Dripping with blessing
by Pastor Reid Matthias
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How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1).
Read Psalm 133
Imagine going to your favourite restaurant, and sitting at an adjacent table was a bearded man stuffing large pieces of oily pizza into his mouth. And then, as you watched, the grease from the pizza dripped down his beard and onto his clothes. Revolting, right?
Now listen to these first two verses of our reading today: How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.
To our 21st-century imaginations, revolting, right?
Aaron, though, the anointed spokesman of Israel, had oil poured from the top of his head where it flowed down – down to his beard and collar. The blessing of unity is from above and moves from head to heart.
In theory, I get the metaphor – anointing oil, blessing from above… check. I believe there are better metaphors for unity, not to change the wording of the scriptures, but to offer a modern equivalent.
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity. It is like an emptied bottle of champagne at the wedding of loved ones, pouring down into crystal glasses, toasted to God’s blessing and for long life and happiness for the couple.
Have you been to a celebration like that? Unity is the symbol of weddings and, as the gathering joyously celebrates, they recognise that God is in the very centre of the proceedings.
When was the last time you felt unity among God’s people? What is another metaphor you might use for unity?
Heavenly Father, thank you for your blessing from above. Help me to be unified with other Christians and enjoy that blessing. Amen.
Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland. Reid is married to Christine, who, together with their three incredible daughters, Elsa, Josephine, and Greta, have created a Spotify channel (A 13) where they have recorded music. Reid has recently published his seventh novel, A Miserable Antagonist, maintains the blog ireid.blogspot.com and regularly contributes to The Lutheran magazine.
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