Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more