Fredrik Backman is the author of a book I mentioned last Sunday. The book is titled A Man Called Ove. The book centers on a man named Ove whose wife was the love of his life. Backman writes,
“Ove had never been asked how he lived before he met her, but if anyone had asked him, he would have answered that he didn’t.” (Fredrik Backman A Man Called Ove, Chapter 14 (6:05)).
Ove’s wife was his life. And after Ove’s wife died, Backman described the impact this way:
“But if anyone had asked, he would have told them, that he never lived before he met her, and not after either.” (Fredrik Backman A Man Called Ove, Chapter 14 (15:57)).
She was his life. Ove came to life when he met her. And he seemed to lose his life when she left him. And that, Backman writes, is the fear we all have about death:
“We fear it. Yet most of us fear more than anything that it may take someone other than ourselves. For the greatest fear of death is always that it will pass us by, and leave us there, alone.” (Fredrik Backman A Man Called Ove, Chapter 39 (00:44))
What we fear more than anything when it comes to death, the novel suggests, is that death will leave us lonely in this life. What we most treasure in this life is having companionship. Having people to care about and people who care about us. That’s what brings us life. That’s what makes this life worth living. In many ways that’s what the novel is about.
And finding that companionship after his wife’s death is what finally brings Ove back to life. A neighbor in his housing complex named Anita has a husband who is ill with dementia. And the social services of Sweden, where the story takes place, has determined that Anita is not an adequate caregiver for her husband. So an official in a white shirt arrives one day to forcefully remove Anita’s husband from the house. Anita blocks his entrance into her house. The official questions Anita:
“And who’s going to take care of him? Anita” He asks rhetorically, shaking his head. Then he takes a step forward and gestures for the three nurses to follow him into the house. “I’m going to take care of him!” answers Anita. Her gaze as dark as a burial at sea. The man in the white shirt just continues shaking his head as he pushes past her. And only then does he see the shadow rising up behind her. “And so will I” says Ove. “And I will” says Parvana. “And me,” say Patrick, Jimmy, Anders, Andrian, and Marsad, with a single voice as they push their way into the doorway until they’re falling over each other.” (Fredrik Backman A Man Called Ove Chapter 35 (5:17))
What the scene is describing is all of Anita’s neighbors joining together to say to this official that they will all take care of Anita’s husband. Ove and all the neighbors will be the companions that Anita and her husband need. They will form a community and their purpose will be to care for this one ailing member.
This scene helps set the stage for an important text in a letter written by James:
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church…(Jas. 5:13-14a ESV)
James describes three scenarios. The first two are life at opposite ends of the spectrum: “suffering” and “cheerful”. There are times when we find ourselves suffering. But, there are times when we find ourselves “cheerful.”
And in both situations, James urges us not to be alone. In both situations, James urges us to find companionship. We are to pray. And we are to sing praise. Both are different ways of saying the same thing. If you’re in a suffering, talk to God about it. Bring God into the situation. Or, if you’re cheerful, talk to God about it. That’s all that is meant by “sing praise.” Bring God into that situation. Don’t go through either extreme alone. We are to walk in pain and in peace with God rather than walking alone. That’s what James is saying. Whether you are in bad times or in good times, don’t go through it alone. Invite God to be a part of it.
But then James brings up a third situation: “Is anyone among you sick?” The word “sick” literally means “to be weak.”[1] It’s used elsewhere in the Bible of mental weakness, spiritual weakness, and physical weakness, including illness (Rom. 6:19, Rom. 5:6, 2 Cor. 10:10, 1 Cor. 8:7). Here, it refers to a physical illness. But we shouldn’t discount those other situations in life when we are weak in other ways. There are a lot of things in life that cause us to feel weak. We shouldn’t necessarily think that James isn’t including those.
And James says that when we are weak, we should not walk alone. Instead, we should “call for the elders of the church.” When things are tough and things are cheery, talk to God. But when you’re you’re weak, when you’re sick? That’s when you need more than God, James is saying. You need human companionship. So, call for the elders of the church. We are to walk in weakness with the elders of the church rather than walking alone. James does not want you to bear weakness alone. He wants you to feel the companionship and the spiritual support of the elders of the church in midst of weakness.
