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The Holy Kiss
Greet one another with a holy kiss (Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26) or as Peter says, “a kiss of love” 1 Peter 5:14).
I have concluded that:
1) the general circumstance is greeting one another;
2) the cultural method is kissing;
3) the spiritual and specific command is to be contrary to culture by greeting one another with a holy kiss.
4) the eternal principle is “be holy for I am holy”.
The point is not should we greet one another, because that is just a common act of courtesy. People greet others they don’t even know. The point is not to kiss one another, because again that was just a common act of greeting. The command is to be holy in the kiss or greeting. I really like Stephen Scaggs connection to the kiss of Judas. If so, then the holy kiss might not even be contrasted with sensual kissing (which was not the norm for a greeting); but holy in the sense of sincere, loving, blessing, and relational. A modern example would be when two people are having an argument and a mediator says at the end, “OK, apologize and shake hands. Or, at the beginning of a boxing match, the referee says, “Shake hands and come out fighting.” The point is, the shaking hands is supposed to be about obeying the rules of the game, not just to shake – or touch gloves.
If this is the specific application and counter-culture reaction, then it affects us even more than we realize. When we shake hands with a brother or sister in Christ, what is our attitude towards our brother or sister?
1) Are we holding a grudge?
2) Are we jealous?
3) Are we gossiping about them?
4) Are we holding on to unresolved issues?
5) Are we wishing something other than good towards them?
This is getting personal, isn’t it?! So, greet one another with holiness in our hearts.
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