26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
27 I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
(I Thessalonians 5)
When these letters were taken to the churches, there was usually one particular person/elder who was appointed to receive the message and read it to the congregation, making sure it was heard by all. Sometimes he himself may have needed to hear what was being said (like a preacher preaching to himself...) This was to happen regardless of personal opinion. He was also to pass on the personal greetings included, which here meant everyone in the congregation. So much for social distancing! But such a person received a great personal blessing as well: the promise of God's grace to enable him to do what he was called to do. This overrode any hesitancy to carry out this commission - as one song used to say: there is nothing like the thrill of being used of God.
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