One of the highlights of lambing season is the sheer amount of kissin’ and cuddlin’ going on. Lambs kiss the shepherds, shepherds kiss the lambs, lambs kiss each other, the mommas kiss their lambs, the lambs kiss their mommas. It’s a Kissfest, every day, all day, until one day, the lambs discover that they can butt heads too. Sometimes it’s in play, sometimes it’s territorial, sometimes they’re just puffed up and blowing off steam.
I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the head-butting going on in our culture these days. From politics to pronouns to everything in between, there’s no shortage of hostility, conflict, and division. Putting on the “helmet of salvation” (Eph. 6:17) is so very important to the modern Christian, for it protects our mind and allows us to remain Christ-centered in our thoughts and moral convictions amid the chaos and confusion.
The early Christians experienced their fair share of head-butting as well, both from external forces as well as from within their own ranks as they tried to navigate a new Church formed by a new covenant with Christ. It’s no wonder that the apostles Paul and Peter frequently exhorted in their letters to believers to “greet one another with a holy kiss” (St. Peter calls it a “kiss of love.”) Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14.
In Biblical times, a kiss on one or both cheeks, brother to brother, and sister to sister, was a common expression of love, unity, and respect between family members, as well as between friends and toward those held in high esteem (teachers, etc.). So when St. Paul encourages the early Christians to offer one another not just a kiss but a "holy" kiss, he's asking those gathered to recognize and greet one another as true brothers and sisters in Christ. The “holiness” comes from Christ, not from ourselves, for in Him we live, move, have our being, and become holy, individually and collectively. The entire purpose of a holy kiss is to strengthen and express existing unity — or to create a spirit of unity where it is lacking or altogether absent.
So, what does that mean for people on “the other side of the aisle,” “the opposing side of the argument” or “the far side of the dinner table” (there’s one or two at every holiday gathering)? It means that we offer a holy kiss despite our differences in the hope that the sincerity of our love for them in Christ will promote unity, peace, understanding, and forgiveness.
Sounds a little far-fetched, I know. The stakes are high. Our fighting spirit is alive and well. We want justice, righteousness, and vindication before the Kissfest. But that’s simply not the way of Christ.
“You have heard how it was said: You will love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say this to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even the tax collectors do as much? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Do not even the gentiles do as much? You must therefore be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48
Or in other words: Greet one another (everyone) with a holy kiss.
In a post-Covid world, in changing times, conventions, cultural norms and divisions, a true, physical “holy kiss” may not be possible or practical. However, we honor the spirit of this command every time we truly and sincerely love our enemies, pray for our persecutors, and love those who do not love us. The real and eternal stakes have never been higher, for in that same passage above, there is a clear condition: so that you may be children of your Father in heaven.
The battering rams are everywhere. But take heart, flock of Christ, and put on your helmet of salvation, for it's this same Father who promises to be our Vindicator in every time, place, and generation.
Moses answered the people, “Do not fear! Stand your ground and see the victory the LORD will win for you today … The LORD will fight for you; you have only to keep still.” ~ Ex. 14:14
Our marching orders are clear: Do not fear. Stand your ground. See. Keep still.
And greet one another with a holy kiss — for we are the children of God.
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