Category Archives: Rome

by

Anointing and the Power of Touch

Scripture: James 5:13-16

Every day many a well-meaning Christian mom will pack her kids off to school with their Veggie Tales lunch boxes, singing one of Psalty’s choruses as they go out the door, then she’ll sit down with her Women’s Study Bible to complete a devotional where she writes in her Purpose Driven journal with her Purpose Driven Pen after sipping coffee out of her Purpose Driven mug. She reminded her husband about the Dynamic Marriage class – week 8 – at church but she’ll forget to say the Prayer of Jabez which is magnetically attached her fridge, because that’s old now and few folks really remember it. How does it start? “Oh God that you would bless me indeed…” In all our Christian fad-ism and marketing, there’s one thing that mom should get but wont, because it hasn’t quite risen to the top of faith consciousness – a massage. Not only would a massage ease her stress or heal her heart, it would connect her to the history of our faith in a powerful, beautiful way.

Now, I know there are some quizzical looks on the faces of my friends, slightly shocked that Rev. Kellie “I hate to be touched” Rupard-Schorr is advocating massage. But just as the Bible assures us that “iron sharpens iron” – it is also true that massage can soften even the crankiest heart. (But don’t be too worried about the world turning upside down – strangers touching and hugging me is completely out of the question, and I still hate to get my hair cut). Anyway…back to the topic of massage, or more appropriately, healing touch.

Healing Touch and the History of Faith

While massage and Christianity seem to go together like a Jumbo Meal with a Diet Pepsi, healing touch has been a part of faith from its earliest times. Although a couple instances of touch are recorded in the Old Testament, primarily as a means of transferring spiritual authority or power to a person, common day-to-day touch was not the norm. In fact the 613 commandments of the Old Testament spend much more time talking about who you can’t touch, than who you can. Touch becomes such a “touchy” issue (sorry, I couldn’t resist that) that the Gospel writers make a point to stress how much Jesus touched other people – for healing, comfort and spiritual freedom. Jesus touched just about everyone on the No Touch List – women, Samaritans, sinners, sick people and dead folks. It’s hard for American Christians to grasp – but the hymn “He Touched Me” would be more appropriate as a testament to his rebellious and change-making behavior, as opposed to just an affirmation of Christ’s ability to affect our lives.

However, while Jesus was touching people and making waves all over Jerusalem, another force of touch had been sent on a collaborative course. Asclepiades of Bithynia was a Roman orator from Asia Minor who had learned many techniques of touch and massage while still in East. He plied his trade approximately 125 years before Christ. He failed as a rhetorician but became renown as a healer by using hydroptherapy, massage (what was then called “anointed rubbing”), and dietary changes. Pliny the Elder[i] describes his influence on Roman culture to be so pervasive that he is now considered a “Father” of psychotherapy, hydrotherapy, physical therapy and therapeutic touch. Schools sprung up all over territories controlled by Rome of people teaching his method of anointed touch. His methods found their way into the Roman religious circle – including assigning the task of water carrying to Vestal Virgins, water rites and rituals in many temples, and the temple of Athena (Roman name: Minerva) had an entire group of healers who practiced something called “tactus juxta medica” – touch like medicine.

During the 1st century as the early church began to bring Gentiles into the faith and spread across cultures, the place of touch was firmly rooted in ritual and daily practice. Stories in Acts show the Apostles touching and healing, and Paul’s letters to churches – many in Asia Minor – feature a staple of touching and “anointed touch” as an appropriate form of healing for the community.

It should be noted the word “anointing” in the ancient world did not mean putting a drop of oil on someone’s head as a symbol of God’s power to heal. It meant rubbing oil (or milk, water, mud or balm) onto a person or into a wound (In fact, the word “anoint” comes to English from French from Latin – “inunguere” – meaning “to smear into”. In the first century, oil was one of the most common healing tools there was, and the rubbing of it into the skin was an act of medicinal healing, good hospitality, and care.

