Oil and Dew – Psalm 133

A text – Psalm 133

¹ How very good and pleasant it is
    when kindred live together in unity!
² It is like the precious oil on the head,
    running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
    running down over the collar of his robes.
³ It is like the dew of Hermon,
    which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
    life forevermore.

A reflection:

Here is a psalm for the week following Jesus’s resurrection that isn’t immediately relatable to me. You see, I am not a fan of today’s huge beards, and picturing oil running down one doesn’t immediately appeal to me. Some of the younger men in my life are so attractive when they shave and so completely different-looking when they don’t. I suppose I have some fears I need to let go of.

But fears aside, I checked up a little on this psalm. And I was made much more at ease with its imagery when I learned a little ancient story. Apparently Moses was dedicating the tabernacle God asked to have fashioned to house the Ark of the Covenant. Moses took the holy oil, distilled many times over to make it pure enough for sacrifice to the Lord God. He anointed the Ark. He anointed the torches. He anointed everything furnishing the tabernacle. And since Aaron was there, chief priest, standing by, Moses anointed him too. He was so generous with the oil that it ran down from Aaron’s head, down his face, and down through his beard and onto his clothing. This oil-dripping image is one of abundance and generosity.

The image of the dew of Mt Hermon is likewise one of abundance and providence, since the country is very dry, and a generous dew each day provided by God is what keeps plants growing so that sheep and goats can graze and people can have water to drink. God’s abundance and generosity daily keeps us alive and also anointed as God’s beloved children.

Since we are all being loved and kept living by a generous God, we ought all to be in unity, and how pleasant and nurturing it is when we behave that way. It feels, when we are unified, as wonderful and beneficent as when Aaron was so abundantly anointed and when there was enough water for everything to flourish. The Lord is blessing us too, if only we could see it and give thanks for it. This week especially we can give thanks for Jesus’s heroic act of breaking through death for us so that we can have life, both after we die, and also now, knowing there will be no separation from God and one another. And that unity ought to soothe the bearded and unbearded alike, right?

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for blessing us so abundantly with everything we need to flourish and for eternal life, so that we don’t have to be afraid even in this life. Help us always to remember all our generous blessings and give thanks for them, if only to remind ourselves. Amen.