When one thinks of Valentine’s Day one may think of love, hearts, passing out notes and candies, etc, 但情人节还有更深的含义,可以追溯到公元3世纪罗马一位牧师的故事——瓦伦丁. Minister Valentine’s passion was love; hence, he was called the “Minister of Love” (Lyons).
Valentine’s Preaching on the True Meaning of Love
He preached many times the true biblical meaning of love. Today, we just have one word for love. 我们可以说:“我爱我的父母”、“我爱我的配偶”、“我爱芝士汉堡”和“我爱上帝”.” Despite it being the same word, 我希望我们对上帝的爱不同于对芝士汉堡的爱.
希腊语是比英语更深层次的语言,有三个单词表示“爱” eros, philos, and agape. Philos is the love of a friend or family member, eros 对你的配偶的爱(不应该在婚姻契约之外表达的爱),和 agape 是上帝无条件的爱(付出一切,不求回报). Without God, one may be able to express philos and eros, but never agape because our flesh is naturally selfish (Lyons).
由于瓦伦丁对爱情的谆谆教诲,罗马的许多人都来向他求婚. 瓦伦丁会教导已婚夫妇和他的会众什么是真正敬虔的婚姻.
瓦伦丁坚持圣经的婚姻,拒绝崇拜罗马神
In the year 268, the emperor Claudius II came to power. He proclaimed that he would not persecute Christians; although, there were some problematic proclamations he made. 克劳迪斯二世是一位严厉、高大、强壮的皇帝,也被称为“残忍的克劳迪斯”(奥登)。. 克劳迪亚斯二世擅长于击败任何试图入侵罗马的部落. 尽管随着时间的推移,越来越多的部落成为威胁(奥登). Along with that, his army numbers were shrinking! 他得出结论,这种短缺的主要原因是已婚男子不愿与在国外作战的家人分离(里昂). So, Claudius did the extreme- he outlawed marriage! 克劳狄颁布法令,禁止牧师主持婚礼,这条法令后来成为法律.
This obviously was a huge problem for Valentine. Valentine had to decide whether to follow the emperor or God. 瓦朗蒂娜深信他应该服从上帝而不是服从人, so he continued performing the marriage ceremonies. 克劳迪斯很快听说瓦朗蒂娜违反了克劳迪斯不公正的法律,就把他关进了监狱(里昂).
![A bible spread open](http://id7v.ayapsicoterapia.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/The-True-Valentine-By-Josie-Huyard-1-150x150.png)
瓦朗蒂娜尽管身处黑暗的低谷,但他始终忠于上帝. 他继续崇拜他的神而不是罗马的神,遵从神的话而不是克劳狄乌斯的话(里昂). 除此之外,教会还偷偷地给瓦伦丁写了鼓励的信,以此来支持他. 瓦伦丁会回信,结尾总是“来自你的瓦伦丁”(里昂). 瓦伦丁最终被判处斩首,并于270年2月14日被处决.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Bible, John 15:13).
Valentine’s Day Becoming a Holiday
200 years after Valentine’s execution, in 500 A.D., The people began to stray away from Godly marriage. 许多人开始庆祝2月15日的牧神节. 这个名字来源于罗马的爱神卢珀库斯和希腊的潘神. 这个事件是可怕的,充满了巨大的黑暗和性不道德. 在这个时期,异教徒的一个习俗是男孩们会杀死一只山羊, cut off strips of flesh, and dip them in blood. 然后,他会寻找一个他想要的女孩,对她施咒,让她坠入爱河. 他会拿起血淋淋的肉,用它拍打她——多么可怕啊! If that is not bad enough, 还举行了“爱情抽奖”活动,所有单身女性的名字都被放在一个盒子里. 然后,单身男子会选择一个名字,这将是他们今年的女朋友.
The pastors in Rome were aghast by this pagan holiday. 最终他们决定受够了,罗马天主教教皇, 加拉提乌开始设计一个计划来消除这些可怕的异教传统. 他开始在历史中寻找2月15日左右的日期来取代这个节日. 就在这时,他遇到了瓦伦丁牧师的殉道者. 加拉提乌斯宣布瓦伦丁为圣徒,并把2月14日定为圣. Valentine’s Day.
教会修改了“爱情抽奖”的做法,用圣徒的名字而不是单身女性的名字代替. 无论你画哪个圣人,你都要在接下来的一年里为他们祈祷.
Application
而不是专注于世俗的做法在情人节, such as cupid, candy, and paper hearts, let’s focus on Valentine’s teaching on true Godly love- agape. 让我们在他的爱中喜乐,并充满爱,使我们周围的人也能体验到神的爱 agape.
As John 15:12 says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” (Bible).
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Works Cited
Lyons, Max. “The True Story of Valentine.《BCK体育注册官网》,《BCK体育注册官网》,2012年1月1日.
Odden, Cheryl. “The Story of St. Valentine.” The Voice of the Martyrs, 1 January 2007.