Monday December 3rd 1 Corinthians 16:20

"Greet one another with a holy kiss."

This short little command in 1 Corinthians 16:20 stopped me in my tracks as I read it today.  It is used in Romans 16:16 and again in 2 Corinthians 13:12. What does this mean: "A holy kiss"? 

The first thing that came to my mind was another greeting we have already read about that involved a kiss…

Matthew 26:48-49
Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him."  Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him.

This was most certainly not a greeting given with a "holy kiss" attached to it.  Judas' kiss was one of betrayal that stemmed from a heart that was self seeking, self motivated, self promoting, greedy, un-pure, lacking love, lacking understanding, lacking grace, full of pride and sin.  It was a kiss disguised as pure and from a friend but was anything but (Proverbs 27:6).

So back to today's command that has truly struck me:

 "Greet one another with a holy kiss."

Was Paul speaking to the motivation behind the greeting?  Was he speaking to the literal heart of the issue?  Was he trying to say that our actions, our lives should be lived towards each other every day in a manor that is a refection of Christ, the Holy Lamb of God, the unblemished one.  To hold a grudge in ones heart, to live with disdained thoughts towards another, to possess biased judgment of another's words or actions, to hoard our forgiveness, to masquerade as gracious towards others when our hearts and heads are filled with ill will causes our greetings to be no better then that of Judas.

We live in a very critical and judgmental society.  We can kiss each other on the cheek with a smile and tell each other how happy we are to see you while in our minds we are tearing apart the hideous flowered shirt you are wearing with pride.  We greet with kisses while the hurt of something that person said months ago burns in our minds.  We give a kiss and a hug and congratulate others on another amazing accomplishment while the jealousy from our own failures and shortcomings snuff out any joy we actual may have had for them.  Feel free to add you own, the list could definitely go on.

To be holy means to be pure, unblemished, set apart from sin.  To give a greeting with a holy kiss is to do so with purity of heart.  No blemish of anger or jealousy to cause a wrinkle of impurity.  It is to keep our hearts clean from the sins of judgments upon others and to leave it filled with love (love covers a multitude of sins 1 Peter 4:8). 

Why tell us to greet with a "holy kiss"?

Look at what Paul was teaching about in 1 Corinthians up to this point:

Unity, diversity, importance of each member of the church, loyalties, yielding self, responsibilities towards the weak, self-discipline, warnings regarding over confidence, self indulgence, the destruction of division, and pride.  He taught about the greatness, the longevity, the qualities of love and it's importance to each believer's life.

Paul was teaching the Corinthians (and each of us) the dangers that can ensnare the heart and that could become a poison to our relationships, our unity, our ministries and the church as a whole.   The dangers of a heart left blemished.

Why tell us to greet with a "holy kiss"?

This greeting was challenging us, or it should be challenging us to check our hearts with every encounter we have.  Have we left a door to sin open in our hearts?  Are we approaching people like Judas: looking friendly and Godly on the outside while inside we are breeding division?  Are we greeting others with a mask to hide the pride filled hearts that lay within us? 

Love.  It covers a multitude of sins as Peter told us.  Christ's love displayed on the cross was his holy greeting to us to come and experience that love.  To come and be forgiven.  There was nothing hidden in his heart that differed from what was displayed on that cross.  Likewise we need to let that love (and forgiveness) fill our lives and cause us to be free from sin, free from judgments, free from hurts and then give to others exactly what we just experienced.  Hold arms wide open with nothing hidden in our hearts and welcome and greet each person, even the sandpaper people in our lives, with a holy kiss.

We can't do this unless we first experience Christ's for ourselves!!!