Jeremy L. Berg

I have been thinking about anointing lately. This ancient biblical practice is foreign to us today. When was the last time someone poured oil over your head and down your beard? Probably never. This past weekend our family had the chance to anoint a loved one in a hospital who is dying, which I’ll share more about below.

Christians should consider its meaning, since “Christ” literally means ‘anointed one’ and a “Christian” is literally a little anointed one. Anointed by who or what, and why? We get a sense of the joyful significance of anointing in what seems to us a strange comparison in Psalm 133. The psalmist is reaching for words to express the exuberant bliss we experience when a group of people dwell together in harmony and unity. The psalmist declares:

“How good and pleasant it is

when God’s people live together in unity!

It is like precious oil poured on the head,

running down on the beard,

running down on Aaron’s beard,

down on the collar of his robe.”

Oil dumped on one’s head or running down their beard is probably not the metaphor we would choose to celebrate our deepest friendships or intimacy with a loved one. So, what is anointing?

Biblical anointing refers to the practice of applying oil to a person or object as a sign of consecration, blessing, or empowerment by God. It is a significant ritual in both the Old and New Testaments. Anointing sets apart individuals for a specific purpose, such as kings, priests, and prophets. It symbolizes God’s favor and presence on someone. In the New Testament, anointing with oil is associated with physical and spiritual healing (James 5:14-15).

Some examples of anointing include Saul and David being anointed as kings of Israel (1 Samuel 10:1; 1 Samuel 16:13). Aaron and his sons were anointed to serve in the priesthood (Exodus 28:41). In the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the “Anointed One” (Messiah), emphasizing His divine mission (Luke 4:18).

Oil represents the Holy Spirit coming upon someone and the divine empowerment that accompanies the Spirit. If anointing was often reserved for special people like kings and priests in the Old Testament, in the New Covenant the Holy Spirit’s anointing comes to all believers in baptism! In the baptismal rite, we are all anointed by the Holy Spirit and consecrated for service in the “priesthood of all believers.” We are all chosen, marked out, sealed, filled and empowered by the anointing of baptism.

Hospital Room Anointing

This past weekend me, Keri and our three kids surrounded the hospital bed of my Uncle Gary. He is battling cancer and nearing the end. He is ready to meet Jesus and be done with his suffering. I brought my guitar to sing some hymns and then we shared a special time of Holy Communion together.

I placed my hand carved, olive wood communion bowl purchased in Bethlehem in Gary’s hands and asked him to feel the grooves of the wood, and imagine Jesus and Joseph working with the same kind of wood as carpenters. Then I showed him my olive wood cup I brought home from the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized. Then I asked my son, Isaak, to read the beloved Psalm 23.

“Even though you sit here in the valley of the shadow of death,” I said to Gary, “the Lord your shepherd is with you. He prepares a communion table for you in the present of your enemies — enemies such as Fear, Pain, Doubt, and the greatest enemy, Death.”

We passed the bread and the cup around the hospital room sanctuary decorated not with candles and crosses, but sterile instruments, fluorescent lights, tubes and monitors and beepers. “Surely His goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life and (soon) you shall dwell in the house the Lord forever,” the psalm continues.

But the highlight was drawing attention to that line in the famous psalm that we so often gloss over: “HE ANOINTS MY HEAD WITH OIL.”

I pulled out my little jar of anointing oil from Jerusalem and declared the truths about anointing listed above: that Gary was anointed by the Holy Spirit in his baptism 65 years ago, given the gift of God’s indwelling presence and power that has been with Him through all the valleys of his life, and there were many. Now, as Eternity draws near I was about to apply this precious oil to Gary’s forehead just as the pastor applied the baptism water to Gary’s head as a baby at the baptismal font.

I paused, and looked at my three children experiencing this holy moment — their first time sitting this close to death. (Hospital rooms have an extra layer of poignancy and heaviness after our 31-days in the ICU a couple years ago with Isaak.) Keri and I were thinking the same thing: enlist the priesthood of all believers in this moment, and let the three kids anoint Uncle Gary.

One at a time, Peter, Isaak and Abby approached the bedside and made the mark of the cross on his forehead with the anointing oil. Anointing Gary for healing, yes. Healing in this life, maybe. But certainly for the complete healing we all shall experience on the other side.

The most important truth I then expressed was simple: “Uncle Gary, you belong to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, now and forever. Amen.”

May we all remember our special baptismal anointing, and know that when pass through our own valleys of the shadow of death, that the Good Shepherd is with us. He prepares a Table for us, and He anoints our head with oil.

I fear our faith these days is often far too abstract and ethereal, lacking concrete images, practices, and experiences. We “believe” God’s promises in our heads, but perhaps we need to feel and experience his promises in tangible forms. While there’s nothing wrong with singing songs and reading scriptures together, it might do us well to feel God’s loving seal over our lives dripping down our forehead and even running down our beard.