James 5:13-16
13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

So what does all this mean to us now?

The Physical is Spiritual

In the centuries since the early church readily embraced anointing touch as a medicinal, spiritual practice our relationship with both touch and faith have changed. (For a view of that history see the very awesome “Church History in 4 Minutes”). Instead of generously pouring from a jar or flask, “anointing oil” now comes in tiny little vials you can buy at the Christian bookstore – and use a drop or two on someone’s forehead.

American Christians have a much less touch-centered community (in fact, with the current H1N1 flu pandemic some churches are asking people not to shake hands or touch at all!). Some communities have become so separated from touch (and each other) that they simply say “stay in your seat and stretch out your hands”. That is unfortunate when we realize the whole point of Jesus – as an incarnation – is to be the “word made flesh”. He was the word of God in a body, and meant to be among us, touching us, healing us, teaching us and hearing us. Jesus, Emmanuel, God With Us, is a confirmation that the spiritual IS physical and conversely the physical IS spiritual. A faith without healing touch is disincarnated and unanointed.

How do we recapture touch?

We can move beyond the concept of the “laying on of hands” as something to only be done by the ordained for sacred rites and re-discover the power of generous and anointed touch in our day to day lives. People with families usually experience far more touch – hugs from kids, kisses from spouses – however, we need to encourage those tactile affections to have a priority in relationships and never become lost in the shuffle. We can become aware of the touch hungry among us – widows and widowers, single folks, and people with chronic illnesses (because of unfounded fears, people with HIV/AIDS frequently go without touch). Maybe, when flu season is over, giving someone at church an extra hand-shake, pat on the back or hug would be a blessing you can offer. Finally, for those with broken bodies or damaged spirits, therapeutic massage from a trained and certified massage therapist can be encouraged and explored as an option.

From the standpoint of biblical authority we see in James 5 not simply an admonishment to a dry and formal ceremony performed by clergy, but a directive to all Christian people to understand and participate in healing as a communal act. It is the essence of that thing called church to join the sick with the well, and the hurting with the healers. Remember those schools of Ascepliades I mentioned earlier? Roman history (particularly from Galen) records some of the places they were found as Ephesus, Rome, Colossae, Phillipi, Corinth, and Thessaly. Do those names seem familiar? Look across the tabs on your bible listing the epistles and you might see them again. Touch as healing existed in all those places, including the churches Paul encouraged through his letters to lay hands on one another, anoint one another, and give the occasional greeting of a “holy kiss” (I won’t be tackling that issue any time soon).

So what would I tell that Christian mom as she finishes up her devotional reading and gets ready to carry her stress through her Purpose Driven day? I would tell her to be “called” not “driven”, to laugh – because laughter is a sacred sound, to be hopeful, and to be healed through her faith community, through prayer and through touch. In John 9, Jesus made some mud and rubbed it on a blind man’s eyes (anointing him). He sent the man to wash in the Pool of Siloam and the man’s vision was restored. I could tell you from the authority of personal experience that I learned what he learned when I allowed healing touch into my life – “I was blind, but now I see.”

_____

[i] Pliny the Elder – yes yes yes – I know he made up much of what he wrote as history – however Ascepliades and his practices and schools are also confirmed by Galen and other more reputable historians.

by

A Rare and Precious Gift

Scripture: Luke 6:20-26

“Don’t throw the past away
You might need it some rainy day
Dreams can come true again
When everything old is new again”

Peter Allen wrote that song in 1979 for the musical “All the Jazz”. The further time goes by the more true it has become. Movies are more likely to be re-makes or re-hashes of familiar themes than original stories. Songs are re-done or “sampled” (the horrible practice of playing part of an established song into your song then claiming you made a “new” thing). Political scandals, public romances and private divorces – all go round and round.

It’s not all bad, though. Sometimes more than bad films or obnoxious songs come back from history. Sometimes a beautiful idea is re-captured and presented to a whole new generation. One such idea is the Lachrymatory. Glass blowers from all over the globe have discovered the ancient tradition of the lachrymatory – a tear bottle – and have begun making them again. There are many places where you can buy modern versions of these tiny tear holders all created as a “blast from the past”.

