Two Pints Later: I kissed a lady other than my wife...

Wednesday, 18 January 2012

I kissed a lady other than my wife...

Yesterday our family and a couple of other families got together for a picnic dinner at the beach. It was awesome to have friends and friends of friends gathered. After a wonderful evening under the setting sun, with kids and Dads jumping in the shallows, and mums relaxing and chatting on blankets (well away from the water) it was time to return all the starfish to the ocean and head home. Friends of our friends packed up first and began their farewells. Kisses were exchanged between our friends and their friends. I however was expecting a wave or a nod or a ‘see you next time’ especially as I did not know this couple that well. However I was approached and it was immediately obvious that the ‘farewell kiss of peace’ was about to be offered.

Now this is an extremely biblical and Christian practice, take a look...

Romans 16:16 — "Greet one another with a holy kiss"

1 Corinthians 16:20 — "Greet one another with a holy kiss"

2 Corinthians 13:12 — "Greet one another with a holy kiss"

1 Thessalonians 5:26 — "Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss"

I Peter 5:14 — "Greet one another with a kiss of love"

There is something beautiful and wonderful about a kind of friendship or even simple appreciation of the ‘other’ where greeting and fare welling is accompanied with a purely agape kiss. Amongst many other characteristics it is one of the beautiful parts of the Mediterranean cultures of Italy and Greece etc. Obviously it can be distorted, but at its best it is a wonderful affirmation of the value and worth of others, be they long time friends or people you’ve just met at a picnic at the beach. I love it.

The only thing is... it’s not something much practiced in my circle of friends.

(Though I do know of one friend who on moving to Australia greeted with the kiss explaining it as how people rolled back in NZ. Then on returning from Australia greeted with a kiss explaining it as how people rolled back in Australia. Nice work!)

The long and the short of it is that I’m not an expert of the “greet one another with a holy kiss.” Do you go left or do you go right? Is it like road rules? Keep left at all times? What about if you are about to kiss someone who drives on the right hand side of the road? You’re going to have a collision.

In my naivety it turned out we had a half crash and I ended up kissing a lady half on the lips that wasn’t my wife. (Though my wife was right there and was next in line for a kiss). It was all very straight forward, beautiful really (in the most innocent sense), and we said our farewells. I quickly turned to my wife and our friends exclaiming how; “I hope she’s not going home enraged, complaining to her husband that I feinted left but went right at the last moment! I’d prefer not to have a black eye coming my way at the next family picnic.”

All in all it wasn’t really uncomfortable at all and it was a reminder that people are precious. Life time friends are precious. New acquaintances are precious.

God saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone and he created Eve. As well as that, God gave humanity each other, a whole community of people to journey with and stand with and have stand alongside you in the journey of life. That’s beautiful. Appreciate the people around you today.

xoxo

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Whether it’s over a pint of beer, an espresso coffee, or an icy cold bottle of New Zealand’s own Lemon & Paeroa, there is something invigorating about a meaningful conversation. Finding someone with whom your ideas and musings resonate is encouraging and reassuring, it inspires you to walk on. Finding someone with a different perspective causes you to pause, to reconsider, to take stock, to refine your thinking. Both can be healthy. Both can get you into trouble. Two Pints Later is the online continuation of a variety of conversations between some strangers who have become friends. It is a collaborative attempt to continue discussions that started in living rooms, or at BBQ’s, or after church, or at the pub, or in cafes, or in classrooms around New Zealand and Australia. We share a common and unwavering commitment to Jesus and mostly our conversations are to do with what it might mean to follow Jesus in our 21st Century, postmodern, postChristian context. Sometimes they’re not. As much as our stories are similar they are different. We each write from our own perspective and the opinions and ideas we present are our own and not necessarily those of our fellow collaborators or organisations we might work for. Individual bios can be found below. Enjoy the conversation and feel free to join in.

Collaborators

Michael Frost - is an early 30’s ginger haired man, passionate about cricket, music, NRL, whiskey (as long as it’s single malt) and theology... and of course, most of all, passionate about the good Lord. Michael is also madly in love with his wife Hannah. He lectures a bit, studies a bit, and does a bit of thinking along the way. Michael believes faith should be genuine in all of its complexities... "The true reality of faith is explored in the midst of our fears, doubts, hopes, beliefs, experiences, sufferings and relationships. Hopefully in the midst of it all, we discover Christ - we discover death and resurrection – and that changes everything!"

