The New Testament letters are filled with greetings: greetings from the authors, greetings passed along, and instructions to greet others. It is easy to overlook these statements because they seem natural. They may seem unimportant or trivial. Certainly greeting people and passing along greetings is (or should be) natural and common. It is also something Christians have in common with unbelievers—people greet one another to be friendly.
However, more than regurgitating a list of "say hi to so-and-so for me," Paul and Peter instruct their readership to greet one another.
A Holy Kiss
In many of the instructions to greet one another, the Christians were to do so with a kiss (Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14) A kiss on the cheek was the typical greeting of the Middle Eastern cultures of the time as well as others. Although likely originally on the cheek there is evidence from Augustine as well as the iconography to suggest Christians practiced a kiss on the mouth. Other common practices include a kiss on the forehead or hand. A kiss is the typical greeting throughout much of the world to this day. In cultures where kissing is the anticipated greeting, it is often considered a deliberately unfriendly to deny someone without an explanation (such as a sickness). We can see that this was the case from Jesus’ indictment of Simon the Pharisees who invited him over for a meal and neglected to kiss him. (Luke 7:44-47)
People showed their acceptance of one another and acknowledged familial and social bonds through a kiss. To the apostles this meant that those within the church needed to demonstrate this same cultural sign of family and loving acceptance to one another. The church adapted the cultural greeting of the day. After all, by our love we show we are of Jesus (John 13:35); so the church must be characterized by a friendly love recognizable by the world around them.
The meaning of the passage for the audience Paul and Peter were writing to was to greet one another with a kiss. The overall point of these passages was to greet one another with the culturally accepted greeting of the day. A greeting that would display love and community. The meaning of the passage for us should be to greet one another with our culturally equivalent greeting. In America that is probably a hug or a handshake, a clasp on the shoulder or a pat on the back. In much of the world it still is a kiss. The intent of the passage can be observed just as faithfully with another greeting.
Why not just say "greet one another" instead of "greet one another with a kiss" if the kiss isn't necessary? First of all, in that culture, it was necessary. The absence of such a kiss was considered unfriendly or insulting as we see with Jesus and Simon the Pharisee. Second, Paul and Peter were being practical and specific with their instruction to the first century churches. In modern America, it would be more helpful and more effective to tell people to "Shake one anothers' hands" or even "hug each other" than saying "be friendly" in a sermon. The specific instruction helps people to actually do something friendly.
Greeting and the Gospel
The gospel is that we are all broken and condemned by sin, but that Jesus took our condemnation upon himself on the cross. We are called to repent and taste of forgiveness. We are all equally dead in sin prior to redemption—all equally separated from God. After redemption we are all equally alive, and equally children of God. We walk as children of God, and brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.
Greeting everyone equally and frequently, whether they are a friend, a church member you barely know (or wish you didn’t know), or a believer from another church; the gospel places us all on common ground. We are undeserving sinners God has loved and forgiven.
God through Christ has forgiven us much, and has welcomed us with the arms of a gracious Heavenly Father. We should welcome one another, without prejudice or preference (James 2; Galatians 2), not denying the hand of fellowship.
Greeting one another acknowledges the community we are called into through redemption. It acknowledges that we are designed to help one another and carry each others' burdens. Greeting one another does more than acknowledge this bond, it helps to establish and reinforce it. We are to love, honor, admonish, and encourage one another. (John 13:34-35; Romans 12:10; Colossians 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:11) This is the living out of the gospel. As John strove to drive home in his gospel account and all his letters, the loving communal care of believers for each other is the primary characteristic of a disciple. There are no Christians who are not called to be disciples.
Just as in Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving debtor in Matthew 18 and the principle of forgiveness in Ephesians 4:32, if we receive God’s welcome and refuse welcome to others, we are not being faithful to the generosity of what we have received.
We should also greet visiting unbelievers (although that is not taught directly in these passages), because they are called and welcomed to join us in believing in and following Jesus. We also appropriately greet people as we live in the world because we are called to show love and kindness to those Jesus calls our neighbors (Luke 10).
So greet each other with a friendly and affectionate greeting.
Under Grace,
John Fritz
John Fritz is the Volunteer Coordinator for Thoughtful Life Ministries and the primary author of the Thoughtful Life Journal, which is published weekly from March through September. The purpose of this blog is to challenge and encourage those who have a desire to cultivate a more meaningful walk with Christ. Visit our Homepage to learn more about the ministry and our annual two-week summer Discipleship Program for teens and young adults.