This year, the season of Lent begins on Valentine’s Day and ends on Easter Sunday – which happens to fall on April Fool’s Day. I think God has a sense of humor!
On Ash Wednesday, we remember our weakness and mortality. But we also remember God’s amazing love for us. Therefore, Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day have something in common: they both have to do with love.
One of the best definitions of Christian love I’ve ever heard comes from a favorite folk song of mine, called Aimless Love: “Love has no mind, it can’t spell unkind, It’s never seen a heart shaped like a Valentine, For if love knew you, it’d walk up to you and introduce you to an Aimless love.”
As followers of the Risen One, we are called to a higher love than what we normally think of on Valentine’s Day. God’s love is an aimless love. It flows through us, straight from the heart of God, and doesn’t distinguish between those who deserve love and those who don’t.
Come join us on the Way this Lenten season. It’s all about Love and Life – and, this year, the only April Fools will be on death and evil!