Calvary United Methodist Church

July 31, 2016

A CYCLE OF SACRAMENTS: THE OIL OF ANOINTING

Rev. Dr. S. Ronald Parks

Children’s Sermon: Luke 10:33-37

Gifts are granted to us no matter where we are along the journey of

life. We welcome the youngest among us to the front of this worship

space to celebrate the gifts God intends for us.

Alright! What a crew! Good to see everybody. Good morning!

We’ve been talking for the last couple of weeks

about Fender’s trip to the beach.

And about the fact that while he was there

he had a chance to meet a whole bunch of new dogs.

Last week I mentioned that when Fender got home from his trip away,

he met Duke.

Duke was 14 weeks old last week. So this week he is how many

weeks old? (15.) Nice math! You haven’t forgotten everything you

learned in school so far!

Duke and Fender

have gotten to be good friends.

But one of the things we noticed right away, the very first time we met

Duke was that he has a problem.

Right before he came home from the breeders, they noticed there was a

spider bite on the side of his body and that that bite had started to be-

come infected.

So, last week, this is what Duke’s boo-boo looked like. You can see it

is almost perfectly circular; it is right on the side of his body, the hair

has fallen out. It looks kind of red and sort of raw.

So, his owners, being very caring and compassionate people, took

Duke to the dog doctor, which is also called, the fancy name for a dog

doctor is a veterinarian.

The veterinarian, through their skill, they gave Duke some pills to help

him out.

They gave Duke some antibiotic cream to help him out.

And when Duke got home, he got some treats, as soon as Fender got

out of the way.

So, yesterday this is what Duke’s boo-boo looked like.

Now, here are the pictures side by side of the two boo-boos. Can you

see a difference? I said, can you see a difference? (Yes!) See, you

are injuring these poor kids when you don’t respond.

What happened between then and now? Something called “healing”.

Healing is something we are all very familiar with. Have you ever cut

yourself, fallen off a bike, the skateboard, the platform at church?

Yeah. Healing is really important.

Healing is a process, which means it takes time. Healing is the process

of going from being sick or dis-eased

To health, and look at the word heal-th. It actually has the word “heal”

right in it. To health; that’s the state of being 100% or

Being able to do, what, some of the things we can do? No, no, no.

Health is when we are able to do all the things that we can do.

Health over time has kind of been split into at least these four different

parts of who we are as human beings:

There is your physical health, which is concerned about your body and

Duke’s boo-boo is on his body. So that is a physical thing.

There is something called mental health, which talks about our mind

and how we think and how we process information and how we per-

ceive the world around us.

Then in church you hear this kind of talk about the soul, which is sort

of an amorphous and kind of an unclear thing. It talks about the part

of God that dwells within us, that we are spiritual beings, poured out

into a vessel of flesh, right?

So there is this spiritual aspect of us and then there’s the social aspect

of us, the relationships that we have and the way that we feel and relate

to those around us.

So to be healthy often times requires healing in at least one if not all

four parts of who we are.

So, Duke’s body has been injured,

But it’s healing with help.

It’s healing with the expertise of the veterinarian that they go to; it’s

healing with the medication and the cream that his owners are giving

him, and it’s healing with the social connection that he has with Fender

and the other neighborhood dogs. Does Duke have a spiritual aspect to

his health? Let’s hold that question for another Sunday.

We all know that the bigger the boo-boo, the more help you need, am I

right, brothers and sisters? Heck, yeah! The bigger the boo-boo, the

more help you need to heal.

I want to tell you the story that Jesus told about a guy with some enor-

mous health care problems and some really big boo-boos. You know

the story.

A man walking to Jericho was attacked by robbers.

They beat him, took his clothes and they left him for dead.

Before long, a pastor came down the road.

He saw the man’s situation and he crossed onto the other side of the

road so he didn’t have to get involved.

Then a religion professor came along. He also saw the beaten man.

But he didn’t have time to deal with this, so he left, too.

A Samaritan, however, was traveling down the road and he came upon

him. When the Samaritan saw the boo-boos that had been inflicted on

this man, his heart went out to him.

He immediately got off his donkey and bandaged the man’s wounds.

He did something that the ancient world did immediately whenever

there was some kind of a violation of the body. He poured oil and

wine on these wounds to assist them in healing.

Then lifting the beaten man on his donkey he took him to an inn.

Providing some money, he told the innkeeper,

Take good care of him. I’ll pay the whole bill.

Which man was a neighbor to the robber’s victim?

And the young lawyer to whom Jesus asked this question responded

this way: The one who helped him back to health.

Right, Jesus said. Go and do the same.

You see, the man needed help in all the four areas of health in order to

be healed.

