Final Exhortations, Greetings, and Benediction

12 But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters,^* to respect those who labour among you, and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you;¹³esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.¹⁴And we urge you, beloved,^* to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them.¹⁵See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.¹⁶Rejoice always,¹⁷pray without ceasing,¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.¹⁹Do not quench the Spirit.²⁰Do not despise the words of prophets,^*21but test everything; hold fast to what is good;²²abstain from every form of evil.

23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound^* and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.²⁴The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

25 Beloved,^* pray for us.

26 Greet all the brothers and sisters^* with a holy kiss.²⁷I solemnly command you by the Lord that this letter be read to all of them.^*

28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.^*

Rev, Dr. Ian Paisley

Peace, hard work, encouragement, help, patience, repaying good for evil, joy-the community Paul wants sounds a attractive place to be. We might also like the early church custom of the holy kiss. I think its compulsory use across all branches of the Christian Church would break down many barriers: the Pope would have to kiss Rev. Ian Paisley; Michelle Bachman would have to kiss President Obama; Archbishop Rowan Williams would have to kiss those who voted against women bishops; gay-hating Bishop Kalu of Mombasa would have to kiss gay (ex) Bishop Gene Robinson – oh I reckon many interesting changes would come about!

Of course it should be used to greet strangers as well as friends. This might surprise some visitors to churches but more pleasantly than the weary formality with which they are often received today. It might also be more attractive to young people. So, let’s bring kissing back into the church where, according to St Paul, it belongs.

Pope

Yes, yes, I know: there’s another kiss in the Christian tradition, the Judas kiss by which Jesus is betrayed. Well, I think even at that, Jesus would rather be betrayed by a kiss than a tweet; and Giotto’s fresco of this kiss indicates both cunning and astonished regret in the face of Judas.

I’m certainly not advocating the kind of glutinous emotionalism found in some fellowships but rather a sign by which believers may recognise and welcome each other’s common humanity under God.