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Good morning. It鈥檚 not entirely clear how to go on a date during lockdown. Tomorrow is Valentine鈥檚 Day, when ordinarily pubs and restaurants might be offering yes, the usual steak and chips but with some kind of extra to make it a Valentine; a red rose on the table perhaps or a heart-shaped dessert. To the cynics, Valentine鈥檚 Day is a chance to commodify romance, and double the price of prosecco.

But this year for some a Valentine鈥檚 date may look a little different because some might be dating for the first time on Zoom. Perhaps doing an online virtual tour of an art gallery or cooking the same meal in different kitchens then eating together. With loneliness judged to be an epidemic all on its own, even before the pandemic, we are being forced to find new ways to connect. And this weekend might be, alongside all the unwanted pressure it brings for some, a good excuse not necessarily to go on a date but just to phone a friend.

Christians in the mystical tradition have often challenged the theological project to categorise love into different kinds. In contrast to the different descriptions of God鈥檚 love, altruistic love, romantic love, medieval writers such as Julian of Norwich, Walter Hilton and Meister Eckhart talk only of one love. That love is a God-given desire somehow to want someone else鈥檚 good, and in the process to give ourselves away, that loving our neighbour requires us also to love ourselves.

God of life and love; be with all those who are lonely and help us to reach out to one another, generating hope in our hearts that we can find new ways to love one another as ourselves. Amen.