Anointing The Sick
“Why don’t Lutherans anoint the sick?” I have been asked this question many times over the last twelve years. This month’s Newsletter has three goals. The first is to show that Lutherans do indeed anoint the sick. The second is to properly explain what we mean by it, and how to do it. The third will teach what to expect from God.
The reason why Lutherans maintain the practice of anointing the sick is simply because the Bible tells us to. James 5:14-15 says, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” We even read that the disciples put this into practice. Mark 6:13, “And they [that is, the disciples] cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.”
When I say that Lutherans do indeed anoint the sick, this may not be a prevailing practice among us, but it is officially in our Agenda to do so. The Rite is called, “Visiting the Sick and Distressed.” The rubrics state, “3. According to apostolic custom (Mark 6:3; James 5:14), a sick person may be anointed with oil as a reminder of the grace of God given by the Holy Spirit in Holy Baptism. Olive oil is used when anointing the sick” (Agenda, p. 43).
The reason why this does not seem to be a prevailing practice in our circles is, in my opinion, two-fold. First, most people are aware that Roman Catholics have a lot more Sacraments than we do. While they have seven, Lutherans have two or three, depending on how you count them. Rome calls one of them, “Extreme Unction”, which is also known as Anointing the Sick. Because many Lutherans had a fear of looking Roman Catholic last century, rather than simply saying, “We will maintain a rite or ceremony, and just not call it a Sacrament”, we threw the baby out with the bath water. Rome also calls Holy Matrimony a Sacrament, and yet Lutherans have not gotten rid of marrying Christians before the Altar of God! Likewise, we should not have ceased to Anoint the Sick just because it is not a Sacrament as we understand the term.
The second reason why I think we do not have a rich tradition of anointing the sick is the fear of looking or acting like Pentecostals, who often have “faith-healing” services. This is a good segue to our second goal: explaining what we mean by anointing the sick. In the Lutheran Rite, the first ceremony is confession of sins followed, of course, by Holy Absolution. To quote the Rubrics, “When a sick person is to be anointed with oil”, James 5:14-16 is to be read, followed by these words: “ Name, you have confessed your sins and received Holy Absolution. In remembrance of the grace of God given by the Holy Spirit in the waters of Holy Baptism, I will anoint you with oil. Confident in our Lord and in love for you, we also pray for you that you will not lose faith. Know that in godly patience the Church endures with you and supports you during this affliction. We firmly believe that this illness is for the glory of God and that the Lord will both hear our prayer and work according to His good and gracious will.” Then, “Using his right thumb, the pastor anoints the sick person on the forehead while saying: Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given you the new birth of water and the Spirit and forgiven you all your sins, strengthen you with His grace to life ╬ everlasting.”
In contrast to the Pentecostals who believe that if you have enough faith or proper faith then you will be therefore healed of your disease, as if God can be persuaded or duped into healing people, Lutherans emphasize the forgiveness of sins, whereby also life and salvation are received. We have no assurance that God will heal every single illness on this side of glory, as even the Scriptures attest to. We do have the assurance that God will save us for Jesus’ sake when we believe that for His sake our sins are forgiven. Notice what James says: “And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick.” There is no promise of physical healing, but there is of salvation! Yet, on the other hand, as the example from Mark shows, God very well could and might heal them, as He did for many in the disciples’ day! Notice, there, too, however, that Mark says many were healed. He does not say all of them!
True faith must trust that whatever God ordains is always good. Whether or not He heals the body temporally, He will most certainly grant full healing eternally. The anointed infirm should expect God to forgive their sins, preserve them in the true faith, and heal them if not here then in the life to come.
If anyone ever desires to be to receive this Rite when they are sick, coping with the ailments of old age, fighting cancer, etc., it is available to you. While we do not identify it as a Sacrament since there is no promise of the forgiveness of sins instituted with the oil, there will be Absolution preceding it, and there will be the exhortation to remember your Baptism, both of which were instituted for the forgiveness of sins. Then the pastor (referred to as “elders” in the James’ text) will commend you to God, trusting in His mercy, that He might heal you according to His good will.
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Hromowyk