His body had been attacked and he was badly injured. That’s where

the oil and the wine come in.

His mind was full of fear and hopelessness because he had been lying

by the side of the road watching people walk by who refused to help

him.

His soul was troubled because he had been abused and abandoned and

no doubt he might have laid there and questioned, “God, why me?”

And his heart was broken because no one cared and he felt all alone.

Now, why did the Samaritan do all this to heal a total stranger? Do

you have any idea why he would do that?

It’s a four letter word. It starts with “L”. (Love.) It’s love, exactly

right. Love is where healing comes from, whether it’s the healing that

happens when our bodies take time to mend themselves together as de-

signed by God, or whether or not we bind one another’s wounds.

When ever you love and care for someone,

You are a healer helping others to health because you are caring for

some aspect of who they are as human beings.

So, I thought it might be kind of cool to do a little reminder of who im-

portant it is that you and I take seriously God’s responsibility and call

to be healers of everyone.

Fortunately, because this was a kit, Evie Ondo was in the building at

one point this week

and so I said, “Hey, Evie, how about helping a brother out here and

putting this thing together for me.”

So it does come with instructions.

It is a kit. It only has four pieces. Fender could do it if you gave him a

little bit of time and opposable thumbs.

And the important message to remember is, you see the heart and the

cross that’s in it? That’s the symbol of God’s love for us and of our

willingness to sacrifice for each other in order that all people may be

healed.

If you open it up on the inside it says, can you read what that says?

(Love each other as I have loved you.) Very good. “Love each other

as I have loved you.”

Because when ever you love and care for someone,

You’re a healer helping others to health.

Go ahead and grab a kit and take it with you. In fact, if you want to

take one for a friend, someone who maybe could use a little bit of

healing, go ahead and do that too.

Thanks for sharing in our time this morning.

Message:

The Power is in your hands. But it is not yours to keep. Never has

been, never will be. It’s just entrusted to you. And throughout the

scriptures of the Old and New Testaments there has been a symbol that

has been used time and time again to show the world those who al-

ready understand some aspect of the power that has been given to us.

It is the ancient symbol of anointing, taking of oil and placing it on the

forehead and on the hands.

In the Old Testament anointing has several purposes, but all of them

are very closely linked.

It marks a new identity, a transition and transformation, from one per-

son to being something new that God is calling into being.

Samuel anoints David as King on the plains in order to show that God

has obviously granted to him special wisdom, special gifts, special

power and authority.

But that new identity means new responsibilities, new responsibilities

that come with becoming the individual that God has called us to be.

Moses anoints Aaron as a priest in much the same way that David was

anointed, in order to demonstrate that Aaron now has the new respon-

sibilities of representing the people of God in the temple and before

the Lord.

But new identity and new responsibilities imply new capabilities, new

gifts, because God doesn’t grant us a new challenge and a new sense

of being who we are without providing everything that we need to ful-

fil that potential.

God anoints Jesus with the Holy Spirit at the time of his baptism. As

he comes up out of the water, the Spirit of God is envisioned as a dove,

which floats down from heaven and comes to rest upon him. And a

voice is heard, depending on which Gospel you read it is either a voice

Jesus heard or a voice that everyone there that day heard. And it says

this: This is my son, my chosen, my anointed. I am pleased with him

and I am gifting him. And that’s why Jesus, shortly thereafter, is able

to stand up in the temple for the very first time after his baptism and

take the prophecy of Isaiah and give it real meaning, because there is

something new in who he is, in what God is asking him to do and in

the power God is giving him. And he says:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring

good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the oppressed

and recovery of sight to the blind; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s

favor.

And then Jesus rolls up the scroll and hands it back to the attendant

and sits down as though that was enough, just reading the prophecy.

And everyone watched intently, all the eyes in the synagogue were

fixed upon him as he said:

Today this scripture has been fulfilled in, not in him saying it, but in

you hearing it.

And that’s what Pentecost is all about. At Pentecost, the Spirit of God

anoints all God’s people. And there are all gifted with the ability to

communicate, to share this good news in a language that every person

gathered in Jerusalem for the festival, in a language that every single

one of them could understand. It’s that same Spirit that anoints us.

It’s that same Spirit that grants us a new identity and new responsibili-

ties and new gifts, new capabilities that we celebrate as we turn to a

Litany of healing which is found in the bulletin. You are invited to

turn to that particular page and prepare your hearts for a gift that God

intends for all of us. But not for us to keep, just for us to celebrate and

to share with others.

ANOINTING FOR HEALING & WHOLENESS

OUR CONFESSION

One: Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given; seek and you will find;

knock, and the door will be opened to you.”

MANY: If we stand at the door and knock, we are welcomed into

God’s presence.

