“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:”
Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord — the provision for physical healing through ecclesiastical action (presbyter, elders; aleiphō, anoint with oil) establishes the church's role in intercessory care. The anointing with oil combines medicinal practice with spiritual significance. The phrase 'in the name of the Lord' (en tō onomati tou kyriou) invokes Christ's authority over sickness and emphasizes that healing is ultimately Christ's work.
Church Fathers on James 5:14
For I return once more to the point from which I started: not in the way of chastising only, but also in the way of benefiting, God has bestowed a power on priests greater than that of our natural parents. The two indeed differ as much as the present and the future life. For our natural parents generate us unto this life only, but the others unto that which is to come. And the former would not be able to avert death from their offspring, or to repel the assaults of disease;…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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