December 13

“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; for thy love is better than wine.” Song of Songs 1:2

A kiss is an act of personal, wholehearted committal. It means that all the attention is centered on the one person. (No one kisses two persons at the same time!) Of course there can always be the hypocritical kiss of a Judas, or the merely formal salutation which Simon the Pharisee failed to give to Jesus; but these have no place here, for the words are spoken by one whose heart has been captivated by the Lord and who forgets everybody else in the act of devotion which makes everything of him. Such a one longs for the closest communion with God. The Father's kiss of forgiveness was sweet, but this is something more. It is the Lord’s response to an outgoing of devotion from one who finds his love better than all else.