And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them

 

 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them. 

 

- Mark 6:1–13 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side (leaving the country of the Gadarenes), a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.  And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name.  And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death.  Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live."  So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.  Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."  Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"  But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.  But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."  While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?"  As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who  wept and wailed loudly.  When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep?  The child is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.  Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.  And they were overcome with great amazement.  But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.

 

  Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.  My study Bible comments that this double response of being both astonished and offended is a frequent occurrence with those who encounter Christ (Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Jesus rejection in His own country is a foreshadowing of His rejection by the whole nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  The use of the word brother in Scripture is not limited to blood siblings.  In Jewish usage (and indeed, today across the Middle East), "brother" can indicate a number of relations.  My study Bible points out that Abram called his nephew Lot "brother" (Genesis 14:14); Boaz spoke of his cousin Elimelech as his "brother" (Ruth 4:3); and Joab called his cousin Amasa "brother" (2 Samuel 20:9).  In accordance with the understanding of the Church, Christ Himself had no blood brothers, for Mary had only one Son:  Jesus.  The brothers mentioned here are either stepbrothers (that is, sons of Joseph by a previous marriage), or cousins.  One must observe also that Jesus commits His mother to the care of John at the Cross (John 19:25-27); in the context of the culture this would have been unthinkable if Mary had had other children to care for her.  

 

 But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.  This important saying, that a prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house, appears in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57, Luke 4:24; John 4:44).  My study Bible explains that Jesus could do no mighty work there, not because He lacked power, but because of the unbelief of all but a few in Nazareth.  It notes that while grace is always offered to all, only those who receive it in faith obtain its benefits.

 

 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  The twelve are known both as disciples and apostles;  in Greek, the word for disciple (μαθητής/mathetes) means "learner" or "student," while the word for apostles (ἀπόστολος/apostolos) means "one sent out" (as on a mission).  The terms are often used interchangeably for the twelve (see Matthew 10:1-2).  Here Jesus gave them power over unclean spirits, and also to heal (see verse 13), while Christ performs miracles and great works by His own power.  

And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.   My study Bible says that anointing the sick with oil has not only medicinal value but sacramental value as well.  It notes that as God's healing power is bestowed through creation (Mark 5:27; Numbers 21:8-9; 2 Samuel 13:21; John 9:6-7; Acts 5:15, 19:11-12), so oil is also a vehicle of God's mercy and healing in the Church (James 5:14).  

I am intrigued by the use of healing oil.  We see its tradition already present in the very early Church in the verse my study Bible notes (James 5:14).  But we can also look at a significant passage in the New Testament as well in a story told by Christ, that of the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).  In that parable, the Samaritan poured oil and wine on the wounds of a man beaten by robbers, a stranger whom he had befriended.  While a very high quality virgin olive oil formed the base for expensive perfumes as well as unguents and medicines in the ancient world, the oil has another, spiritual meaning within the Church.  That lies in the word for the olive oil, ἔλαιον/elaion, which is pronounced virtually the same as the word for mercy, ἔλεος/eleos.  This word is the basis for the refrain that punctuates so much of our worship, Lord have mercy (Κύριε ἐλέησόν/Kyrie eleison).  So, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, the word for the oil used to bandage and heal the hurt man echoes in the words used to grasp the point of the parable.  Jesus asks the lawyer to whom He told the parable which of the men in the story was neighbor to the man who fell among thieves.  And the lawyer replied, "He who showed mercy on him."  Jesus then tell him (and us), "Go and do likewise."  So "oil" and "mercy" are intertwined as concepts in Christ's teaching.  Moreover, when we call upon the Lord in the phrase "Lord have mercy" (Kyrie elieson), we understand that we are calling upon the grace of God, and the action of the Holy Spirit, to come into our lives in whatever way is necessary for any type of healing -- spiritual, physical, emotional, or otherwise.  So this blessed oil, the oil of unction, is by tradition in the Church a powerful healing tool and sacrament.  It is also the same oil (called chrism) which is used in Baptism.  Baptism and Unction as administered to heal the sick are both considered to be healing sacraments; they remain in use in the tradition of the Orthodox and other denominations.  From today's reading, we can see that this has been the case since the very first mission of the apostles.  I dearly love what the note in my study Bible says, that God's healing power is bestowed through creation.  In the Incarnation, God became also human, making for us the fullness of the icon of God working through creation.  It is said that we glimpse Creator through God's creations.  When we consider the beauty of the world, let us consider the healing power of God and marvel at the wonders we're given:  Christ shares His power with human beings, the apostles, and creation becomes the vehicle for God's healing grace, through faith.