ANOINTING WITH OIL
When I was visiting a primary school to talk to a confirmation class about Holy Communion, I was asked why Jesus used bread and wine and not potatoes and Coca Cola! I answered of course, that Jesus used the everyday things of his own day, like water, bread, wine and oil and gave them a new meaning so that they became outward signs of his love and presence in the world.
The anointing of the sick with oil is increasing in popularity among Anglicans of all traditions as well as within the Free Churches. It has of course, been used by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches from earliest times. It is a practice that is rich in symbolism and Jesus would have been familiar with its use and significance.
In the bible, olive oil was used for practical and symbolic purposes. It was used by the Good Samaritan to soothe the wounds of the injured man. It was used by athletes to make them supple and St Paul compares Christians to athletes who are running with perseverance the race that is set before them. People also anointed their faces, dried by the sun, to make them look healthy and glad.
Jesus himself is seen as the Messiah or anointed one who was anointed by God for his mission and by Mary at Bethany for his burial. Then after the ascension, the writer to the Hebrews tells us that he received the royal anointing to sit at God’s right hand. So anointing reminds us that we too are members of a royal family and children of a king.
In the New Testament, the Apostles ‘anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them’(Mark 6:13) and the Letter of James tells us, ‘Is anyone sick among you? Let them call for the presbyters of the church; and let them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise them up, and if they have committed sins, they shall be forgiven’(James 5:14,15).
Throughout the history of the Church, various practices have been associated with anointing with oil. It has been seen as a sign of the outpouring of the Spirit and so it has been commonly used in the ministry of healing and in baptism, confirmation and ordination. It has also been used in coronations, exorcisms and at marriages.
For a time, anointing with oil was seen as part of the ‘last rites’ and it was called ‘extreme unction’, but today anointing is far more widespread and is seen as a biblical and apostolic response to Jesus’ command to ‘Go, preach the gospel and heal the sick’. Sometimes anointing takes place at a public healing service in church where large numbers of people will go forward for anointing. Sometimes people are anointed at home or in hospital with just the priest or a few people present.
When you are anointed, the priest will make the sign of the cross on your forehead and sometimes your hands as well. The priest may also lay his or her hands on your head and pray that through the holy anointing God will pour out his healing grace upon you through the power of the Holy Spirit.