July 10, 2024 / Kiss the Son

Hey, Calvary Fremont –

Psalm 2:10 says, “Kiss the Son, that He not become angry…”

What? God wants me to kiss His Son? And if I don’t, God and/or His Son will become angry with me? I know that God will be angry if I murder someone or kidnap a nine-year old, but why will God be mad at me if I don’t kiss His Son?

I am meeting with about twenty 17–25-year-olds on each Sunday night in July (2024) and we were looking at this and the question was asked, “What’s the significance of the kiss?” After a few suggestions, we concluded that it closes the distance between two people to the point where there is no space between them. That really resonated with us. You can wave at someone, say ‘hello,’ or even shake hands – yet kissing struck us as that which really squeezes all the air out of any distance between two people. Maybe a paraphrase of Psalm 2:10 could be, “Don’t let there be any distance between you and the Son of God.” You can’t kiss someone if there’s distance between you.

This isn’t to imply that bowing before the Lord, or raising your hands, or singing to the Lord are inauthentic forms of worship – but it does suggest that the Lord desires an intimacy beyond mere acknowledgement.

What does it mean for you and me to ‘kiss the Son’? I told my Sunday night group about what I think was the genius of the Charismatic Movement that I was introduced into in the early 1970’s. I grew up in church and we would sing songs like, “He is Lord; He is Lord. He is risen from the dead and He is Lord.” When I came into the Charismatic Movement, we sang it like this, “You are Lord; You are Lord. You are risen from the dead and You are Lord.” Did you catch the difference? The grammar of the song went from 3rd person singular to 2nd person singular. The words went from ‘He is Lord, to ‘You are Lord.’ “Big deal,” you say. “Humongous deal,” I say. This simple change from 3rd person to 2nd person revolutionized the worship of the Church. The grammar of worship transformed the Church. It certainly revolutionized my worship.

Does your wife want to hear, “I love my wife. I really love her”? Or would she rather hear, “I love you”? 3rd person singular, “I love my wife. I really love her,” is accurate information. Yet you could say these words about your feelings for your wife to anyone. But when you switch to 2nd person singular, when you say to your wife, “I love you,” you are saying words that can only be directed at her. When you say about your wife, “I love my wife,” these words could be said to anyone, anywhere. A soldier serving in the Middle East could be saying this to a fellow soldier. But when you say to your wife, “I love you,” these are words that can only be said to one person in one place. “I love you,” is extremely narrow in its designation and destination. I think that one application of ‘Kissing the Son” is to go from singing about the Lord to singing to the Lord.

Singing “He is Lord,” could be nothing more than theological affirmation. Singing “You are Lord,” is an act of intimate worship. It closes the distance between you and Jesus. It is kissing the Son!

Be blessed and stay healthy and Kiss the Son – Pastor Tim