A Roman Lachrymatory – circa 100 AD (CE).

A modern Lachrymatory, from Timeless Traditions, 2008
A lachrymatory is a tiny glass or pottery bottle people would use to catch their tears in when someone died. After the bottle had been cried into, it would be placed on the crypt, burial place or memory stone of the loved one as a testament to how much that person (usually a child) meant. It started as an ancient practice, and many Hebrew scholars feel Psalm 56:8 “Put my tears in your wineskin” is an allusion to the idea. By the first century the Roman Empire and its conquered lands used lachrymatories as a culture rite of passage. In fact, rich people even hired mourners to cry into a lachrymatory so the deceased would be honored by a bottle filled with tears. For the poor, who did not usually have the luxury of a “tear-for-hire” service, friends and neighbors would gather their tears to place inside the bottle. After gathering tears in a bottle, they would present it to the widow or parent and say formally and compassionately, “Condolesco adactus” –“ I suffer with you.” (that’s where we get the word “condolences” from).

Imagine that – after a tragedy giving your neighbor the gift of tears. Certainly not something the good folks at Hallmark or flowers.com would encourage. Yet what a powerful thing it would be indeed – To grieve with someone – to mourn with someone.

We don’t value tears in our culture as much as we should. The weekend after the Virginia Tech Tragedy I saw a large banner at a concert I attended where people were encouraged to sign it in support. There were a lot of hopes, and “I’m praying for you” kind of sentiments – however I don’t recall seeing one note that said “I am crying for you” – although crying was what many of us did – and knowledge of that was a great healing gift to those who mourned and lost a loved one. Anyone can laugh with you, or pray for you. But it is a true brother or sister of spirit who can cry for you.

Even when we cry for ourselves and our own sorrows we tend to hide that fact. We don’t tell people about the times we cry over mean words, long silences, or serious betrayals. We don’t let on that we cry in the car on the way home from a bad day at work, and we rarely even admit the times we are so grateful for someone’s mercy or forgiveness that we cry then too. We are a family made of hiding criers.

The New Testament, particularly the stories of Christ, show how important tears are to the Kingdom of Heaven on earth and would encourage us not to hide them. Think of the many narratives about crying.

Jesus weeps over the sins of Jerusalem
A woman’s weeping softens his heart to her plight and he heals her daughter
Jesus weeps tears like blood the night before his passion
A woman washes Jesus’ feet with her tears

And in the list of blessings in Luke (a synoptic version of the Sermon on the Mount) we are told:

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” (Luke 6:21 NIV).

Even Paul talks frequently about the tears he cries for the churches he loves and nurtures. Want to see how much he cries? Go to the http://www.biblegateway.com/ and type the word “tears” and choose “New Testament” – a whole list of Paul’s teardrops appears.

There is no worse feeling in the world that helplessness. When our friends or loved ones endure something we can’t fix, or experience something we can’t change that creeping awful helplessness crawls into our hearts and buries its deep fruitless longing. In those times its good to remember – if you can’t fix it, and you can’t change it – you can pray about it, you can support through it, and you can cry over it. Its not a bad thing – it’s a gift. The anger of helplessness is a natural reaction. Crying for someone is a spiritual action. Which do you think most befits the people of God?

So the next time someone tells you of a past event that’s harmed them, instead of wishing you could go back in time, find the person who caused the harm and pop them in the nose (a natural reaction) – cry for them, or cry with them, and pray for their healing and be inspired by their strength. The next time someone you love faces an illness, a job loss, a loneliness your care can’t seem to permeate –instead of slogans and suggestions designed to “fix” them (a natural reaction)– cry with them, cry for them, and pray at their side –holding their hand.

