A second postal post in the same week! It would appear that striking Canadian postal workers will soon be back on the job, forced to return just in time to make no difference for retailers or for the remnant of those who still mail physical Christmas cards and letters. I heard a news item a couple of days ago about individuals who've been entrepeneurial, first out of necessity, then to meet a need. As small business owners they began delivering their own parcels when neither Canada Post nor other courier services were options, then took to the roads for others who were willing to pay for the service. Why not?
This disruption and the creative solution got me thinking about the miracle of our New Testament which includes a number of letters, many written by the apostle Paul (often dictated to a scribe), which were circulated amongst the earliest Christian communities. They were usually carried by trusted individuals, men and women. While the Roman Empire didn't have a postal service there was a system of secure roads and shipping routes used for communication and travelled by citizens as well. Somehow these early Christian epistles, hand-written before the development of paper, survived to become part of our bible. No original manuscripts still exist but they were transcribed and shared from generation to generation.
It's hard to believe that we'll ever return to writing "snail mail" letters even though there was a resurgence of interest in hand-written missives a few decades ago with the publication of the charming Griffin and Sabine trilogy of books by Nick Bantock which contained actual letters. I do have fond memories of a project pairing children and elders as secret penpals in one congregation.
I've assumed through the years that the phrase “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds” is the motto of the US States Postal Service -- the service doesn't have an official motto. The phrase is actually a quote from The Persian Wars by Greek historian Herodotus, written around 2,500 years ago. Herodotus was referring to the Persian mounted postal couriers he observed during the Greco-Persian wars.
I appreciate that the New Testament letters that are vital to our Christian faith were delivered not by any empire in the midst of war but by a loose association of followers of the Prince of Peace. We can only imagine the risk they took to share the Good News of Jesus, the Risen Christ.
Now, to decide whether to write and mail those 'holy" Christmas cards!
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