I recently asked our elders: “Tell me when Highlanders have called you or grabbed you in the hallway. What have they called you about?” Over the years Highland elders have been called by Highlanders for lots of reasons. Highland elders have been grabbed in the hallway or called on the phone and asked why we painted the ceiling black in the Life Center; asked why we don’t close every service with a song because in the gospels when Jesus and the disciples left the upper room they sang a hymn; asked why the preacher didn’t wear a tie; asked why we don’t publicize more about our budget; asked why we preach so much about X or why we don’t preach more about Y; asked questions about Syrian refugees. We call our elders about everything under the sun – except the one thing the Bible urges us to call them for.
One Highland elder put it well when he told me recently “I have never received a call from a Highlander in the hospital or from someone sick.” I’m not saying you shouldn’t call elders or grab them in the hallway about some of those other things. Our elders want me to stress to you that they want you to feel free to come to them to talk about anything and everything. What I am saying is that there’s only one command in the Bible about calling the church elders. And the command is this–if you are sick or if you are weak call the church elders. That’s what they are here for. They are here so you don’t have to walk in weakness alone. They are here so you don’t have to walk in sickness alone.
And when those elders come, here’s what James envisions them doing:
let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 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. (Jas. 5:14b-15 ESV)
The elders gather with the person suffering weakness or sickness and they pray over him or her while anointing him or her with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer part makes sense to most of us. For many of us, there’s hardly anything more comforting than the companionship that comes by having people gather over us and pray over us. And that’s what’s being communicated here: companionship. If prayer was the only concern here, word could just be sent to the elders of the church and the elders of the church could just gather where they are and pray. Instead, the command is to call the elders to come to you when you are sick or weak. Why? Because what you need in that time is companionship, not just prayer. You need the physical presence of spiritual companions like church elders. So, they come to you and they pray over you.
But the elders are also to anoint the person with oil. What’s that all about? The Bible uses oil for three things: medication, consecration and affection. First, the ancient world, as well as the world of the Bible, talked about oil as medication. For example, the prophet Isaiah describes people with an illness in need of the medication of oil:
The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil. (Is. 1:5b-6 ESV)
Later, Jesus tells a parable of a Jewish man attacked and a Samaritan who uses oil to help bring healing:
34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. (Lk 10:34 ESV)
Oil was used for medication in the ancient world.
But it seems clear that medication is not James’ concern here. First of all, if church elders somehow were able to easily heal people by anointing them with oil, church history would be filled with stories of churches as the place where the sick would come and be healed. But it’s not. Church history is filled with stories of the sick being loved by Christians, not necessarily being healed by Christians. Second, the overwhelming use of anointing with oil in the Bible has nothing to do with physical healing.
Oil in the Bible is more often used as a resource for consecration.
| Lev. 8:10 | Moses consecrates Aaron and his sons with oil. |
| 1 Sam. 10:1 | Samuel pours oil over Saul’s head to anoint him as king. |
| 1 Sam. 16:13 | Samuel anoints David with oil as king. |
| 1 Kgs. 1:39 | Zadok the priest anoints Solomon with oil as king. |
| 2 Kgs. 9:3 | Elisha tells one of the sons of the prophets to anoint Jehu with oil as king. |
Here the priests or the kings are consecrated with oil. They are set apart with oil. They are identified as someone unique and special, belonging to God, valued and treasured by God.
Thus the elders anointing the weak or sick person with oil is a means of consecration. They are doing for this person what was once only done for priests and for kings. They are identifying this person as unique and special, belonging to God, valued and treasured by God. Why? Because when we are sick or when we are weak that’s often the opposite of how we feel or how we view ourselves. We view ourselves as worthless and useless. And it’s the unique role of church elders to come alongside the weak and the sick in the church to help them regain that sense of consecration.
The third use of oil in the Bible is for affection.
- 1. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (Ps. 23:5)
- 2. But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; you have poured over me fresh oil. (Ps. 92:10 ESV)
- 3. 14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth 15 and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart. (Ps. 104:14-15 ESV) - 4. 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. (Lk 7:44-46 ESV)
In these texts, oil is a sign of hospitality, blessing, and affection. David imagines all the blessings of his life as oil that God has poured on his head. Jesus rebukes Simon for his lack of hospitality by failing to anoint his head with oil. Anointing someone with oil, something that was refreshing in a dry climate, was a sign of affection.