You don’t need to save your tears in a small glass jar for them to be of value – but when you recognize the value in tears you will be a part of Christ’s family, bringing the care of heaven to the children on earth. Tears are a rare and precious gift.

by

Crossing the Rubicon

Crossing the Rubicon

1 Peter 3:13-22

The Rubicon River separated the North called Gaul from Italy proper in the century before and after Christ. It formed a border line to what was considered actually being in “Rome”. Because of the concern that Rome could be defeated not by the armies of other countries (whom Rome had always defeated in battle) but by a general taking the Roman army against the city, a law was created that made it illegal (treason) to cross the Rubicon with an army. In 49 BCE Julius Caesar did just that. Taking his full army to Rome, he knew the act of crossing the river was an act of treason and war. In legend the moment he crossed the river he reportedly said, “ālea iacta est – “the die is cast”. Once you cross the Rubicon, there is no turning back.

In popular culture the phrase “Crossing the Rubicon” means the same as taking a risky and irrevocable action or starting a revolution that cannot be turned back from. In our passage today Peter is telling Christians to “cross the rubicon” – not with an army of might but with a force of peace. How do we create revolution? Courage, Conversation, and Conscience.

It Takes Courage to Create Change

The first thing Peter tells us is “do not be frightened”. Christianity is not a faith walk for people who lack conviction or courage. It requires making stands so radical in their nature that people are tempted to think us quite mad. Christianity is designed to be so embracing that the very people other shy away from – the homeless, the immigrants, the lepers, the prisoner and the outcasts – are the very ones we take in, create community with and consider our equals. Instead of the old way of thinking ourselves “religious” and them “cursed” – Christianity is the courage to say “These are my brothers and sisters I am them – they are me.”

Don’t be afraid of the world around you. Create change by your willingness to be equal – not just when it gives you rights, but when it keeps you humble. Learn from everyone God puts in your path and teach them through your courage to side-step the norm of achievement, busy-ness and social status. The Rubicon was a boundary. Be willing to break the boundaries of class and stature and cross into the true Christian life.

Conversation, not Condemnation

Peter then challenges us to do something modern Christians struggle with more than anything – be ready to talk about Christ. Not only be ready to talk about Jesus – but be ready to do it gently and respectfully!

15But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…
Now there’s a groundbreaking thought. Instead of condemning people for their belief, practices or non-practices and walking around with a list of mental does and don’ts – be ready to be gentle, respectful and talk with them. Peter knows what we should notice in the gospels – Never does Jesus point out someone and say “Well, they are just going to hell” and walk away. He chides the Pharisees (church folks!) and talks about the woe they face if they don’t learn to embrace the spirit of the Lord other than the letter of the law. But mostly he listens, he teaches and he loves.

Lets not just bring “respect” into our churches – lets create a revolution of change by taking respect out into the world – and when people notice our gentle nature and respect then they can say “What is it about you that’s different?” and you can be prepared to talk about Jesus Christ.

Have Conscience on your side.

Americans like to be “right” – no matter if we are right or wrong – or even if right or wrong really isn’t the point – we like to be “right”. Having a conscience means you don’t enforce your “rightness” but God’s goodness, God’s holiness and God’s love. Notice Peter expect Christians to live such good behavior that anytime someone says something bad about them – its slander – because Christians don’t act badly. That’s what it means to live with conscience.

Instead of worrying about creating theological arguments about our beliefs and how right we are to follow Jesus, lets channel that desire to be right into our lives – be right about how we act, be right about what we give, and be right before God in our hearts. Not only will that make an irrevocable difference our lives, but it will cross the Rubicon of faith and show they world a revolution of hope.

Crossing the Rubicon was how Julius Caesar started the revolution that took Rome from a corrupt Republic to the age of the Emperors – some like Caesar were tyrants, some the Augustus brought the peace of Rome (pax romana), roads and culture to the world. No matter what historians decide about that act – one thing is for cure – not being able to go back – took the whole world forward.

Make a change in your relationship of faith that makes an unchangeable mark on the world around you.