The Anointing of the Sick
Oct. 4/5, 2008
Fr. George Smiga
Matthew 21:33-43
The parable that Jesus tells today presents us with a dysfunctional world. It is a world that is characterized by greed and violence and we all know the way that the dysfunctions in our world can hurt us. We can suffer because of economic collapse or because of the threat of terrorism. We can suffer because of problems in our own homes and in our work place. But there is no suffering that is more personal or immediate than the suffering of sickness. When any of us have to face a serious disease or the diminishment that comes from aging, other kinds of issues fall to second place. Our lives can all too soon be caught up with doctor’s appointments and hospital stays. Our days can become filled with scheduling our medications, coping with the pain, and postponing the things that we want to do because we simply don’t have the strength.
Sickness presents us with the kind of suffering that is so personal and immediate that the church has a special sacrament to address it, the sacrament that we celebrate today, the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. In this sacrament we gather together as a community to make sure that those who are suffering in our midst understand that they are not forgotten. We want them to remember that God loves them and that we care for them.
In a few moments I am going to invite those forward who wish to be anointed at this liturgy. As they come forward, I ask that all of us support them with our prayer. Let us pray that they will not give in to discouragement, that God would ease their suffering, and that they would always recognize our care and our love.
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