One: Friends in Christ, God knows our needs before we ask. Our

Master did not speak of salvation as a remote possibility. He deliv-

ered the gift of grace in person. In preparation to receive it anew,

let us be mindful of our sinfulness and the ashes of repentance.

MANY: If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just, forgiving

us and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.

One: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.

MANY: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.

ALL: Thanks be to God!

FOR THE HEALING OF OUR BODIES

One: To share in the healing of a broken world, we must be made

whole in heart, mind and body. “From dust we have come. To dust

we shall return.” O Lord, you have breathed life into the fragile

vessels of our bodies. By your blessings, we have enjoyed days of

health and strength. By your mercy, we have endured & persevered

through days of pain and suffering.

MANY: We lift before you our physical infirmities. We are im-

patient with our limitations. Grant us courage to meet the tri-

als of suffering with the blessed assurance of our faith in Christ.

(A moment of silent prayer is shared as we pray for physical heal-

ing.)

FOR THE HEALING OF OUR MINDS

One: “Come. Follow me.” Jesus extends an invitation to all to walk

with him. No one is excluded, yet we must choose to follow. Like

the disciples who abandoned him, we too have left his side. We

have chosen safety over sacrifice and self over service.

MANY: In pride & arrogance, we betray our Master. In selfish-

ness, we disregard the needs of our neighbors. Grant us clarity

of vision & the mind of Christ, that we may choose obedience.

(A moment of silent prayer is shared as we pray for discipline and

the mind of Christ.)

FOR THE HEALING OF OUR HEARTS

One: Jesus told his friends, “Love one another the way I loved you.”

God’s love is changeless. Our ability to love one another, however,

is flawed and fleeting. Unwilling to share what has been freely giv-

en, we deprive others of the healing touch of our Savior.

MANY: We are unconvinced of God’s love for us. We are un-

committed in our love for others. Yet the Lord is steadfast and

patient, ready to receive and renew us. Grant us the grace to

embrace and be embraced in the arms of the Good Shepherd.

(A moment of silent prayer is shared as we pray for a heart to love as

we have been loved.)

FOR THE HEALING OF THE HUMAN COMMUNITY

One: The cross of Christ reminds us that God’s grace is greater than

all our sin. Everyone who believes is healed and recreated in his

image. God does not discriminate; he values each one of us. In the

gift of Christ, he calls us to be ambassadors of the Kingdom, on

earth as it is in heaven.

MANY: Jesus reaches out to the sick and lonely, the widow and

orphan, the sinner and the saint. May we love God with all our

heart, soul, mind and strength. May we love our neighbor as

we love ourselves.

One: O God, source of healing and wholeness, we give thanks for

this symbol of anointing oil. Pour out your Spirit upon us as we

open our lives to the renewal and restoration you intend for all your

children. Grant us healing, that we may rejoice in the depth of your

commitment to us. Grant us faith, that we may understand the ex-

tent of our responsibility to one another. This we ask in the name

of Christ, who taught us to pray...

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Pastor Ron: The sign of anointing is an ancient and meaningful sign.

Those who are moved by the Spirit to receive it are invited to come

forward. There is no order in which you may come, just come as the

Spirit moves you. Come with your hands out to receive the gift as you

are touched on the forehead and on both palms with the words, “May

the Power of the Spirit heal you in mind, soul and body.” Stephen

Ministers will be available to you at the altar rails for those who desire

to remain for a moment of prayer. There is no prerequisite to be part

of this celebration. Every single one of us is in need of healing and

every one of us has the opportunity to be a healer in the name and in

the Spirit of Christ.

Come, God has gifted us.

AN ANOINTING

The act of anointing marks those who are prepared to receive a gift

from God. As the following hymns are sung, those who desire to be

anointed are invited to come forward to be touched on the palms of

your hands and forehead. You may also kneel at the altar rail for the

laying on of hands by our Stephen Ministers and Communion Stew-

ards, symbolizing the healing touch of Christ.

Heal Us, O Lord (edited) #266

(tune: Amazing Grace)

The Gift of Love #408

He Touched Me #367

Precious Lord, Take My Hand (v. 1 & 3) #474

Spirit Song #347

Pastor Ron: Love each other as I have loved you and it is in that love

that we take the gift of healing to the world. Let us give thanks with

our tithes and offerings.

Benediction:

Throughout all the ages, the people of faith have looked to anointing

which marks a new identity, a new creation.

It brings with it new responsibilities and new opportunities.

It also grants to us power and gifts that only God can give: the new

capacities that he entrusts to us as we love one another.

Today this scripture, the promise of Isaiah has been fulfilled in our

hearing. Let us go forth as healers in the name of the One who has

made us all. Amen.