire for connection and companionship. During the challenging weeks and months of the pandemic, when so many people were forced into isolation and cut-off from family and other support networks, creative solutions were found in shouting and waving to neighbours across the street, and of course to using online technology. But what the latter could not replicate was the value of being in the physical presence of one another, of opportunities for meeting and conversation that happened simply because you sat down at a café table near someone else. I hope that today I may seek value in the person who walks past me in the street, or who may need a gesture of friendliness as I pass by. Life isn’t all about me, it’s about the people and places that I encounter and encourage along the way.

God of relationship, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, teach me to value all whom I encounter this day with generosity and hope.

Amen.