麻豆约拍

Good morning.聽

The next time I can鈥檛 sleep, rather than turning on the radio, I think I鈥檒l count up the number of聽deliveries 聽I鈥檝e received in the last year and give thanks for the people who have ensured they arrived on my doorstep, usually within a remarkably short space of time. Weekly veg boxes, pairs of socks, replacement parts for broken kitchen appliances and even bags of compost have been delivered to my front door during the past 12 months.聽

One hundred and eighty-one years ago today the first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black, was issued. Offering a flat rate delivery of letters of up to half an ounce anywhere in the country, the Penny Black democratised the business of letter-writing to the extent that the Postmaster General聽 reportedly said,聽

"Of all the wild and visionary schemes which I ever heard of, it is the most extravagant.鈥澛�

The idea took off, and by the end of 1840 this wild and visionary scheme had opened the door to an outpouring of correspondence between friends, colleagues and lovers, with twice the number of letters that had been sent the year before.聽

And so to this year, when the unexpected arrival of a bar of chocolate, a letter from an old penpal or a hand-drawn card from a child has delivered a small moment of pleasure to keep us cheerful in a time of adversity.

For me, an increase in correspondence has also brought fresh meaning to the New Testament聽letters, and I find myself imagining what it might have felt like to have received an epistle full of news of God鈥檚 love for the church.聽

Here are more words that hit home with me:

鈥業 have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete,鈥�

wrote the Apostle John. I know how he felt.聽

Lord, today, I鈥檓 grateful for each delivery, whether involving a simple self-adhesive stamp or yet another cardboard box.聽

And I pray for those who long to visit and talk face to face, for perseverance and joy. Amen.