The Anointing of the Sick
The last line of today’s Gospel reads: So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast out many devils and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.
Listening to this, I ask myself, ‘Is this the sort of activity that takes place in our Church today? Do those who come to St Thomas’ (or any church) hear the Gospel of repentance being preached? In the Church today, do we acknowledge the presence of the devil and cast him out? Are the sick of our community anointed with oil and are many of those anointed healed?’
The core message of Jesus is to turn back to him, to allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to have a change of heart, to commit our life to him alone. This is what repentance means. The Greek word is metanoia (μετάνοια), meaning “changing one’s mind”. We are all striving to have an undivided heart, to give our heart completely to our loving Father.
What makes many people uncomfortable today is talking about the devil. Jesus made it clear that liberation from the powers of darkness is a sign of the in-breaking of the Kingdom. At each baptism, and at Easter, we say ‘yes’ to these questions: ‘Do you reject sin, so as to live in the freedom of the children of God? Do you reject the glamour of evil and refuse to be mastered by sin? Do you reject Satan, father of sin and prince of darkness?’
Jesus is the light who banishes the darkness of lies, deceit and despair.
We do have the wonderful and healing sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick in the church. The Pope’s prayer intention for July is that the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick may grant the Lord’s strength to those who receive it and to their loved ones and that it may become, for everyone, an ever more visible sign of compassion and hope. The Priest and those who are present during the Anointing of the Sick represent the entire Christian community that, as one body, embraces the one who suffers and their family, nurturing their faith and hope, and supporting them through their prayers and compassion. I often have to remind those who might be going into hospital for an operation to come, before they go into hospital, to receive the sacrament of the sick.
As we read in the letter of St James: 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. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
