Day 46 - the kiss of a friend

 Today a couple of friends of ours John and Lou turned up with their van to help us shift furniture out of our rented house and into the farm where Keith grew up.  John jumped out of the van when they arrived and charged towards me to plant a big kiss on my cheek.  He has always done this since the first time I met him (Id met and loved his wife a while before I met him)  John is a cheeky chap with a twinkle in his eye and I suspect he kisses most of the women he knows.  But he is also a kind and lovely friend and it always tickles me immensely when he greets me with a kiss.  He isnt a Christian.  And that's funny isnt it, because we, the church, are actually encouraged to greet each other with a kiss and so seldom do.  Ive just been to look up the verse for that and to my surprise discover that there are five different occasions in the New Testament when we are told to greet each other with a kiss!  Who knew?  (Romans 16;16,  1 Cor 16;20  2Cor 13;12,  1Thes 5;26  1Peter 5;14)  The Bible stresses that the greeting should be a holy kiss.  Not just an ordinary kiss but a holy one.  What is a holy kiss??  Hmmmmmm........

The word ' holy' in the Greek is the same word used of the Holy Spirit and the holy place etc. Meaning 'set apart' ' distinctly for God'  'divinely special'.  I suppose it means that we should be greeting each other lovingly and tenderly but without a hint of lust or selfishness. A holy kiss is a giving not a taking I think. And thats what a kiss between friends is - its an expression of love without agenda.



All of this pondering takes me to Judas and Jesus in the garden.  I presume that Judas had kissed Jesus often.  It was his normal form of greeting. (Interesting - when was the last time you saw a man kiss another man as a 'hello'  ?  I know its a cultural thing as well, but its a 5 times Biblical instruction so.....) Judas's kiss was not a holy kiss. It was a calculated entrapment. It was the last kiss Jesus was ever to receive and that makes me sad.  He had been so loved by His disciples, his family, his female followers and his many friends.  If their common form of greeting was to kiss each other then He must have been kissed many many times by people who loved him.  But His last kiss was a betrayal. 😔  Every single moment of the last days of Jesus's life are sore and difficult and awful.  I wonder if Jesus kissed Judas back.  I expect He did because His love for His friend Judas was pure and holy even in the midst of the unfolding tragedy.

There are levels of intimacy in touching (forgive me if Ive said this before). A handshake is a formal gesture which implies a distant relationship. A slap on the back or a hand on the arm is a very casual and non-threatening touch.  A hug is usually an expression of empathy or affection.  We rarely hug people we dont know or like. Touching someone's head ( a pat on the head or a ruffle of the hair) is more intimate. We dont touch peoples heads in general unless we are close to them. Holding hands is even closer.  Putting our lips on someone's cheek or hand is a sign that we love that person.  Both of us touching lips together takes the relationship from friendship into romance.  Its a completely unspoken set of rules but we all seem to instinctively understand them - and understand when someone behaves inappropriately in any of these scenarios.

I wonder if the reason the New Testament epistle writers exhorted us to greet one another with a holy kiss is because ''By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (Jn 13;35)  A kiss is an outward sign of love and it is so lovely to see people who genuinely care about each other express their feelings unapologetically.  A few years ago I was in a shopping precinct and watched a man in his late 40s race across the square and sweep a 60 something year old lady into his arms in the most enormous hug which was greeted by squeals of delight from the lady. The unadulterated joy in the encounter was so wonderful to witness. It was a holy moment. So good. 

Tomorrow we celebrate the best news in the history of the world with the people we are going to spend eternity with. If there is a day to express our love and joy tomorrow is it.  I dare you to greet your church family with a holy kiss tomorrow.  MCC watch out! 😁😘😘😘

Ooooh and look. I just found this pic of my pastor and his wife on her facebook profile ( so Im pretty sure its already out there and she wont mind me sharing it.)  How cute is this ?



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