See Feel Touch Heal

James 5:14-16

Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

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See me
Feel me
Touch me
Heal me

"See Me, Feel Me/Listening to You" from Tommy by Pete Towneshend recorded by The Who. This version recorded at Woodstock

There are times when some of the liturgy of worship may seem like so much voodoo. Healing is one of them. We ask ourselves just what can oil do? What kind of oil should be used in this anointing? Prayer as healthcare?

Tommy screams these words as a prayer to the world, a world he can hardly sense at all. The deaf, dumb, and blind kid has few senses left. He has little way to communicate. Language must be very difficult for someone who cannot process it by any sense. I can't know. But in The Who's rock opera, Tommy screams for contact. See me! Feel me! Touch me! Heal me!

James reminds the elders to anoint with oil. Olive oil, the oil of the day, does help sooth and clean wounds. Burns would be salved by this oil. The feel of the oil would be cool to the touch helping to heal a wound.

Prayer is surely a communication with the Almighty, but in this case it is also a communication with the afflicted. The person who is ill has someone or a whole crew of someones caring for them. Seeing, feeling, touching, and healing. There is care in contact that is lost when we keep our distance. Being close helps heal. Even when our touch does not have the skill of the surgeon, being close helps heal.

And when we have hurt one another, whether physical, psychological, or emotional, confession makes healing begin. So as James directs, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. Only when we acknowledge our pain, and the pain we have caused can healing begin.

Prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.