I wonder how often it is that you receive a handwritten letter these days? And how often do you write a letter to friends/ family members? I have to confess that I contact people mainly by email, text or phone call now and it is quite rare to receive a handwritten letter. Postage costs have risen and post is delivered less frequently – can you remember the days of a morning and lunchtime delivery?! It is possible to e mail a friend and perhaps receive a reply within the hour, so it’s not surprising that sending letters is much less common than 20 years ago. Yet I have letters that I treasure, some written to me by my late husband before we got married, and some sent to me after he died by friends, or people I scarcely knew whose lives he had touched.
The Methodist church chooses a Bible book for everyone to study each year, suggested for the month of June, but in the church where I worship, we looked at Paul’s letter to the Philippians in July. There are 4 chapters in Paul’s letter to the church he so loved in Philippi, so each week we looked at a different chapter in our sermons and were encouraged to study the book in more depth at home.
Paul writes the letter from captivity and we can imagine him asking his captors for quill pen and scroll in order to be able to write to the Philippians. We don’t know how long it took for the letter to get from Rome, the likely place of his captivity, to Philippi in Macedonia, northern Greece today. He asked Epaphroditus to take the letter, as he returned home to Philippi after a visit to Paul during which he had been very ill. The Philippian congregation had been worried about him and Paul urged him to return to them to reassure them of his recovery, rather than spending more time attending to Paul’s needs in prison. I can just imagine Epaphroditus arriving among his fellow Philippians and them gathering around him to read the precious letter from Paul, the founder of their church.
The letter is a lovely mix of personal news and concern for a congregation Paul loved, coupled with deep reflections on the nature of the Christian faith and teaching on the very nature of Jesus. At times Paul’s heart overflows with love for this congregation, at others he advises and warns them of possible threats to their witness. A lifelong traveller for the gospel, Paul can no longer journey to see the Philippians, and although he expresses a hope that he might be able to do so later, he is aware that may never happen. So, a letter is his only way of communicating with them, and it is a heartfelt expression of care and concern, alongside theology that we can learn from and be uplifted by, today.
When I write to friends in cards, letters and e mails, in this late stage in my life, I am learning, like Paul, to say things I feel in my heart, thanking people for their friendship, their care for me during difficult times, their encouragement in the Christian faith. Better to say it to them now, than in a letter of sympathy to their loved ones after they have died. And I have had some lovely replies to such letters/ cards/ emails from friends opening their hearts to me in return. What a precious gift friendship is, and, when it is accompanied by a shared faith and love for Jesus, it is doubly valued. We can encourage one another on the Christian path just as Paul and the Philippians did over 2000 years ago, whether we hand write the card or letter, or use more modern means such as emails and texts.
Prayer – God our Father, we thank you for the various ways we can keep in touch with friends and others we value. And we thank you for Paul’s letters to the early church which give us such a clear picture of how things were for them as they worked out how to be your church. May we learn from them in our 21st century mission. Amen.