Saturday-Greetings

She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

1 Peter 5:13,14

Greetings are one of those things where there are very few rules. Some people silently bow while others shake hands and nod their head. Some hand shakers are more forward, they squeeze your hand like a vice. And then there are those people that hug everyone.

All of this changed during COVID. If there was going to be any touching, fist bumps were the order of the day. Shaking hands stopped almost immediately and hugging was almost a reportable offence to the police.

No matter the tradition, no matter the “how”, greetings are part of everyday life. It’s when we recognize someone else and tell them that they have value. That they are important.

Isn’t that something that we all want? To have people tell us that we’re important. That we have value. That we’re worth the trouble of someone stopping by and spending time with. Talking with us. Sharing with us.

And while receiving a greeting is great, there’s something that makes it even more valuable. More important. More exciting and memorable. That’s when someone actually listens to us. They take the time to stop and give us their undivided attention. They look in our eyes and take in every word. Every movement in our face. Every gesture with our hands.

I used to be one of those people that tried to say “Hi” to as many people as possible. I’d zoom in and out of small gatherings of people, saying hello to no one in particular, but they say my face and heard my voice. I thought that was enough.

But I’ve changed my mind about the whole greeting thing. Instead of lots of short and meaningless contacts, I’ve gone in the totally opposite direction. When I stop to greet someone, they have my total attention. It’s like the rest of the world goes silent as I totally focus on this one person. I know that I’ll meet a whole lot less people, but I’m OK with that. Instead of volume, I’ll get to go deeper with a few. And that’s more meaningful for both them and me.

Here’s how I think about it. When it came to healing and saving people, Jesus seemed to do it mostly one person at a time. Yes, he fed 5,000 at a time, but most of his serving people was one by one. Even at the last supper with his disciples, they received the bread and the cup one at a time.

Isn’t this how Peter sends greetings? They come from one person at a time. First is the sister who’s living in Babylon. She was a long way off. And then greetings come from Mark, who’s Peter’s son in the faith. One by one Peter lists them. This gives his readers time to think about them individually and all their memories with them.

And talk about one at a time, isn’t that how we kiss? Our lips can only kiss one person at a time. It’s a deeply personal connection. Just like it’s impossible to kiss a bunch of people at a time, we should greet people as individuals too.

But this isn’t just any kind of kiss. This is a kiss of love. It’s a kind of kiss that wants nothing but the best for the other person. This kiss has nothing to do with the person giving it, it’s all about the person being kissed.

Think about all the people you know. Now, how many of them do you want nothing but the absolute best for them? How many of these people are you willing to give up everything for? There’s no mountain so high that you wouldn’t climb for them. No river so wide that you wouldn’t swim for them. No price too big that you wouldn’t pay it for them.

You see, there’s love and then there’s love. Most of what’s called love today is nothing more than selfishness with a very thin coat of fresh paint. At the first sign of trouble, or when things start to get hard, it scratches or gets dirty. Since it’s no longer perfect, people immediately leave and go after another. Followed by another. And another.

The funny thing is that while most people aren’t afraid to leave, they get really angry and hurt when someone leaves them. They can abandon people at the drop of hat, but it’s totally unfair when it happens to them.

God’s kind of love isn’t like this at all. Because he doesn’t change, his love doesn’t change either. He remains totally committed to us. He’s always on our side. His love is an everlasting love[1]. His love is unfailing[2]. This doesn’t mean that God’s not hurt or disappointed when we go against him. Because he is love[3], his overall desire for us is wanting nothing but the best. Isn’t this the kind of God that we desperately want? Not a God that demands perfection in all we do and say. Not a God who sets the bar so high that it’s impossible for us to please him. He’s a loving Heavenly Father that wants only the best for you and me. Since he had to pay the price for our sin, he was willing to come and die on the cross. Now, that’s a love we all can wrap ourselves in. A love that changes everything. A love that comes after us. And our job is to receive it.

Noodling Questions

• What makes a really great goodbye?

• How hard is saying goodbye to someone you haven’t seen in a long time?

• Why can God greet us like the loving Heavenly Father that he is?

[1] Jeremiah 31:3

[2] Isaiah 54:10

[3] 1 John 4:16