Anointing

I was once fortunate to go away on a parish weekend. It was before I had started training for the ministry and I went with a group from the church I attended in London. That retreat was a life-changing experience. I had never heard of the African priest who led it, but it appeared he was working in England as a member of the Staff of the World Council of Churches. He was brilliant and, after the retreat was over, I looked him up on the internet. Desmond Tutu was his name. In one of the sessions he talked about his enemies. It was only later, when I discovered who he was, that I realised that he had real enemies who actually would love to have killed him. For every person he met, he told us, including his enemies, in his mind he made a sign of the cross over their heads to remind him that this person, he was talking to, was a child of God for whom Christ had died.

One of the sacraments is called Unction. It means anointing with oil and, once upon a time, it was associated with the ‘last rites’ or the ministry a priest gave to someone who was dying. Today we use oil much more often as a special way of praying with a person. We might well include making the sign of the cross of the forehead as we pray for them. It can be a powerful experience to receive such a ministry.

I like to think of it as the ministry of touch. There are many people in our world who are never touched by others and some can feel isolated and lonely. Sadly there are many others who have been touched in inappropriate ways. I don’t just mean the many victims of abuse, but also the countless people who are being beaten, tortured or killed in some of the dreadful situations of conflict in our world today.

Perhaps each of us might consider how we touch others and whether we do so for their benefit and wellbeing. It may not be appropriate to go and hug every person you meet today, but why not try doing what Desmond Tutu does and in your mind just making the sign of the cross over their heads in blessing. Try it especially with those you do not get on with and see what a difference God can make.