Why should Peter’s readers “greet one another”?

We had just mentioned that greeting is much more than saying hello; it is communicating the wish (or prayer) that God’s blessing and peace rest upon the other. Peter’s readers are scattered over the five provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, and have a range of social positions (1 Peter 2:18) that make connecting physically very difficult. Yet these saints are not meant to be islands to themselves but are meant to connect supportively. That support is undoubtedly to have the flavour of the Pentecost church (Acts 2:42–47), that is, as much as possible a physical care for one another according to need and means. But that is not said here because there is a more significant manner of caring for one another, that is, greeting one another, and so praying for one another. That can be done across social and geographical barriers.