Unzione e guarigione nel cristianesimo del I secolo

Rilievi esegetici, storici e antropologici sull’uso dell’olio in Gc 5,14 e Mc 6,13

Abstract

The contribution intends to illustrate the “thaumaturgical” modalities of the use of oil in the most ancient of Christian literature, through the examination of two paradigmatic testimonies: Jm 5:14 and Mk 6:13. In the first verse, the anointing, in order to promote the physical and spiritual healing of the sick person, requires a ‘performative’ prayer mediated by the community leaders. In Mk 6:13, on the other hand, the use of oil is explicitly linked to Jesus’s missionary mandate to the Twelve. In both James and Mark, the anointing foresees the eschatological salvation of the sick person, above all thanks to the recovery of the ‘anthropological’ dimension of the oil.