{"id":963,"date":"2018-02-12T06:00:01","date_gmt":"2018-02-12T12:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/?p=963"},"modified":"2019-03-13T12:28:47","modified_gmt":"2019-03-13T18:28:47","slug":"ash-wednesday-valentines-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/963\/","title":{"rendered":"Ash Wednesday on Valentine’s Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Today’s post is by\u00a0Tim Knauff, Jr., Senior Pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Valparaiso, Indiana.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By now you\u2019ve probably been asked, half-jokingly, if you will be celebrating Ash Wednesday or Valentine\u2019s Day on the 14th<\/sup>.\u00a0 For me it was my 7th\u00a0<\/sup>grade Confirmation students who were appalled when I said we would be observing Ash Wednesday. \u201cHow can you not preach on love?\u201d they demanded.<\/p>\n

When church moments coincide with cultural events (think Superbowl, Mother\u2019s Day) it is an opportunity for reflection on our relationship with contemporary culture. How we think of that relationship matters quite a lot, as H. Richard Niebuhr challenged us almost seventy years ago. Is our mission to be ecclesial blessors of society, faithful resistors, transformative agents, a cloistered remnant, along for the ride? Do \u201csecular\u201d events belong in our worship space \u2013 to blend, to bend, to bless, to transform, to mock, to ignore?<\/p>\n

In the case of Valentine\u2019s Day and Ash Wednesday, the differences might seem stark. Candy hearts and pink cards seem a far cry from smudged ashes and the discipline of repentance. Our first instinct might be to keep them separate, to not even acknowledge Valentine\u2019s Day. Or, maybe our first instinct would go the other way, to let Valentine\u2019s Day hijack our observation with a pink bulletin cover and smudging a heart instead of a cross. Are there ways they can inform, interweave, transform, and teach? Or is to ignore or capitulate the only options?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think my Confirmation student\u2019s argument, that love equals love and \u201chow can you not preach on love?\u201d is a sufficient connection.\u00a0Perhaps we might explore the ways Ash Wednesday fulfills Valentine\u2019s Day by teaching us how<\/em> to love. There\u2019s no question that \u201clove\u201d is a compelling topic: according to a National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics survey<\/a>, this year Americans expect to spend an average of $143.56 each on Valentine\u2019s Day; total spending is expected to reach $19.6 billion.\u00a0We as the Church might ask \u2013 and help our culture to consider \u2013 what it means to \u201clove\u201d?<\/p>\n

There are obvious textual connections: \u201cReturn to me with all your heart,\u201d the Lord implores in Joel. \u201cWhere you treasure is, there your heart will be also,\u201d Jesus reminds us. Both texts really answer the question, \u201cHow shall we love the Lord with all our hearts?\u201d In Joel it\u2019s through repentance, return, remorse; in Matthew it\u2019s the classic disciplines of almsgiving, fasting, prayer.\u00a0 Joel and the alternate reading in Isaiah remind us none of this is to manipulate God, just as flowers etc. aren\u2019t (shouldn\u2019t be?) meant to manipulate a beloved. Rather, the\u00a0discipline itself changes and forms us.<\/p>\n

Perhaps we might focus on that closing verse of Matthew: \u201cWhere your treasure is, there your heart will be also.\u201d In the context of Valentine\u2019s Day, that could help us consider how to keep and create healthy relationships. As Luther reminded us, \u201cAnything on which your heart relies and depends, I say, that is really your God.\u201d (\u201cThe Large Catechism,\u201d The Book of Concord<\/em>, ed. Kolb & Wengert 2000, p. 386). Even a good thing, like being in love, carries peril.<\/p>\n

Or perhaps we might use those texts to remind ourselves that in order to love, it is necessary to know who we are; Joel and Isaiah call us to the hard work of knowing who we are not, that important step towards knowing who we are. As we consider healthy Christian community, we can follow Bonhoeffer and remember that we belong to each other only through and in Jesus Christ (Life Together).<\/em><\/p>\n

