Oil

             You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (NIV)

Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. (KJV)

Psalm 23: 5

A friend likes to recount hearing an interview of Sophia Loren in which she was asked how it was she kept her skin looking so good. Ms. Loren replied that she had followed the customs of her people. She used olive oil as a moisturizer. I have another friend who, when I mentioned that I was using olive oil as a moisturizer, gave an immediate negative response. I was treating my skin like a salad? And, of course, when we were young, the bane of our existence was oily skin, so the very idea produces shudders still. It makes sense that when we hear about our heads being anointed with oil, we think “Uh, no thanks, God.”         ‘

So, the idea of anointing with oil, besides being religious and impractical in the modern world, can seem a little unpleasant. Some people get past this by reducing anointment to a touch or cross on the forehead, rather like reducing baptism to a sprinkle. But anointing sheep’s heads with oil had three basic purposes: to try to prevent some damage when rams started fighting over ewes, to prevent flies from biting (and probably to ease the effects if they did) and to treat disease. When it came to people being anointed, it tended to mean that they were selected by God for some purpose, which would constitute a blessing.

All of this gives us an image of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It’s not symbolic, but practical and healthy.