Since April 22 a lot of things have taken a backseat since my wife suffered a stroke. Not all has been bad news, and in an attempt to continue my assigned duty to write on "good news" instead of the bad news that bears down on us every day, I want to assure you the good news of my wife's stroke is "we are doing fine." First, of course, Jean (Mrs. Venrick) is taking her prescribed medicine faithfully and also receiving therapy twice a week as well as "doing her prescribed therapy" faithfully daily. Jean is responding very well to therapy and is still regarded as a "high level" patient; in fact, she has even begun another unassigned therapy of "playing the piano" even though, to her, her left hand sounds a bit like "a beginner" she is improving daily. So, while we are attempting to do "first things first" for a few weeks I beg your indulgence as I lean on a few friends to fill in for me occasionally on THE WORDWRIGHT page. Today's essay comes from the preacher who married us 56 years ago, BOB TINSKY, as we have known him. Bob is retired, from fifty-years "in the ministry" and he lives in Illinois

GREET ONE ANOTHER WITH A HOLY KISS?
OR A HEARTY HANDSHAKE
By Robert J. Tinsky
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� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � In I Corinthians 6:16 we are told that we should “greet one another with a holy kiss”.� In the commentary on this verse in the NIV Study Bible we learn that “Justin Martyr (A. D. 150) tells us that the holy kiss was a regular part of the worship service in his day.� It is still a practice in some churches.”� I have noticed that in some countries it still is customary to greet people with a kiss on both cheeks
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� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � While there are a few churches that insist on taking Paul’s suggestion literally, the majority of Christians feel that this was a cultural way of greeting and have substituted handshaking as the traditional form of greeting
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� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � We know from the Bible that the practice of greeting with a kiss goes way back in antiquity.� In Genesis 30 we learn that when Jacob first saw Rachel, who seven years later became his bride, he kissed her.� In that same chapter, however, we are told that when Rachel’s father, Laban, met Jacob for the first time he embraced him and kissed him.� I doubt that these were the romantic kinds of kisses that we are more familiar with today.� They probably were more like our modern “pecks on the cheek.”
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� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � I will let theologians who are more astute than I am argue about whether we should take the command to “greet one another with a kiss” literally or figuratively.� What I am wondering is how we ever came up with the idea of greeting each other with a handshake.� I guess I am not the only person who has been curious as to origin of this custom since I found several sites on the internet that endeavored to answer this question.� From what I discovered there does not seem to be any one definitive answer to this question.� Here are some of the possible answers to the question of how we first began the custom of greeting with a handshake that I have discovered:
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� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1. One answer is that in its oldest form it signified the handing of power from a god to an early ruler. This answer came from a person named Miranda who answers trivia questions via the internet.� � Let me quote from her answer.� She says that “a ritual in Babylonia which began around 1800 B. C. required that the king grasp the hands of a statue every year during the New Year’s festival, transferring authority for another year.� � The ceremony was so popular that when the Assyrians defeated and occupied Babylonia, the subsequent Assyrian kings adopted the ritual in case they offended the gods.” Miranda further states that this is reflected in the Egyptian verb “to give”, the hieroglyph for which is an extended hand.� � I am not sure, however, how this custom led to greeting people by shaking hands.
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� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2. Another more common answer to the question of how we came up with the idea of greeting with a handshake is that when a man met a stranger he would react by reaching for his dagger.� The stranger would also reach for his dagger and they would very carefully walk around each other.� When they finally came to the conclusion that neither one intended any harm to the other they would put their daggers back and then extend their hands as a sign of goodwill.
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� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3. Still another explanation that is similar to the previous one is that the handshake evolved from the custom of “pat down” to check a person to see if he was carrying any hidden weapons.� This may have led to a hearty handshaking to shake out any hidden weapons the other person may have concealed somewhere on his person.
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� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4. Margaret Visser in her book The Way We Are gives us an interesting explanation as to why handshaking has become customary in our more modern times.� She says that there was a time when English men would greet women with a kiss on the mouth.� This evidently was not popular with all the women (and probably not very popular with the men who were attached to those women).� Handshaking became a more socially acceptable form of greeting for both men and women.� At least it kept men and women at an arm’s length.� � �
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� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � Handshaking can be a lot more than a simple form of greeting.� If you have been on this planet for many years you can remember when deals were sealed with a simple handshake.� It was a way of saying, “We are agreed on the terms of this contract and I am giving you my word that I will keep my part of the bargain.”� � Wouldn’t it be great if everyone was honest enough that contracts could again be sealed with a simple handshake?
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� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � I am told that some business executives judge the quality of prospective employees by the way they shake hands.� According to one article I found on the internet “it must be firm but not too firm; it must be held for exactly the right amount of time but no longer, it must be accompanied by direct eye contact; and for bonus sincerity points, you should add your left hand to make a ‘hand sandwich.’� You may also be judged on the angle of your hand and the number and intensity of shakes.”
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� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � I find it rather sad that there are some who want to do away with the practice of greeting with a handshake.� I can understand their reasons.� We don’t know how many germs are transmitted by a simple handshake.� When I have a bad cold I refrain from shaking hands because I don’t want to pass on my illness.� I prefer that others who have similar illnesses be courteous enough to do the same when greeting me.� �
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� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � So there you have it.� We may not be sure how the custom of greeting by shaking hands got started but we know it is “The American way.”� If you want, however, to take literally Paul’s advice to “greet one another with a holy kiss” just remember this: Be sure it is a “holy kiss.”�
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� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � One other thought.� If you are turned off by the idea of shaking hands you might try greeting those you meet in the one of the ways that people in some other cultures do. One other somewhat popular way of greeting a friend in our culture is by giving a big hug.� I kind of like that but think we need to use some discretion with this form of greeting.� In some cultures people greet each other by rubbing noses or bowing.� There are even some people who greet each other by sticking out their tongues.� (I don’t recommend this latter practice in our culture).� #####

THANKS, BOB, now we know everything we always wanted to know about
HUGS & KISSES in church, yeah.

THE WORDWRIGHT� � � � � � � � � � � � � � �