Anointed Without Shame

Last night our family attended a "Biblical Dinner" hosted by Calvary Fellowship of Epping, a neighboring suburb of Sydney.  It was an instructive evening of learning the social and hospitality customs in Israel during the life of Christ.  When welcoming a guest into your home, good hospitality was of great importance.  After the greeting it was good manners to offer a cold drink of water, wash the feet of the guest, and anoint their head with a fragrant oil.  It was also considered polite to wash the hands of guests before eating.

I was asked to come forward for part of the demonstration.  I was told to kneel and pastor John explained how the host would pour fragrant oil over the head of the guest.  The oil would drip from the hair and beard onto the clothes.  It reminded me of a statement King David wrote concerning the anointing of Aaron in Psalm 133:2:  "It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments."  It seems like a large amount of oil would be needed to drip from the head all the way to the edge of the garment!  It is also clear that this ancient act of middle eastern hospitality would not receive a favorable reception among people hailing from western cultures!

It caused me to think about the command given to the sick in James 5:13-15:  "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven."  I used to always carry a small vial of oil with my Bible in case someone desired to be anointed in obedience to scripture.  My thought always was, how much oil should be used in anointing someone?  A dab on the forehead or the back of the hand?  Even if I poured out all the oil in the vial it would not add up to half a thimbleful.

Anointing is anointing.  If we make it a point to baptize by immersion, we shouldn't care if oil messes up our hair or drips onto our clothes.  I am not suggesting we need to make an arbitrary "law" that true anointing with oil should be a minimum of 6 fluid ounces.  But why don't we see people generously anointed with oil as Aaron today?  Maybe it points to a deeper issue:  perhaps we want to use just enough oil to satisfy the requirement but as little as possible to avoid inconvenience.  Maybe someone just had their hair done or is wearing an expensive jacket...maybe we don't want people to feel self-conscious or embarrassed.  This potentially sums up the life of Christians very well.  How do I know?   For too much of my life, to my shame, this sentiment could summarize my Christian walk - wanting the benefits God provides but unwilling to make even the smallest of sacrifices. 

Consider the implications:  we want benefits from God like healing and forgiveness but are not willing to submit to having oil poured on our heads.  I used to place a drop of oil on my finger and place it on the afflicted person seeking healing - also with a couple of tissues on hand to quickly clean up!  My great concern is as I carefully measure out the oil God carefully measures out healing.  I want to be anointed fully, not just with a drop carefully meted out!  We desire the Holy Spirit in His fullness, but when we refuse to yield ourselves to Him fully we hinder Him.  LORD, may I never ration the outflow of your Spirit through me!  How God desires us to fully yield to His anointing, even if it costs us a coat!  If we are not willing to submit to having oil poured on our heads how shall we obey in the smallest spiritual matters?

In no way am I condemning any particular way people choose to anoint with oil in obedience to God.  We are not under the Law but grace.  My participation in the Biblical Dinner last night caused me to examine my reasoning behind my own practices of anointing people in name of the LORD Jesus Christ.  In all things I want to do things God's way.  It profits me nothing to conform to social church tradition when God leads me otherwise.  Faith is best seen through my obedience to His Word.  May God anoint us with the Holy Spirit without holding back a drop!