07/05/2009 - by Chuck Monan, Preaching Minister

Greet one another with a holy kiss.  All the churches of Christ send greetings. ~ Rom. 16:16

We like the last part of this passage.  We aren’t really sure what to do with the first part.

The “holy kiss” was a standard way the early Christians greeted each other (1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 12:12; 1 Thess. 5:26; 1 Pet. 5:14).  It had more significance than the greeting of the handshake that is commonly practiced today.  In ancient times this greeting was an expression of love and religious solidarity, which explains Jesus’ offence at Judas using a kiss to identify him.  He had taken something holy and made it unholy.

Over time the practice was generally discontinued, much like foot-washing.  If someone were to wander through the church building today kissing everyone in sight, we would wonder what Richard Dawson was doing in Little Rock. A revival of the Family Feud, perhaps?

But for those who are left cold by handshakes, there is hope on the way.  It seems for many teenagers these days, hello means “How about a hug?”

Beth J. Harpaz is the mother of two boys, 11 and 16, and has written a new book 13 Is the New 18.  She marvels at the new greeting ritual of the hug:

It’s a wordless custom, from what I’ve observed.  And there doesn’t seem to be any other overt way in which they acknowledge knowing each other.  No hi, no smile, no wave, no high-five - just the hug.  Witnessing this interaction always makes me feel like I am a tourist in a country where I do not know the customs and cannot speak the language.

It is interesting that a generation so steeped in hands-off virtual communication would be so eager to hug.  Dona Eichner, the mother of freshman and junior girls in Montvale, N.J., wonders “maybe it’s because all these kids do is text and go on Facebook so they don’t even have human contact anymore.  I hug people I’m close to.  But now you’re hugging people you don’t even know.  Hugging used to mean something.”

Well.

We don’t greet one another with a holy kiss anymore ... you can’t go around indiscriminately putting bear hugs on folks ... handshakes may or may not convey a warm greeting ...

At least we can still smile at each other.  So far as I know, there aren’t any laws against it, no cultural approbation discouraging it, no impropriety associated with it ... and everyone feels better in the general vicinity of it.

Out where the handclasp’s a little stronger,
Out where the smile dwells a little longer,
That’s where the West begins.
~ Arthur Chapman