James 5:14 (aleifw)
Maurice A. O'Sullivan
mauros at iol.ie
Mon Nov 25 10:45:00 EST 2002
At 05:40 25/11/2002, Ronald L. Geib wrote:
>I find that many people I have encountered in evangelical churches in the
>U.S. also view the oil of anointing prescribed by James as primarily
>symbolic; figurative of a healing power or sanctification conferred to the
>person (or object) anointed. They have removed from it any organic,
>efficacious role in the healing process.
Yes, Ron, I grant you that that is a view which prevails in some circles.
Yet, I think it imposes an artificial distinction -- one at odds, surely,
in a century which has seen a growing awareness of the psychosomatic nature
of much illness, and knows of the "placebo" effect.
In his commentary on James, Luke Timothy Johnson [ Anchor Bible 37A,
Doubleday New York 1995, rises above this outmoded distinction when he remarks:
>> The oil used for anointing is not a magic oil. It is the common olive
oil that is widely used for medicinal purposes. There is no great gap
between physical and spiritual healing. They must happen together: the oil
gains its real power from the touch of human hands that apply it, that
reach across pain and loneliness to re-establish communion.
Likewise, prayer is not simply words said to God, but prayer "over" the
sick person, a summons from the community that is willing to share its life
and strength, its faith, with the one who is weak and whose sickness has
probably also weakened his own faith and confidence. The community, through
its elders, shares its faith by gathering together and supporting the sick
person, both physically and spiritually in the time of crisis.
In the actions of those gathered around the sick person, we recognise the
practices of early Christians, rooted in the traditions of Israel and in
the ministry of Jesus <<
Maurice A. O'Sullivan [ Bray, Ireland ]
mauros at iol.ie
More information about the B-Greek
mailing list