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October 28, 2007
C-Pentecost 22
James 5:13-18
Pastor Robert Raasch

God’s Rx for the Sick

1. Anoint Them with Oil?
2. Offer the Prayer of Faith

I’ve got a little quiz for you.  Can anyone tell me what this symbol (Rx) means?  What does this stand for?  Yes, it’s the symbol you find on the little slip of paper that the doctor scribbles on with his illegible handwriting.  It’s the medical abbreviation for the word “prescription.”  The Rx stands for the Latin word, “recipe,” which literally means “to take.”  That’s what the doctor wants you to do.  He wants you to take the medicine he’s prescribed for you.

Now why do I bring up this symbol today?  Well, in our Scripture lesson for today, God is offering an Rx of his own.  In this case, he’s offering some Biblical advice for those who are suffering some kind of physical illness.  Today we turn our attention to the book of James where we find what we might call:

God’s Rx for the Sick
What is God’s prescription for the sick?  Should we:
I. Anoint them with oil?
Well, that depends on how you understand those words.  Actually, it’s far more important that we:
II. Offer a Prayer of Faith

If you’ve done any study of the Scriptures, you realize that there are some passages that are well-known, others that are more obscure, some that are easy to understand, others that are harder to understand and apply.  Well, I don’t know about you, but I’d have to put today’s text in that latter category.  I mean, did you hear what St. James says?  “Is anyone sick?  He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.”  Have you ever heard of that?  Have you ever called the Board of Elders to come to your house and anoint you with oil when you had a fever?  If not, why not?  Isn’t that what the Bible is telling you to do?  If we, as a church body, kind of ignore this passage, aren’t we guilty of doing exactly what we charge the liberal church bodies of doing, namely, picking and choosing which Bible verses to believe and which to not believe?  

Well, actually, the question is not whether to believe or do what this verse says, but rather, the question is, exactly what is this passage telling us to believe and do?  You maybe realize that this passage is understood a lot of different ways by the various branches of the Christian church.  For example, the Roman Catholic Church uses this verse to support what they call the Sacrament of Extreme Unction.  “Extreme” refers to something that happens at the very end of a person’s life and “unction” is another word for anointing with oil.  So, when a person is very close to death, the priest is called to administer Extreme Unction; it’s part of what is sometimes called the Last Rites.  In Extreme Unction, the priest takes a vial of olive oil that has been blessed by the bishop and then dabs it on the sick person’s eyelids, the ears, nostrils, lips, hands and feet, each time repeating these words, “By this holy unction and his own most gracious mercy, may the Lord pardon you whatever sin you have committed by sight, hearing, smell, etc. (according to whatever body part the priest is anointing at that time).

Did you hear the power that the Catholic Church attributes to this anointing with oil?  They say that this oil grants the forgiveness of sins.  According to Roman theology, Extreme Unction is a sacrament, a divine rite whereby God’s saving grace is conveyed to person, either just before they die, or if the priest is too late for that, then even after the person dies. 

Now the question is, is that what this passage is telling us?  Is God, here in James, chapter 5, instituting a third sacrament?  In addition to the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, does God intend there to be a Sacrament of Extreme Unction?  The short answer to that question is, No.  And here’s why.  First of all, the word that is here translated as anoint does not refer to a ceremonial anointing, like you would have in connection with a baptism or the coronation of a king.  No, this word refers to the every day application of oil.  If this were a machine, you would say that you oil it.  If it was a body, you’d say you give it a rub down.

Secondly, nowhere does Jesus say that this is a universal command for his church of all time.  He doesn’t say, “Go make disciples of all nations by anointing them with oil” (as he does with baptism).  He doesn’t say, “Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” (as he does with Holy Communion).

And maybe most importantly, nowhere does God say that this anointing with oil grants a person the forgiveness of sins.  With baptism, God says, “Be baptized and wash your sins away” (Acts 22:16).  With the sacrament of Holy Communion, Jesus says, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matt. 26:28).  But with this anointing with oil, there is no such promise. 

Well, if that’s true, if this anointing with oil is not a sacrament that grants forgiveness, then why does James tell his readers to anoint the sick with oil?  I believe that there are two possible explanations.  On the one hand, this may have been a purely symbolic gesture.  In the Old Testament, things like oil, wine and honey were used as symbols of God’s blessings.  You think of the words of the 23rd Psalm, where the psalmist says to God, “You anoint my head with oil; my cups overflows.”  As James writes to his Jewish readers, it is not unnatural for him to encourage them to continue this visual effect—pouring oil on the sick person as a symbol of the healing that the elders would be praying for.

