I. I so enjoyed the messiness of the anointing of the newly baptizedat the easter Vigil. It used to be even messier. Listen to these words about 4th century Baptisms by a modern scholar who has studied those days.
A Rite of Passage by Aidan Kavanagh, OSB
"I have always rather liked the gruff robustness of the first rubric for baptism found in a late fourth-century church order, which directs that the bishop enter the vestibule of the baptistery and say to the catechumens without commentary or apology only four words: Take off your clothes. There is no evidence that the assistants fainted or the catechumens asked what he meant. Catechesis and much prayer and fasting had led them to understand that the language of their passage this night in Christ from death to life would be the language of the bathhouse and the tomb—not that of the forum and the drawing room."
He then describes how Oil is poured over their whole bodies Deacons…deaconesses do the job… And after they go into the water of the baptismal pool, they are again anointed, only this time with perfumed oil. It was perfumed oil that the woman poured over the head of Jesus, as we read in Mark 14:
"While Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the Leper, as he sat at table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head."
We read in 1 John "The anointing that you received from God abides in you."
A Rite of Passage by Aidan Kavanagh, OSB
"I have always rather liked the gruff robustness of the first rubric for baptism found in a late fourth-century church order, which directs that the bishop enter the vestibule of the baptistery and say to the catechumens without commentary or apology only four words: Take off your clothes. There is no evidence that the assistants fainted or the catechumens asked what he meant. Catechesis and much prayer and fasting had led them to understand that the language of their passage this night in Christ from death to life would be the language of the bathhouse and the tomb—not that of the forum and the drawing room."
He then describes how Oil is poured over their whole bodies Deacons…deaconesses do the job… And after they go into the water of the baptismal pool, they are again anointed, only this time with perfumed oil. It was perfumed oil that the woman poured over the head of Jesus, as we read in Mark 14:
"While Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the Leper, as he sat at table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head."
We read in 1 John "The anointing that you received from God abides in you."
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II. What is this anointing? The seal of the Holy Spirit. The spirit of wisdom and love, as it says God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Quote from St Cyril of Jerusalem:
"The oil of gladness with which Christ was anointed was a spiritual oil; it was the Holy Spirit himself who is the oil of gladness because he is the source of all spiritual joy. But you also have been anointed with oil, and by this anointing you have entered into fellowship with Christ and have received a share in his life. Beware of thinking of this chrism as merely ordinary oil. As the Eucharistic bread after the invocation of the Holy Spirit is no longer ordinary bread but the body of Christ, so also the oil after the invocation is no longer plain ordinary oil but Christ’s gift which by the presence of his divinity becomes the instrument through which you receive the Holy Spirit. While symbolically, on your foreheads, ..your bodies are anointed with this oil that we see, your souls are sanctified by the holy and life-giving Spirit."
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III Christ Jesus, the anointed one. That is what ‘christos’ means..from the Hebrew ‘messiah’ which means the anointed one. Jesus the anointed one did not turn out to have the political and economic power some were looking for. He had the real power of the world, the power of cherishing love. Christians, then are the anointed ones.
So now so well anointed, you are one with Christ for he abides in you and you in Him. And yes this is a mystery, and yes this seems foolishness. But again it is Jesus Christ crucified who is the power and the wisdom of God. That anointing means we are called to be witnesses of Christ to the world, called to know that resurrection follows suffering and Resurrection follows death. In the humdrum of life, the ordinariness of every day, Jesus is saying: abide in Me. By abiding in Jesus, we are with Jesus redeeming our times. Walking with Jesus, we will hear very particular calls, calls to compassion, to forgive others as we have been forgiven, to let go of resentments, to let go of the desire to retaliate. Invitations from God to be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful, even to take the last place without needing to be top dog. And indeed, there is that very difficult invitation from Jesus: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you....as Jesus did upon the Cross. Called to a ministry of reconciliation. 2 Cor 5
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IV. What then? That oil poured over us is the anointing by the Holy Spirit, It is a sign of God pouring His strength into our weakness. It is the Oil of gladness.
And when we get together for worship or prayer, we remember who we are, we remind each other of who we really are and to what goodness and compassion we are called and what good news we have to share.
That overflowing oil. That oil of gladness set a seal in us so that each moment and forever we are to live in union with Jesus in the world, discerning and doing the will of God in good times and in bad. The Spirit of God is here, and now, with us, with the Divine power, within us. In season and out we are to call on the name of the Lord and to know the power we have received in this anointing. Pray always the apostle tells us. Our help is in the name of Lord who has made heaven and earth!
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