Churched
“Greet one another with a holy kiss.”
Paul was not able to be with his congregations when he wrote these words. He was in one place (prison). They were in another. (See Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12.) He wrote letters, had them sent (probably in secret) by a messenger, to the churches he loved so dearly.
It’s always been very interesting to me how important it was for Paul to make sure his congregations took care of one another. “Greet one another with a holy kiss” was another way of saying, “make sure you get close to one another so that you are able to make sure they are okay.”
[Side note: True story – in high school and college I would use these verses as biblical and spiritual rationale to kiss girlfriends. I would think to myself, “well, I need to obey Scripture!” I have since learned that is NOT what Paul intended. In true transparency, something told me then this wasn’t what Paul meant . . . but I went with it anyway. Pray for me. I need it. But at the same time, please recognize here how desperate I was! How I landed Katie I will NEVER – EVER know.]Â
Okay, back to the matter at hand. Pastor Paul wanted to make sure his people were taking care of one another. Checking in. Leaning in. Not just asking, “How are you?” But adding that all important extra word: “How are you, really?”
He wanted his congregations to be intimate. Not that kind of intimate. The real kind. Another way of understanding the word “intimacy” is this: “Into-Me-See.”** There is something hard-wired (God-wired) in all of us that longs to be seen. That longs to be known. To be truly intimate – in it’s genuine sense – is to see and be seen. To be known. To have someone see you. “Into-Me-See.” Intimacy.
Hopefully, we are beginning to get to the other side of the “stay at home” orders. Before long (God willing!), life will begin to get back to normal (whatever that will look like). Now, more than ever, we need to check on one another. We need to make ourselves available. We need to “see into” others and let others “see into” us. We need to “greet one another with a holy kiss.”
How do we do that while we are social distancing?
Pay attention to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Dial the number. Send a text. Write a note. Post a message.
If you pay attention to the Spirit, He is putting someone on your heart. He is prompting you to call someone. He is leading you to text someone. He is pushing you to write a handwritten note of encouragement to someone. He is softly tapping you on the shoulder after you read a post, telling you to send a private FB message. We can’t greet one another with a holy kiss right now. As a matter of fact, in our culture, we probably won’t ever do that (at least I won’t. . .that’s how preachers get fired!). We can’t hug right now. We can’t shake a hand or put arms around shoulders right now. But we can greet one another with a holy phone call. We can greet one another with a holy text. We can look into someone’s eyes with FaceTime or Zoom. We can slap a stamp on an envelope and walk to the mailbox.
Don’t ignore the Spirit’s prompting. He is the ultimate intimate one. He knows YOU (“Into-Me-See”) and he knows the person placed on your heart and mind.
So, who is the Holy Spirit prompting you to greet today? Don’t wait. Do it now.
Until We Can Greet Face to Face,
Pastor Matt
By way of reminder, be sure to go here to worship with West Franklin tomorrow morning (Sunday, April 19th). The BBC campus pastors are starting a new series through the Sermon on the Mount called “No Ordinary Sermon.” For further resources, check out West Franklin Talks on Monday (April 20th), go to my blog for more resources (on Monday), and look out for a link to be led in a time of prayer for the Persecuted Church by Josh Lynn (coming Wednesday, April 22nd).
**I cannot remember where I heard him say it, but this definition is not original with me. I heard it from Chip Dodd – probably on one of his podcasts, or in this book.
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