How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live together in unity!
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.
It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
life forevermore. (New Revised Standard Version)
In the ancient world, the temple in Jerusalem sat at the highest point of the city. In fact, Jerusalem itself sits relatively high in its geographic region – about 2,500 feet above sea level. A person walking literally goes up to Jerusalem, and up even higher to the temple mount. It was here, at the highest point, that the worship of God happened.
And as the worshipers made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and then to the temple, they sang the psalms, including today’s psalm, where they anticipated meeting with God. The Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134) all express a joy of coming together in faith to worship Yahweh.
To meet with God is to experience an abundant life and joyous unity. It is to be blessed, having a settled peace in being with God and God’s people.
From the vantage of Christianity, the great high place for Christians is the Easter celebration of Christ’s resurrection. Since Jesus rose from death, he raises us up from unbelief to faith, and from death to eternal life.
Everything for the believer in Jesus flows from this infinite and powerful fount of resurrection grace. And everything unites and galvanizes around the center of the person and work of Christ. Because of the resurrection, believers are united into one spiritual family; we are all brothers and sisters.
It is a very good thing that Christ has united us, and it is a very pleasant thing when we consider one another as kindred and maintain the unity that we have been given. And not only are we joined by the gracious action of God, but today’s psalm calls all people to worship God and be united together.
The abundant blessing of unity with each other is maintained by allowing it to flow. The psalm lets us know that the two liquid elements of oil and dew help us to keep things moving and flowing in the right direction for our sense of family and working together. And when those elements flow from the top of Mount Calvary, the result is a world of blessing.
Oil provides the lubrication for our unity here on this earth. This sort of oil was used to consecrate a priest for service.
Moses poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him. (Leviticus 8:12, NRSV)
The consecrated oil was special, to be used for the purpose of anointing the priests. It was both expensive and precious, yet God encouraged liberality with it in the consecration ritual. The oil is poured out so lavishly on the priest’s head that it ran down over the beard and onto the collar of the robe.
This was, indeed, symbolic that God is not stingy, but generous; and that unity with both God and others is pleasant, and not an onerous chore. For the Christian, this recalls the Gospel story of Mary liberally pouring out an entire bottle of perfume on Jesus:
Then turning toward the woman, Jesus said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.” (Luke 7:44-46, NRSV)
The Lord has always been a generous God. And because of Christ’s resurrection, a new life of abundance and generosity is possible. It’s like the dew of Mount Hermon.
Mount Hermon is well north of the temple mount in Jerusalem. It too, is high up. Mount Hermon rises to 9,232 feet and is the highest point on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. When the snow-capped ridge of the mountain melts, it liberally flows down and feeds the Jordan River, providing life for the valley.
Without Mount Hermon, there would be nothing and no one in the valley, which is why this water source is so important. Just like the oil flowing down Aaron’s beard, so the dew of Mount Hermon flows well beyond the mountain’s peak to provide abundant life. It enables us to come together united as one family in one place together.
Life and unity are not scarce. The resurrection of Christ opened the floodgates of heaven with life-giving grace, instead of death-dealing judgment, as in Noah’s day. Jesus is the wellspring of life who makes us one big family of faith by providing people with living water.
“Those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14, NRSV)
No longer does life need to be quantified and measured in terms of years of time. Yes, we are mortal. But this will give way to immortality because a resurrected life is an everlasting life – made possible by Jesus.
My prayer and my hope is that our psalm for today will be like a glass of cold water on hot day when you are feeling parched. And this water will keep coming, as much of it as you need. The oil will keep flowing, with as much love and grace as you need for today. And there will be plenty more when tomorrow comes. It never runs out.
Perhaps you are encouraged with your own faith walk, but are awfully discouraged with the lack of unity in your family, neighborhood, church, workplace, nation, and world. Unity is not a piece of pie in which some get only a sliver, if any at all. In reality, there is plenty to go around. The power of the resurrection has made it possible.
In this present evil age, there are times of angry conflict and emotional distress, along with periods of great separation and sorrow. People everywhere who are divided and estranged from one another can hear God’s call to live together in unity. It is a call of love which beckons us to participate in the generous overflowing love of the Savior who has paved the way for an abundant life by bringing people together in faith.
Jesus prayed, “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.” (John 17:11)
Rev. Tim Ehrhardt 