Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Greetings


“Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints send their greetings.” (II Corinthians 13:12-13 NIV)

I was coming out of the Student Union yesterday on my way to my car when I passed a student heading toward the building.  Making eye contact with me, he flashed a wide smile and asked me how I was doing.  I had never met this man and, to my knowledge, had never seen him before. Yet, there he was greeting me with a big smile.  It was so refreshing. Why?  Because it happens so rarely in our culture.  I meet people daily in hallways and on sidewalks who will walk past me with eyes turned down or away, never acknowledging me.  

I always try to make eye contact with people when I encounter them one-on-one in a public place, whether it is on a sidewalk or hallway, as I pass by them, offering a greeting, a smile, or a nod as a way of acknowledging them as human beings, creatures of God.  More often than not, there is no eye contact in return and we pass as if we are unaware of each other.

Greeting one another is a means by which we acknowledge and validate the existence of others, but we live in a culture that discourages this.  And this cultural bent has permeated the Church.  Every Sunday morning Christians, brothers and sisters, will walk by each other without ever greeting one another.  Many will come in, sit down, and never attempt to greet or talk with people sitting around them.  My wife and I have made our way from church parking lots into buildings, walking near others going in and passing others on their way out, and often are never greeted. Eyes are down or focused straight ahead.  

It is interesting that Paul and Peter stressed in their letters for Christians to greet one another.  The “holy kiss” was merely a way, like many Europeans do, to acknowledge one another and express appreciation. We don’t need necessarily to “kiss” one another, but it does seem greeting one another should have more emphasis in our daily lives.  

As followers of Jesus we are not to mimic the world, but rather be salt and light in it.  A simple step in that direction is in validating the existence of each other.  

Today, look for people to acknowledge with a greeting, a smile, or just a nod.  And this Sunday, or when next you gather with a group of Christians, greet those around you and those you pass in the hallway or parking lot.  They deserve acknowledgement because they are of great value to God.   

© Jim Musser 2013

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