I think anointing someone with oil is very Biblical and very much a part of worship. Growing up in church though, sometimes there was a person who it seemed was getting anointed every week. I don’t know if that person just wrote a big check each week or what the reasoning was, but it always intrigued me that someone would go up there every week and ask to have oil poured on their head. It’s a humbling experience and not one that I’d want to exploit for personal attention. Anyway, I’ve always imagined a pastor getting fed up with that person and dumping something else on their head instead.
I feel like there is a Jesus image that we lift up for each generation. It’s rather strange to think that this timeless Gospel must be re-branded every few years to “relate” to our culture. Our culture is going downhill rather fast. Shouldn’t we be lifting up the timeless truth of the Gospel rather than the latest rendition?
I have a problem. Sometimes I pray to God like God plays the “kiss and tell” game. You tell him your innermost thoughts and He runs off to shout it from the rooftops. I often get angry with God and other people. Anger is a sin I know, so I play the “not me” game. I guess it started in the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That evening, God was walking around the garden.
“Adam. Eve. I know you are here. I mean I am God. Wait a second… are you trying to hide from me?!” God laughs.
There is an absurdity here. I like to think that God laughed here and yelled out “Marco?!” But I bet what brought Adam and Eve out of hiding wasn’t laughter. I bet it was tears.
I’ve met a lot of people who want a truth catered to their particular viewpoint. The fact that they struggle with a part of the gospel and are offended by it doesn’t mean that it’s wrong. It means it has authority. Their are parts of scripture I’d remove if the editing was done by me. I’d simply leave it out. I mean it would be a “nicer gospel” if Jesus didn’t die on the cross. It would be “nicer” if Sodom and Gomorrah were not destroyed. It would be nicer if no one was kicked out of the garden because of rebellion. It would be nicer if the central figure of the text wasn’t some guy who claimed to be God and called the priests hypocrites while He told His followers to procure swords.
But it wouldn’t be Truth either.
The Truth isn’t nice.
The Truth sometimes Hurts.
But it brings life and it’s worth every bit of offense it brings.
