“What we need is to love without getting tired. How does a lamp burn? Through the continuous input of small drops of oil. What are these drops of oil in our lamps? They are the small things of daily life: faithfulness, small words of kindness, a thought for others, our way of being silent, of looking, of speaking, and of acting. Do not look for Jesus away from yourselves. He is not out there; He is in you. Keep your lamp burning, and you will recognize Him.”
― Mother Teresa, No Greater Love
On this day a childhood memory was ignited
Does anyone remember the childhood song, “Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning, burning, burning. Give me oil in my lamp I pray. Keep me burning until the break of day. What was that about? It was about the concept of Biblical oil.
This morning I was reminiscing about relatives that had passed this life. I thought about what they had imparted on me in my memories. I think of my husband’s maternal grandmother. She imparted the gift of sharing a meal with someone to impart God’s love. My husband’s paternal grandmother imparted the ability to laugh and be joyous in the midst of it all. Granddaddy Burgess, my husband’s grandfather, always had a kind and gentle heart. Then there was my very interesting and colorful grandmothers on both sides of my family. First, there was my Nana. I don’t have a lot of memories of her. She died when I was about six years old. What I do remember was a lady in kitten heels with a fur cuffed bathrobe on. She had what I remember was a jeweled cigarette holder in her hand just puffing away. She “played” blocks with me. She would take a puff, put a block on top of my block and called that playing. But hey, it was the 80s.
My maternal grandmother gave me a gift that I had forgotten about
My maternal grandmother was known as, “Mawmaw.” She was a woman who tried her best to raise 6 children in the early 40s. Her husband had left her for another woman, she was indeed alone. Knowing that fact, she had to make the hard decision to put her children into a children’s home during that time. I probably should ask my mother how many went there. I think the smallest ones stayed with my grandmother. I always had the impression that my Mawmaw had a will of iron. When I was a little one, I remember piles and piles of books lining her wall in her room. She was an avid reader. She also cursed like a sailor. In fact, I think that she could have made a sailor blush sometimes. I often think that maybe she the blue language? A single woman in the 40s? That had to be extremely hard.
Why the memories?
Why do I talk about memories of my grandparents? This morning I remember that my grandmother went to the Holy Land when I was a little girl. I don’t think she really ever had the chance to travel abroad before. This was indeed a treat for her. She sent me a postcard with The Dome of the Rock and other scenes from Israel. I had no idea where it was, I just knew it was a place that was described in the Bible.
A quiet house brought an interesting forgotten gift
Today I stayed home from church. The house was very quiet and empty. After saying a little prayer, God brought a memory to me that I had completely purged, it was a little vial of oil that my grandmother had given me from the Holy Land. I thought, “Where in the world could that be?” Just at that moment my eyes saw the little vial on my bookshelf in the bedroom. I rushed over, looked at the faded sticker, opened the jar and the pungent smell of herbs hit me. It was as if it had not aged a day. Memories came flushing back of my grandmother with all her scruffiness saw fit to give her little granddaughter a vial of oil from the Holy Land.
Why was anointing oil used?
In Biblical times, oil was used to set someone apart for the service of God. In Psalm 23 it states: You have anointed and refreshed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Oil was often refreshing and cleansing. In the physical sense, you have often wonder how good everyone really smelled. They didn’t have the amenities that we have in the modern world of bathing. I am sure that oil covered up that stench. In the spiritual sense, oil represented being set apart in service to the Lord. Whether that was King David (or any other future Kings of Israel) or the priests that were set apart for ministry.
What was usually contained in those oils?
First olive oil was used, then Myrrh, cinnamon, cassia, and calamus. The myrrh tree is very small and thorny. The tree is thorny and must be wounded to extract its sap. Much like Jesus, he wore a crown of thorns and was wounded for our infirmities. To take that idea further, Jesus received Frankincense and Myrrh as a gift at his birth. What was his body covered in when He died? Myrrh. Myrrh is bitter to the taste. It is not easy to bear, but the smell is cleansing and pleasant. Cassia is a strip of bark that was highly valued in Biblical days. It donned the robes of Kings. In the spiritual sense, if I believe that cassia represents devotion and dedication. The bark is stripped. We must be stripped of our pride to serve God faithfully and dedicated to the service of God. Cinnamon as we well know is still in use today. In Biblical times, it was a commodity, a precious and fine gift. Think about the smell of cinnamon. It is both refreshing and in my case sneeze worthy. All of these fragrances together are truly a wonderful oil to smell.
Do modern day churches use oil?
Do churches use protestant churches use anointing oils today? If you are to go by the New Testament, Jesus instructed His followers to anoint their head with oil and wash their face when fasting. Further, the disciples anointed the sick with oil and prayed for them. In the book of James we are instructed to anoint the sick with oil and pray for them. The prayer of faith will heal them. While Jesus and other disciples did in fact say to use oils, I have only ever attended 2 churches in my life that used them. Should we use them? In the words of the Apostle Paul, Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. That does not mean that someone’s faith is more weak than another, rather I believe Paul is extolling people to respect these small differences in the faith. In my upbringing, the Baptists didn’t really use oil. The Methodists? Not really. I’ve only seen it in Charismatic and Pentecostal circles.
Back to the gift of oil from my Grandmother. Why is it important?
What does it mean? Oil signifies our consecration to God. Also, we must keep oil in our lamps. At the beginning of the article I mentioned a simple childhood song that I sang as a child. Why do we need to keep oil in our lamp and keep it burning? In Matthew, Jesus explained there were 10 virgins who were getting ready for their bridegroom. They all had lamps. 5 of the brides brought extra oil for their lamps just in case the bridegroom lingered. 5 of the others were, in the words of the scripture: “thoughtless, without forethought.” They didn’t have enough oil to keep burning. After a time, as the brides waited, it took a little longer than expected. At midnight, the bridegroom shouted, “Come out!” The brides that had enough oil were able to meet their future spouses, the others ran out of oil and were left with the door shut. What is the moral of the story? We must keep our spirits and minds on eternity. Just going to church is not enough. In the words of Mother Theresa: “If we want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.” Keep putting the oil of prayer, the oil of forgiveness, the oil of Bible study, the oil of the constant reminder that we are bound for eternity. Thank you Mawmaw for the reminder of the small vial of oil. It truly was a blessing.
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