Ink and stone, Spirit and heart, screen and...

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 2 Corinthians 3.3

20 years ago internet communication was in its infancy. On an operational deployment aboard the Commando Carrier, HMS Ocean, we were allowed to submit a single sentence per week for the ship's signallers to send home. Replies came in a long print-out which the same signallers chopped with scissors and distributed accordingly. The news from home was not always good and so it could be a busy time for chaplains, dealing with the fall-out!

Communication is crucial to all the circles in which we move, from the tight family bond to our social and professional networks. So how much effort do we invest in how and when we communicate? In his second letter to the church in Corinth, Paul contrasts writing letters in ink on tablets of stone with heart to heart connection enabled through the Holy Spirit. The apostle is not appreciating the Corinthians' skill at broadcasting their message so much as they way in which they, themselves are living out that message.

The task we face is how to so embody the Good News of Jesus that it comes across in all of our communication, whether remote or in person, by letter or on screen...