And it’s quite likely that this is how James means to use it in this text about elders. As the elders pray over the weak or sick person, not only are they demonstrating spiritual companionship by their presence, not only are they engaging in consecration and helping that person regain a sense of their special and unique value in God’s sight, but they are also communicating affection for the person.
They are saying, in essence, “You matter to God” – consecration, and “You matter to us” – affection. The elders of the church come alongside the weak and the sick to demonstrate affection.
And it’s in this sense then that we should interpret the rest of the passage:
15 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. (Jas. 5:14b-15 ESV)
James is not making a firm guarantee of physical healing. As I mentioned earlier, the whole tenor of this passage has to do with companionship not with healing. When James says the prayer of faith, offered by the church elders will “save” the one who is sick or weak, and the Lord will “raise” him, this is not necessarily a guarantee of physical healing. Sometimes what we need even more than physical healing are things like consecration and affection. Receiving these things are a kind of saving and raising. A person can be saved and raised even if the illness remains. When a person experiences companionship, consecration and affection, he is saved and raised up–regardless of his health.
- Highland elder Jimmy Adkins texted Michael Head a prayer or a verse every night while Michael’s daughter Carson struggled with cancer.
- When Dennis Calvert was dying, the Highland elders went to his home, had communion with him, sang with him and prayed with him.
- Lawana Maxwell shared recently how former Highland elder Burton Gooch had her family over to his home for the express purpose of getting to know them.
- Highland elder Wayne Simpson goes to camp every year and says he goes because he wants the kids to see him as their shepherd. He’s done this since the mid 1990’s.
- Allen Black reported recently of being in homes on multiple occasions when Highland elder Jay Shappley counseled Highlanders who’ve been in difficult times.
- Donnie Stover shared recently that many Highlanders call Highland elder Gerald Jerkins and his wife Susan when life takes a tough turn.
- Highland elder David Ralston has been the benefactor for a number of young adults, helping them find their way in life.
- When Highland member Lige Turman, father of staff member Russ Turman, became terminally ill, Highland elders gathered around him and anointed him with oil.
In all of these cases these people were saved and lifted up. The illnesses and weaknesses may not have changed. But the people themselves were saved and lifted up. Because the elders acted in a way that communicated consecration and affection. The elders acted in a way that brought spiritual companionship. The elders acted in a way that communicated to those who were weak or sick “You matter to God and you matter to us.”
That’s one of the reasons why Highland is now seeking additional elders. Almost one thousand people attend Highland every Sunday. We’ve only got thirteen elders. On any given week, there are a lot of Highlanders who are sick or who are weak. And we want to make it possible for more Highlanders to be able to call some of the elders of the church to walk with them in that sickness or weakness. We want to be able to give you the gift of godly and spiritual men who can come around you, pray with you, and in some tangible way communicate that you are special to God, valuable to God, and that you are matter to God. We want more men who can help you experience consecration and affection in the midst of your sickness or weakness.
And that’s why you should consider being an elder. Each time we go through this nomination process some good men are nominated but turn down the opportunity to be an elder. Sometimes they turn it down because they think it’s going to be all about going to meetings and making financial decisions and things like that. But I’ll tell you – we need some additional elders who are willing to do just this one thing–walk alongside us when we are weak. That’s all. Because in many ways, that’s everything.
Because I think ultimately what James is telling us is that this is what the church is all about. The church is the one community where we don’t take the weak away. It’s where the weak are welcomed. And when the question is asked, “Well, who’s going to take care of him? Who’s going to take care of her?” the church is the one community where there’s always person after person standing up and saying “I will” and “I will” and “I will.” And do you know who those people are called? They are called elders.
Elders have many important roles. They provide spiritual leadership in a church. They can give wise counsel. They can teach and even do administration. But one of their most important roles is to come to us when we are sick, when we are weak, and to pray over us, to walk with us, to help us know that we are not in this alone, and to regain a sense of God’s presence with us and passion for us.
Now What? Prayerfully fill out an elder nomination form.
