JOINT BIBLE STUDY OF HOLY TRINITY ORTHODOX CHURCH AND
CHRIST THE SAVIOR ORTHODOX CHURCH, HERNANDO COUNTY, FL

Fr. Michael Shuster, Host & Administrator – Fr. Stanley S. Harakas, Presenter

Holy Unction Sacrament – 1^st Epistle

Is Any Among You Sick? James 5:14-16

October 14, 2004

Opening Prayer Psalm 6

   O Lord, rebuke me not in thy anger, nor chasten me in thy wrath. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is sorely troubled. But thou, O Lord -- how long? Turn, O Lord, save my life; deliver me for the sake of thy steadfast love. For in death there is no remembrance of thee; in Sheol who can give thee praise? I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief, it grows weak because of all my foes. Depart from me, all you workers of evil; for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies shall be ashamed and sorely troubled; they shall turn back, and be put to shame in a moment.

   Text: Of Life and Salvation: Reflections on Living the Christian Life- Based on the Fourteen Scripture Readings of the Orthodox Christian Church’s Sacrament of Holy Unction. (Minneapolis: Light and Life Publishing Co., 1996, pp. 24-28.

 The First Epistle – James 5:14-16

 14 Is any 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;  15 and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.

Outline of Reflection on 1^st Epistle-a

A.     Is any among you sick? Only real answer for all is "Yes The apostle James' question is directed to every one of us, in the depths of our most painful personal experience.

B.     The passage above is read during the Sacrament of "Prayer Oil" which is also known as Holy Unction. Conducted both privately and in Church (Holy Wednesday for some Orthodox Churches). It is the scriptural basis for the establishment of the Sacrament of Holy Unction.

C.     The Greek word presbyterous when translated into the English version as elders, can be misunderstood. It does not refer to the older members of the Church. Rather presbyterous refers to the priests of the Church.

D.    Oil, a common ancient method of healing. But this healing is not with ordinary medicine but with a spiritual and religious act. Why? Because the anointing takes place "in the name of the Lord" with prayer and confidence that it is God who will heal the sick person.

E.     Christians respect and honor the practice of medicine and have recourse to it. The physician is important in aiding the process of healing, but it is God who is The Healer.

F.      An illuminating ancient passage (from one of the “deuterocanonical books of the Septuigint Old Testament).

    My son, in thy sickness be not negligent: but pray to the Lord, and he will make thee whole. Leave off from sin, and order thy hand aright, and cleanse thy heart from all wickedness. Give a sweet savour, and a memorial of fine flour; and make a fat offering . . . . Then give place to the physician, for the Lord hath created him: let him not go from thee, for thou hast need of him. There is a time when in their hands there is good success. For they shall also pray unto the Lord, that he would prosper that which they give for ease and remedy to prolong life (Eclesiasticus 38:9-14).  

G.    The Spiritual and the Physical Together. It is true that germs and viruses cause illness regardless of the state of our character. But Science now recognizes psychosomatic illness (that is, soul-body ills) and strives for wholistic medicine, which treats the total person: body, emotions, mind, and spirit.

H.    Sin, illness and healing. An essential aspect of healing, if it is to be complete, is for all that is disharmonious between us, God, our fellow human beings, and nature to be put aright. Therefore, "...if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven."  Generally our sinfulness contributes to the spiritual and physical disharmony in our bodies and the disordered state of our health. This disharmony is what the physician refers to when he speaks of psychosomatic illness.

I.       Health in Community. Health and sickness is not just a private thing. Health and sickness are part of a social whole. James says there are two things we need to do. First, we all need to continually clear the air from the moral and spiritual pollution of our unkindnesses and our unloving behavior to one another: "Therefore," he says in verse 16, "confess your sins to one another." So that mutual forgiveness and the 

      restoration of peace can take place.

J.      Secondly, James tells us we must take an active interest in the welfare of one another for healing to come in its fullness: "pray for one another, that you might be healed."

K.    “The Prayer of a Righteous Man has great power in its effects." The Church routinely seeks the intercessions of the saints for all purposes, including the healing of sickness.

    J.   St. James’ challenge to us to:

              *accept the healing grace of the Sacrament of Holy Unction;  

  *avail ourselves of the ministrations of the medical arts;  

  *recognize the whole situation of healthiness and unhealthiness;  

  *give and receive forgiveness as a way of clearing away the sinful and disharmonious;

  *care for others through prayer;  

  *avail ourselves of the great power of God's saints for healing.
 

Break

Personal Reflection by Bette Roussos

Group Discussion     

Other Members’ Personal Reflections

Last Week’s Motto:  “Come dwell in the temple of my heart.”  Formulation of new Weekly Motto

prayer Before Reading Scripture

   Illumine our hearts, O Master who loves humankind, with the pure light of Your divine knowledge, and open the eyes of our mind to understand Your Gospel teachings; implant in us also the reverence for Your blessed commandments, that trampling down all sinful desires, we may enter upon a spiritual manner of living, both thinking and doing those things as please You.  For You are the illumination of our souls and bodies, O Christ our God, and to You we ascribe glory together with Your eternal Father and Your all-holy and good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and to ages of ages.  Amen 

The First Unction Gospel: Luke 10:25-37 – Justifying Ourselves (pp. 29-32).

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, 34 and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, `Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

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