Kissing in the Church
John and Mary sitting in a pew,
K-I-S-S-I-N-G!
I was reading 2 Cor 13 yesterday and came across this instruction from Paul:
I read the commentary that my Study Bible offers and I felt that the explaination was extremely weak. Basically it likened the holy kiss to the handshake that we use in the western world. Why would Paul instruct people to greet one another with a 'handshake'? I have no problem shaking anyones hand...hey if someone wants to shake my hand then I am Ok with it!
But a Holy Kiss?
I then went on to think about how our community would respond to this: "Hey everybody, from now on we are going to greet one another with a Holy Kiss!" After getting over the awkwardness of it all, I would imagine it would break down a lot of the barriers that we often encounter in community.
Maybe in the western world it would display a love that not many are familiar with? Maybe it would deepen our love for one another, it would strengthen and encourage mutual honour and respect and maybe it would be easier for people to recognise us as disciples of Christ. (Now I know that this love is not meant to be an exterior thing, I am just trying to prove a point!)
Should we take this instruction seriously? Or should we be selective and be obedient to the things that we are comfortable with, like not looking at another man's wife with lustful eyes?
Anyone up for a Holy Kiss?
K-I-S-S-I-N-G!
I was reading 2 Cor 13 yesterday and came across this instruction from Paul:
Greet one another with a holy kiss. (v12)
I read the commentary that my Study Bible offers and I felt that the explaination was extremely weak. Basically it likened the holy kiss to the handshake that we use in the western world. Why would Paul instruct people to greet one another with a 'handshake'? I have no problem shaking anyones hand...hey if someone wants to shake my hand then I am Ok with it!
But a Holy Kiss?
I then went on to think about how our community would respond to this: "Hey everybody, from now on we are going to greet one another with a Holy Kiss!" After getting over the awkwardness of it all, I would imagine it would break down a lot of the barriers that we often encounter in community.
Maybe in the western world it would display a love that not many are familiar with? Maybe it would deepen our love for one another, it would strengthen and encourage mutual honour and respect and maybe it would be easier for people to recognise us as disciples of Christ. (Now I know that this love is not meant to be an exterior thing, I am just trying to prove a point!)
Should we take this instruction seriously? Or should we be selective and be obedient to the things that we are comfortable with, like not looking at another man's wife with lustful eyes?
Anyone up for a Holy Kiss?
posted by Shane at 10:09 am
<< Home