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







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