Sign of Peace

Since attending mass in the city, I am a bit taken aback by how the Sign of Peace is offered - a wave, a nod, a look.  Handshakes are rare; I have to read carefully the body language of my fellow congregants to see if it will be a handshake or just a nod.  I have tried to justify this lack of warmth from this city's people to the fact that we have had to deal with the alphabet soup of flu's and other such mutations.  Last year was H1N1, years ago was SARS, Avian Flu etc. So, we, you could say, are trying to remain healthy.

Yet, I am not convinced that that is the reason for not giving a handshake during the Sign of Peace.  I think this practice, or non-practice of handshaking, is plain rude.  Are we that detached from other people?  Why is it then that when we go on interviews or attend meetings we shake hands?

I digress.  Today I read it very well, I was going in for the handshake, but then, to my utter surprise I got a kiss on the cheek as well.  Really?  A person who dared to give a kiss to a stranger? But then I realized that this woman - a tourist - did not care about what the norm in this church/city, but acted/reacted on how she would in her own church, in her own country, within her own culture. 

When you think about it this way, it's somewhat heartwarming, isn't it?  I'm not going to get all paranoid and think "oh, what if she is contagious?" What is contagious, was her act of kindness, her genuine sign of peace.