In fact, don’t we do something rather similar today, through our practice of the laying on of hands?  When we install a pastor or teacher or when we confirm an 8th grader, the minister typically lays his hand on the person’s head and recites a Bible passage or offers a prayer on behalf of that person.  Is there any power in the minister’s hand?  No, the real power is in the Word of God and prayer.  The hand simply symbolizes that God’s blessings are being directed toward that particular person.  So it is with the oil in our text.  The oil may simply have been a symbol of the blessings that the elders of the church were praying would rest upon the sick man or woman. 

At the same time, there may be an even more natural explanation for James’ encouragement to anoint the sick with oil.  Think about it.  In the days before there was such a thing as penicillin or analgesics or MRI’s, about all the people had to work with was oil and alcohol.  Remember how the Good Samaritan treated the wounds of the man who had been beaten by robbers?  “He bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine” (Luke 10:34).  Ancient historians tell us that olive oil was used to treat everything from skin diseases to head aches to paralysis.  Herod the Great was bathed in a vat of olive oil when he was thought to be at death’s door.  Back in James’ day, olive oil was often used for purely medicinal purposes.

So what would be the modern day equivalent of anointing someone with olive oil?  Today we’d say, “Go to the doctor!”  In other words, James is saying, “Christian, use whatever medical treatment that God has put at your disposal.  If there are medicines that can treat your ailment, use them.  If a surgery is what is called for, it’s okay to undergo it.  But as you use the different skills and technologies that God has given to the medical profession, don’t fail to use the most powerful tool of all.  And that’s prayer.  In fact, that’s the real point of this whole section of Scripture.  What is God’s prescription?  What is God’s Rx for the sick?  James tells us that it is to: II. Offer the Prayer of Faith.

Listen again to James’ instructions, “Is anyone of you sick?  He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.”  Isn’t that a powerful promise?  James says that prayer has the power to heal people—not because our words are so powerful, but rather because through prayer, God gives us access to his almighty power.  Through prayer, God allows us to influence his control over all creation.  It’s as if God says, “I have all these good things in store for you and for those you love.  All I’m waiting for is for you to ask for them.”  Isn’t that what Jesus means when he says, “Ask and it will be given you.  Seek and you will find.  Knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7)?  Or as James says here in our text, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”  In other words, prayer makes things happen.  Prayer does things that are powerful in our lives.

The question is, “Do we believe that?  Or maybe more specifically, do we live like we believe it?  Do we really lean on the power of prayer?  Do we pray like everything depends on our prayer?  Or do we take kind of a laissez faire attitude?  Whatever is going to happen to going to happen with our without our prayers.  I can’t do anything about it?  Que sera sera.”

My friends, those who take God’s promises seriously do pray like everything depends on their prayers.  True sons and daughter of the King believe what Jesus says in John 16:23, “I tell you the truth, my father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”  Now does that mean that whatever we pray for God’s going to automatically give us?  No, not everything we ask for is a part of God’s will for our lives.  Sometimes we ask for things that are not in our best interest.  And so, God in love for us, says, “No, I’m not going to give you that.”  In those situations, we need to trust that God knows better than we do what’s best for us.

Isn’t that what James means when he says that “the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well”?  Offering a prayer in faith means firmly believing that God can do whatever we ask of him.  But it also means trusting that if he doesn’t do what we ask of him, it’s only because he has something even better in mind.  The prayer of faith means firmly believing that God will heal my fellow Christians.  But it also means trusting that if God decides to use this sickness to bring my loved one to heaven—that’s okay, too.  The bottom line:  trust God to answer your prayer in the way that will best serve a person’s eternal good!

So what do you think about God’s Rx for the sick?  Is this Bible passage about calling the elders to have them pray over the sick is something that we’ve outgrown?  Is this a Bible passage that our church body has conveniently chosen to overlook?  I don’t think so.  I mean, why is it that your pastors make regular visits to those who are in the hospital?  Isn’t so that we can offer the prayer of faith that James is referring to?  Asking for and trusting in God’s power to raise up our brother or sister in Christ.  But the pastors aren’t the only ones who are asked to pray for the sick.  Aren’t you asked to do the same thing in our worship services, when the names of those who are sick or hurting are included in the Prayer of the Church?  Then you too are praying for your fellow believers so that as James says, “(they) may be healed.”  Maybe the same thing happens when you get a phone call or an e-mail asking you to keep a friend or family member in your prayers.  By offering up a prayer of faith, you’re doing exactly what James says here.  You’re “pray(ing) for each other.”