“For God so loved the world (you and me), that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (emphasis my own)

This year, 2024, Ash Wednesday falls on Valentines Day. The two seem to be exact opposites. Ash Wednesday starts the Lenten season, a time of repentance, fasting, praying, self-denial that is initiated with the ceremony of placing a cross of ashes on the foreheads of believers. Valentines Day is a celebration of love, especially between couples who exchange various tokens of love. Ash Wednesday/Lent focuses on what we may give up or acts of self-denial in order to turn our attention to God. Valentines Day is filled with the expectation of receiving something; a card, a box of chocolates, flowers, etc. Not receiving anything may leave one feeling disappointed or dejected in some way. The two events on the same day just feel like oil and water; they just don’t mix.

But here is a different spin. When we consider that God loved us, you and me individually and collectively, so much that he gave away His only begotten Son to be a sin offering for us, we have to realize that that is love at its finest. It is totally selfless on God’s part and we are the recipients of that selfless love. I am like anyone else. I want to receive nice things or be taken out for a nice dinner on Valentines Day, but Lent and Ash Wednesday, in particular, reminds me that as a Christian, I am called to reflect God’s selfless love for humanity. Practices of self-denial like fasting or giving up a beloved food item are intended to help me focus on how I can repent of my own selfishness and self-centered ways and turn my attention to others who have various unmet needs. This is not to say that I will reject that nice dinner date or token of love. What it does cause me to do is not be disappointed if my Valentines Day does not bring love gifts in any form to me. Because of Ash Wednesday, I view Valentines Day through a different lens, a compassionate one that seeks to love as God loved me.