Joseph McAuley - is a husband and a father, an M.Div student, an INTJ, and an urban gardener. He is the lead pastor of St Luke's in Mount Maunganui, NZ. He drives a 1967 HR Holden Wagon and is building Artesania Latina’s HMS Endeavour. Joseph is interested in spiritual disciplines, Genesis, sustainability and leadership. He loves the fact that... "Even in the midst of the greyscale reality of a sin ravaged world, in Jesus Christ life can still be lived in vibrant colour. Beauty, passion, laughter, love, grace and forgiveness can be discovered."

Anna Exelby - is married to Nathan - who she is grateful to for consistently widening her worldview (those people who say ‘opposites attract’ are correct). She teaches English at the high school down the road and her students also do their fair share of broadening her outlook. When not trying to enthuse the teenage brain about literature she enjoys coffee and conversation with friends, pottering in her vege garden, getting to the top of the Mount, reading and walking Kingi - their German Shepherd. She struggles to understand how to best be a part of fighting injustice and wants to learn more about sustainability. Anna is working towards a MACS, which she credits with reviving her faith – turns out she needed to turn her brain on and explore some questions – and realise that God was cool with that.

Shane Clifton - is married to Elly and has the privilege and challenge of raising three teenage boys. He is a raving feminist and hopes this blog will include more female contributors (yes, will soon have a couple on board). Shane teaches theology at Alphacrucis college and is the author of Pentecostal Churches in Transition and, in collaboration with new Neil Ormerod, Globalisation in the Mission of the Church. Following a serious accident on 7 October 2010 he is learning to live as a quadriplegic.

Heidi Nagels - is a big fan of good food, great friends and the kind of laughing that makes your sides hurt. She is self-employed accountant, a pastor at St Luke’s in Mount Maunganui and on the homeward straight of her MACS. She plays weekly in a volleyball team called ‘Puddingface’ (with her boyfriend Simon) and would love to master the speedy overhead serve this season. Heidi hopes to continue to learn to be a disciple and a follower of the way and takes courage knowing “’Course Aslan (Jesus) isn’t safe. But he’s good” (Mr Beaver, Narnia)

Braden Matson - is...

Shane Meyer - is the proud owner disproportionately long arms, which on occasion attract the jeers of small children. He lives with his wife Rachel (who he has really grown fond of over the years) in Melbourne, and works in speciality coffee where he has recently received the distinguished ‘Least Indie Barista’ award due to his lack of fringe and / or pirate themed tattoos. When not swimming in a sea of extremely good coffee he attempts to get as much reading done as possible before resuming study and having his life taken over again. He also works continually in an attempt to prevent the immanent psychological implosion of his indoor football team ‘The Pony Express’. He is occasionally serious and loves discussion around how to live every part of our lives as a community of redemption and hope.

Sean du Toit - Sean, along with his wife, Sue, [who he’s had a crush on since he was sixteen], is a follower of Jesus trying to make sense of this world. This quest to be faithful to Jesus has led him into the byways and alleys of theology, history, philosophy and now a community called, “Common Ground.” Part of this quest involves teaching the New Testament, pursuing his own post-grad research and trying to connect with his friends, as often as possible. Sean has unusual sleeping habits, a love for reading documents and inscriptions from the first century, a wise mother, a creative sister and two kick-butt nephews who create within him a desire to one day have his own children.

Sam Bloore - doubts whether many people will have made it this far down a list of bio’s. If you have, he predicts you are organized and efficient. Patient and conscientious. An i-dotter. A t-crosser. Sam is none of these…and so you have his admiration and respect. He is a wannabe thinker with a short attention span – which has obvious challenges. He works for the Compass Foundation, commenting on the tensions of faithfully living a gospel-centred life in 21st-century western culture. What he thinks that faithfulness should look like was profoundly shaped by the premature death of his father last year. Sam considers himself lucky to live near the rest of his family in Auckland and extremely lucky that he gets to do that with his wife Julia. He is slowly and painfully learning to cook (which impresses her) and kiteboard (which doesn’t.)