Pastor Chris’ Corona Quarantine Epistles to the Flock of AIC Ngong Road, in Dispersion and Isolation. 69th. Edition.
Dear Strangers and Aliens in this World,
In today’s passage (James 5:13-18), we revisit a theme we first encountered in Chapter One, but this time, in a little more detail – prayer. Come to prayer (v. 13), no matter the situation. When one is suffering, Prayer is the right thing to do. When one is cheerful, _Praise_ is the way to go. In no situation, good or bad, should we go it alone? Paul puts it very well in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks…” Call the elders of the church (vv. 14-15a) to pray for you when you are sick. The elders are representative of the whole church, which is Christ’s body. When they come together in agreement, there is the promise of Jesus in Matthew 18:19.
It is unfortunate and tragic that we do not practice this prayer for the sick often enough. The instructions on anointing with oil have caused controversy and disagreement among Christians for ages. One position is that the oil represents the holy spirit. This view is attractive and has become very popular today when anointing has become the. However, it is unlikely that this would have been the understanding of James’ readers. For them, olive oil served chiefly as a medicament and was used extensively in the Middle East, as a treatment for all manner of ailments. This is more likely how James’ readers would have understood him. That would suggest that we should not abandon medical treatment when we pray for healing.
It is not a lack of faith. Confess sins to one another (vv. 15b-16). That a lot of sicknesses are the result of sin goes without saying. After healing the man who had been an invalid for 38 years, Jesus said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you” (John 5:14). A lot of people are sick because of sin, but that is not to say every sickness is because of one’s sin. In answer to a question by his disciples about the man who had been born blind, Jesus said that the man’s blindness was so “that the works of God should be revealed in him” (John 9:3).
It is also possible for sin to hinder prayer. The psalmist says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear” (Psalm 66:18). Most sins are against other people, which is why we should confess to them. It is no use confessing to God while ignoring the person we have wronged and hurt. But when we confess to those we have offended, our prayers can be classified as the prayers of the righteous, which avail much.
Consider Elijah (vv. 17-18). We tend to think that Elijah was some super giant of faith but he was just an ordinary man who practiced righteousness and faith. The result was that he got answers to his prayers. He prayed for drought and no rain fell. After three and a half years, he prayed for rain and it fell.
All we need, to be like Elijah, is obedience to God and faith.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.