Recently in one of our Bible Study classes, there was a light discussion on the holy kiss and its significance. Usually, when we make reference to a kiss as it relates to the Bible, we automatically think about Judas and how he betrayed Jesus with the kiss of death. However, the apostle Peter and others shed greater light on the subject.
It is amazing how COVID has changed the behavior and attitudes of people in general. In this writing, there will be emphasis on how the pandemic in 2020 changed the behavior of worshippers in the Church. There was a time when the Church felt like a real family and fellowship, a period when Christians really did know and love one another. It is a tragedy that the modern-day Church, some with large congregations, who do not know each other and has no desire to familiarize themselves with others. We have pretty much gotten away from giving each other a holy hug or holy kiss during worship. As a matter of fact, in some instances, a holy kiss or holy hug may even be detested.
During the inception of COVID, we felt endangered when getting too close to a person because the disease was contagious and deadly. Here we are six years later and the disease still exist, but it is not as severe or dangerous as it was in the early stages. Unfortunately, we have not regained that feeling of love and closeness we once had for one another.
1 Peter 5:14 says, “Greet each other with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all that are in Christ.” Historians have revealed that for centuries, the kiss was an integral and precious part of Christian fellowship and worship. However, over the years, the kiss of love and peace has just about been extinguished. There was a time when some modern churches devoted a time during worship service for reconciliation. If there were two people or others who needed to forgive each other, for whatever reason, time was set aside for them to do so and seal the act of forgiveness with a hug or maybe a kiss on the cheek. Please do not misconstrue or misinterpret the point. This is not an attempt to reinstitute the kiss in the Church, but it is meant to cause us to pause and ask the question, “Do we as Christians really care about each other and love each other as the Good Book suggest?” In Genesis 33:4 we witness a kiss of reconciliation: Esau kissed Jacob, marking forgiveness after years of conflict. In Luke 15:20, we witness a kiss of restoration: The father kissed the returning prodigal son, demonstrating grace, acceptance, and unconditional love.
In the early church the kiss became an essential part of Christian worship. With the Jews it was the custom for a disciple to kiss his Rabbi on the cheek and to lay his hands upon his shoulder. We may remember that Judas did just that to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The story may be found in Mark 14:44. The kiss was a greeting of welcome and respect, and it is evident that Jesus valued it, for he was grieved when it was not given to him as stated in Luke 7:45. It reads, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet.”
Sadly, this lovely custom has been abused and has placed the Church in an uncomfortable and awkward position. Athenagoras, a Christian apologist said, “the kiss must be given with the greatest of care, for “if there be mixed with it the least defilement of thought, it excludes us from eternal life.” It sounds like the wrong intent behind our holy kiss may cause us to miss out on heaven.
If the kiss is administered in its proper context, it can send a powerful message. In the Bible, a kiss can symbolize love, loyalty, honor, reconciliation and even betrayal. Whatever our reason is for the kiss, let’s make sure we remember that the power is not in the kiss itself, rather the heart behind it.
If we know that persons do not welcome a kiss, be it holy or otherwise, let us respect the position of that person. Hopefully and prayerfully the Church, our homes and communities will be the places that exemplify love for all God’s children.
Just my thoughts!
Robert Earl Slade, Pastor
