An Holy Kiss

Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.

1 Thess. 5:26

There come times when you encounter a direct statement in Scripture and due to it not being practiced in your setting it becomes nuanced to the point where it doesn’t directly say much. We deduce a general principle from the statement and from there we stand as peaceably as we know how when we consider such texts. We know that even today there are cultures where a kiss to the cheek, or both cheeks, is a friendly or even a formal greeting, Greece comes to mind. Here in the States we tend to settle with the handshake and perhaps a hug. In our church settings we are told to extend the right hand of fellowship to believers and so we reason that the principle of the holy kiss is met by such a greeting. However, a handshake is not the same thing as a kiss, ask your wife. Perhaps, think with me, that what is recorded in Scripture which we often understand to be cultural norms are actually the kind of cultural norms that God desires. Head coverings, as another example, are today in Evangelicalism not only seen as something that is not necessary but something that, if a woman started wearing one to church, would throw up warning signs of ‘legalism’. Yes, that dirty word you attribute to anyone seeking to follow the Scriptures a bit more closely than yourself. But let’s ponder this together. Would it be odd to see a woman come to the Lord’s Day service with her head covering on? What if the church she is in covenant with is one with fog machines, stage lights, 'aesthetic' yet purposeless props, Stratocasters, Yamahas, big screens and a coffee shop just outside the sanctuary? Why does her placement in that setting seem a bit out of place? If you’re saying she would fit in just fine replace that image of some young blue haired girl covering her head with some fun and crazy dew rag with a nun from the Conception Abbey or one of the local Amish women. Now you get the point.

So what does this mean? Is it all just cultural shifts that move to and fro or is there a significance in how we greet one another and how we dress beyond vague generalities? Women are told not to adorn themselves in certain ways and I am quite happy to even reduce this to liturgical practice and not a practice across all social settings. What if the most God-honoring church culture is the one that does greet with an actual holy kiss, or where the women wear head coverings? Obviously the outside of the cup is not as important as the inside but Christ did say “cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also” (Matt. 23:26). Notice Christ did not ignore the outside of the cup but its priority is not first. The tithes the Pharisees were paying were not clean. This is not because God did not want them to pay tithes but because the inside was dirty, they were extortionists. So too it is not impossible today to apply the same standards to head coverings or greetings. A holy kiss could be an unclean kiss, Judas comes to mind, but it shouldn't be weird that a clean heart leads to a clean holy kiss. “Cleanse first the inside…that the outside may be clean also.” So it’s not that Christ has no concern about the outside of the cup. In fact he wants the inside clean so that the outside will be clean.

Reduced to Nothing

There are more and more denominations that are interpreting the prohibition of women pastors as a cultural practice and not yukio be understood as a standard for all of church history. I would venture to say that their women stopped wearing head coverings years before they cashme to this position. What’s the connection? Headship. Head coverings are an expression of the submission of the wife to her husband. You know how complementarians argue from 1 Timothy 2 where Paul says “I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man” and then  gleefully point out that Paul ties this to creation itself to make the point that it is an abiding standard? Well, Paul does the same thing when he talks of head coverings. “For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of man. For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels” (1 Cor. 11:7–10). If the argument stands for the passage in 1 Timothy then is there a possibility it might hold true for 1 Corinthians? Imagine the shock the next time someone brings up head coverings and how it’s tied to creation to show that you are inconsistent in handling 1 Timothy and you don’t fold but simply say, “Yeah, women should wear head coverings.” I am not suggesting head coverings and women pastors are the same thing but both are handled the same way. Both have to do with headship and authority. So imagine that scenario again with the modern worship service and in comes a woman with a head covering only this time image the ‘pastor’ is a woman. Still see that Amish woman fitting right in? Didn’t think so. 

God Directs Culture

Cultures do change and the varying differences in cultures are actually something that is quite beautiful when it is redeemed. For out of every tribe, tongue and nation praise is given to God. And while it is true I love a good Irish melody and the drums of African music and there are real nuances that every culture will bring to the throne room, we all read from the same book and it gives us the same cultural guidance. Perhaps the holy kiss is intended to be cross-cultural. In honesty, I am asking you to consider these things with me. Is it possible that what we have interpreted as optional cultural practices are actually the kind of cultural practices that God desires? What say you?