There are probably as many ways to explore this interesting intersection as there are worshipping communities. Thinking together about that intersection \u2013 how do we relate to our surrounding culture? \u2013 matters, because it is a chance to reflect on Jesus\u2019 mission entrusted to us. As we follow him who loved the world so much \u2013 how shall we love it too? \u00a0It seems to me a chocolate heart just isn\u2019t quite enough.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Today’s post is by\u00a0Tim Knauff, Jr., Senior Pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Valparaiso, Indiana.   By now you\u2019ve probably been asked, half-jokingly, if you will be celebrating Ash Wednesday or Valentine\u2019s Day on the 14th.\u00a0 For me it was my 7th\u00a0grade Confirmation students who were appalled when I said we would be observing Ash […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":241,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAsh Wednesday on Valentine's Day - ELCA Worship<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/963\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ash Wednesday on Valentine's Day - ELCA Worship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  Today’s post is by\u00a0Tim Knauff, Jr., Senior Pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Valparaiso, Indiana.   By now you\u2019ve probably been asked, half-jokingly, if you will be celebrating Ash Wednesday or Valentine\u2019s Day on the 14th.\u00a0 For me it was my 7th\u00a0grade Confirmation students who were appalled when I said we would be observing Ash […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/963\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ELCA Worship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-12T12:00:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-03-13T18:28:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ELCA Worship\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ELCA Worship\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\\\/worship\\\/963\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\\\/worship\\\/963\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ELCA Worship\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\\\/worship\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/825990f0de4af532a635ae352e576668\"},\"headline\":\"Ash Wednesday on Valentine’s Day\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-12T12:00:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-13T18:28:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\\\/worship\\\/963\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":688,\"articleSection\":[\"Post\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\\\/worship\\\/963\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\\\/worship\\\/963\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ash Wednesday on Valentine's Day - ELCA Worship\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\\\/worship\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-12T12:00:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-13T18:28:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\\\/worship\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/825990f0de4af532a635ae352e576668\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\\\/worship\\\/963\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\\\/worship\\\/963\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\\\/worship\\\/963\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\\\/worship\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ash Wednesday on Valentine’s Day\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\\\/worship\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\\\/worship\\\/\",\"name\":\"ELCA Worship\",\"description\":\"Resources, stories and news from the ELCA Worship Office.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\\\/worship\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\\\/worship\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/825990f0de4af532a635ae352e576668\",\"name\":\"ELCA Worship\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7f226a543506049fbc2ff5a3bc95d2a004984cf8e5979c3c8bda935005afabed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7f226a543506049fbc2ff5a3bc95d2a004984cf8e5979c3c8bda935005afabed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7f226a543506049fbc2ff5a3bc95d2a004984cf8e5979c3c8bda935005afabed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ELCA Worship\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\\\/worship\\\/author\\\/legacy-241\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ash Wednesday on Valentine's Day - ELCA Worship","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/963\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ash Wednesday on Valentine's Day - ELCA Worship","og_description":"  Today’s post is by\u00a0Tim Knauff, Jr., Senior Pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Valparaiso, Indiana.   By now you\u2019ve probably been asked, half-jokingly, if you will be celebrating Ash Wednesday or Valentine\u2019s Day on the 14th.\u00a0 For me it was my 7th\u00a0grade Confirmation students who were appalled when I said we would be observing Ash […]","og_url":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/963\/","og_site_name":"ELCA Worship","article_published_time":"2018-02-12T12:00:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-03-13T18:28:47+00:00","author":"ELCA Worship","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ELCA Worship","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/963\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/963\/"},"author":{"name":"ELCA Worship","@id":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/#\/schema\/person\/825990f0de4af532a635ae352e576668"},"headline":"Ash Wednesday on Valentine’s Day","datePublished":"2018-02-12T12:00:01+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-13T18:28:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/963\/"},"wordCount":688,"articleSection":["Post"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/963\/","url":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/963\/","name":"Ash Wednesday on Valentine's Day - ELCA Worship","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-02-12T12:00:01+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-13T18:28:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/#\/schema\/person\/825990f0de4af532a635ae352e576668"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/963\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/963\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/963\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ash Wednesday on Valentine’s Day"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/#website","url":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/","name":"ELCA Worship","description":"Resources, stories and news from the ELCA Worship Office.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/#\/schema\/person\/825990f0de4af532a635ae352e576668","name":"ELCA Worship","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7f226a543506049fbc2ff5a3bc95d2a004984cf8e5979c3c8bda935005afabed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7f226a543506049fbc2ff5a3bc95d2a004984cf8e5979c3c8bda935005afabed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7f226a543506049fbc2ff5a3bc95d2a004984cf8e5979c3c8bda935005afabed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"ELCA Worship"},"url":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/author\/legacy-241\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/241"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=963"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1276,"href":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963\/revisions\/1276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elcablogs.fairnorthdigital.com\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}