Death : How will you die? Choosing to be anointed

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

John 12:1-8

DAILY BYTE

Earlier in Lent, we read the parallel passage of Jesus’ anointing at Bethany in the Gospel of Matthew. Today we read the story from the perspective of the Gospel of John where we find Jesus at the home of Lazarus, being anointed by Mary, his friend. Not long before, Jesus had brought Lazarus to life from the dead. He had wept with this family and celebrated with them. They had literally been through life and death together. And so when Jesus knew his decision to go to the cross was imminent, it was appropriate that he share intimate moments with people he loved and who knew him well.

It was and is a common practice to anoint those we love for burial. The word for anoint comes from the idea, to “smear on.” So, when our foreheads are anointed with oil, we are physically being smeared by loving hands with the working of the Holy Spirit and the healing presence of Christ. Every time we are anointed, whether in seeking healing and blessing because of sickness or sin we remember that Christ, too, was anointed, as he prepared to die.

As we walk with Jesus to the cross and his burial this week, what crossroads are you reaching in your own life that might crave the loving touch of anointing? Are you at the brink of making decisions - big or small - in your life that lead to the death of a certain kind of sin with which you have been struggling? As Jesus shows us in his acceptance of Mary’s anointing, we are called in times of preparation and struggle to accept the anointing of those who love us - to let them communicate the gift of God’s presence to us in ways that bring comfort, confidence, and peace.

If you have been choosing to keep a decision or struggle private, wanting to sort things out for yourself because of embarrassment or pride, consider today allowing a friend or minister to enter into that struggle with you. Consider that when confronted with life’s greatest challenge - the cross - even Jesus required preparation and loving intervention from the people he trusted most. He boldly made himself vulnerable to the intentional care of someone who knew the precious and limited nature of his life.

If God is calling for some aspect of your character or actions to die and be buried, perhaps the act of anointing with prayer might allow that death to be a good death - one that acknowledges that our lives are limited and are precious. One that says, the time that I have here is too short for me to remain proud and alone in my struggles. One that says, I need others to help me live and die well, and so I am unafraid to share my life and struggle over decisions with a community that has vowed to pray for me, uphold me, and be an anointing of the Holy Spirit in my life . So that when it comes time for us to die a bodily death, we don’t discover that we have not truly lived.

Questions for reflection:

1. What decisions are you making that may need the intervention of a friend and the ultimate advocate, the Holy Spirit? As you walk the path to death, what aspects of your life crave anointing so that when you do come to die, you know that you have truly lived?
2. What steps do you need to take to open yourself to the gift of God’s anointing in your life? Do you need to lay down pride or fear? Do you need to choose someone you trust to share your crossroads with them? Do you need to trust God more?
3. If you were given the opportunity to anoint another person that you love, who would you anoint, and what would you pray?

PRAYER

Pray this prayer, on behalf of others and yourself, which is often used at services of anointing:

Almighty God, we pray that our brothers and sisters may be comforted in their suffering and made whole. When they are afraid, give them courage; when they feel weak, grant them your strength; when they are afflicted, afford them patience; when they are lost, offer them hope; when they are alone, move us to their side; when death comes, open your arms to receive them. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.