Have You Looked Under Your Bed Lately?

Fr. Stephen mentioned in his March 25th blog a phrase from the Great Canon of St. Andrew – a service which is done during the first week Great Lent in the Orthodox Church. The phrase is part of a prayer that asks “that we not be possessed nor become the food of demons.” Before you dismiss this as folly, consider the 1 Peter 5:8 passage where Paul warns us to be on guard, because “your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour”.

My former evangelical self wouldn’t allow me to dwell on the possibility of this situation, because there was always the fear of falling into the habit of looking for a demon under every rock. Somehow, by even saying the word “demon” we might give them power over us. Therefore, better to totally strike them from our vocabulary. After all, do I really believe that they have that much power in the world, that they would even bother with me? Hmmm…such a thought of doubt reminds me of a rather fatal conversation in the garden of Eden many millennia ago. But just imagine going through the day conscious of the fact that demons were looking for an opportunity in every moment to trip me, to raise doubts in my mind, to discourage me, to increase my fleshly appetites through all my senses. Granted, there is a delicate balance here between paranoia and being wise and discerning. We don’t like to consider the fact that we are stalked and harassed each and every day of our lives here on earth. We prefer to look for the peaceful, calm and cheerful aspects of our surroundings and hope that this the true reality. But if we open our minds to the possibility that this hostile spiritual environment exists around us at all times, wouldn’t we live our lives a bit differently? Wouldn’t we be more careful about our choices and words? How many times a day do we grasp for those things that give us only temporary satisfaction – the next hour, the rest of the day, the rest of the month? Our shortsightedness is appalling sometimes. We were created for eternity. Why are we making choices based on the belief that our happiness can be found only through the things that we can see, touch, taste, or hear?

In the same blog, Fr. Stephen recalls that when his son was a preschooler, he was given a small statue of the great angel, St. Michael – “his sword drawn and triumphantly holding the adversary beneath his foot.” In his limited knowledge of the spiritual battles going on around him, his son would pray: “Dear St. Michael, guard my room. Don’t let anything eat me or kill me. Kill it with your sword. Kill it with your sword. Amen.”

We would do well to adopt his prayer as our own each and every day.

The Myrrhbearers

In our church, we have an icon of "The Myrrh-bearing Women". Seven women are portrayed with their flasks or bottles of myrrh. There are several accounts in scripture concerning specific women anointing Jesus with perfume or myrrh - Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:1-11, Luke 7:36-50, and John 12:1-7. There are also accounts of other women who ministered to Jesus and his disciples throughout their ministry and specifically after Christ's death and burial. As I reread some of these passages, I noticed that those who were upset with the women who anointed Christ were not critical of the act of anointing. They were upset with the waste of a very expensive commodity or with the reputation of the person doing the anointing. Therefore, I am inclined to think that the ritual of anointing someone was not uncommon in the ancient world. As Westerners we have difficulty getting past someone pouring perfume or oil on our hair or feet! We would tend to be totally embarrassed or annoyed.

Conducting some unofficial research on the topic of myrrh in ancient times, I found that having a "supply on hand" was common among those with the means to purchase it. Myrrh was used for a wide variety of medicinal purposes and to bring comfort and healing to a person's soul and body. The woman of the house, if she had the financial means or could set aside money to secure a little at a time, would consider having an bottle of myrrh on hand as necessary as having a fully stocked medicine cabinet or first aid kit.

Frankincense and Myrrh in Ancient History

• Myrrh was used in embalming the Egyptian pharaohs and is listed in the Ebers Papyrus (16th century BC), one of the world’s oldest medical texts.


• The Greeks considered myrrh a sacred substance and those who could afford the resin used it as incense and to treat virtually every illness. The Greeks began using myrrh to replace living sacrifices in the 3rd century AD.


• Frankincense was used in ancient times and throughout the Middle Ages by the Christian church as holy anointing oil.


• Both frankincense and myrrh have a long history of use in Traditional Chinese Medicine, African healing, and Indian Ayurvedic practices.


• Myrrh is the most often repeated aromatic essential oil in the Bible.

In his book Healing Oils of the Bible, Dr. David Stewart suggests that essential oils and their uses were well known at the time the Bible was recorded. Although healing oils such as myrrh and frankincense were very valuable and not commonly used except by the rich, most people would have known exactly what they were and how they could be used – which is why the Bible could refers to these and other herbs and oils without explaining their use.

Antibiotics, penicillin, cortisone, and pain medication weren't available remedies. However, there were some wonderful and very powerful natural ingredients that gave healing and comfort through difficult times. These women were giving the very best they had, the very best they could buy, in order to bless those they loved dearly. That is a timeless message.