When it comes to “love,”
outside of the mistaken idea that it has something to do with sex, we tend to
explicate rather than explain.
Explication has to do with saying something about a subject with
little regard to whether it gets the point across to the audience. Explanation
seeks to make the subject understandable in the working vocabulary and imagery
of those who hear it. I agree with the probability that the Pharisees originated between the Testaments as
explainers like Ezra. They would read from the word of the Law
distinctly and give the sense. Over time they became impressed with their
scholarship and lost contact with the “sinners” who were too ignorant to
comprehend such privileged matters. In so doing they moved from being
explainers to being explicators.
When explaining “love your brothers,” whether
thinking of the friendship term (philos – friendship love) or the
foundational term (agapé – unconditional love), one must give the
sense with two evocative terms – “kiss” and “vulnerability.”
My reference to “kiss”
may surprise you. That’s not surprising. Most of us have been uncomfortable
with or overly excited by the five commands to “greet one another with a holy kiss or a kiss of love.”
No, I do not think we need to establish a Sunday School class on sanctified, interpersonal lip interfacing.
The New Testament word is philéma. It is part of the philos (friendship) word group. The kiss, for that culture, was a courtesy which, between friends, was supposed to carry an authentic expression of the trustworthiness of one’s friendship loyalty. Thus, betrayal by a kiss was a despicable act, even more contemptible than breaking an agreement made with a handshake used to be in our culture.
The kiss, therefore, puts before us the imagery of actions as well as words which convey to someone else that we actually and not just etymologically love them. The imagery takes on still greater force when we introduce the word “vulnerability.”
No, I do not think we need to establish a Sunday School class on sanctified, interpersonal lip interfacing.
The New Testament word is philéma. It is part of the philos (friendship) word group. The kiss, for that culture, was a courtesy which, between friends, was supposed to carry an authentic expression of the trustworthiness of one’s friendship loyalty. Thus, betrayal by a kiss was a despicable act, even more contemptible than breaking an agreement made with a handshake used to be in our culture.
The kiss, therefore, puts before us the imagery of actions as well as words which convey to someone else that we actually and not just etymologically love them. The imagery takes on still greater force when we introduce the word “vulnerability.”
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