First, I’ve changed to the name of this blog (slightly) from “Pastor Matt’s Musings” to “Pastor Matt’s Meditations.” This seems fitting. While I enjoy the work and role of the muse, in Ancient Greek thought they were considered the source of knowledge, spirits that inspired the creation of literature and the arts. And while I love the creative gifts I have been given by the Holy Spirit, I think the vocation of pastor is more one of meditation, of a disciplined turning of our attention to something other than ourselves, something outside of ourselves. It is the hard work of being attentive to the Triune God.
While I reserve the right to “muse” on occasion, I hope what you will find here most weeks are meditations.
Early this Resurrection Day morning I’d like to reflect on the good old handwritten letter. Yesterday I purchased something I don’t purchase much anymore: stamps. (Are they really almost 50 cents?!) I like chosing stamps with care, and this is partly because I am have a high regard for the handwritten letter.
Like you, most mail I get consists of catalogs, magazines, bills and “preformatted” mail of various kinds: credit card offers and the weekly ad circular. I rejoice, however, every time I get a hand-written envelope. Perhaps it is because they have become so rare. Perhaps it is because they have a “weight” to them that ephemeral email messages do not. Perhaps we are tactile creatures deep in our DNA.
The main reason I love handwritten letters is that they are personal. They are not the same letter copied over and over again and sent out to everyone in town. Instead they come addressed and intended for us personally.
In a world that has mass-produced and mass-marketed just about everything, the handwritten letter is a breath of fresh air.