Quick! Get the Olive Oil Presses Going.

"Spray him down with olive oil," shouted  the fire captain in charge of the rescue squad over the sounds of the crashing waves. I can just imagine the surprise of the store clerk as the fireman rushed into the store breathlessly asking for all the olive oil they had in the store. As the firetruck rushed back to the beach the firemen quickly poured the olive oil into the empty spray canister. Accidentally the man dropped his phone between the rocks on the jetty. He'd bent down putting his head between the rocks as he tried to reach down to get his phone. When he tried to get back up he found that he was wedged from his chest to his head between the rocks.*

One of his friends called 911.The firemen came and assessed the situation.  For two and a half hours they thought  and tried  various ways to get him out of this predicament.  If they moved  the rocks in the wrong direction the man's head might get crushed. If they didn't get him out he would surely drown when the tide came into shore. One of the firemen must have remembered that old trick used to get off  a ring that's too tight on a finger-use some oil. They sprayed him down really well with olive oil. It worked. He came up cold and slimy, but they got him out.

During this political season it appears many of our heads are stuck between the rocks.  Just like this man we are in an unusual predicament. There are damaged friendships, hurt feelings and bruised egos all around.  This 31year old man was just trying to reach down to retrieve his phone,  his means of communication. He didn't know when he bent down and tried to get back up that he was going to need to be sprayed down with olive oil.  Just like today we are missing our normal channels of peaceful communication.  At the beginning of this year I don't think that any of us thought that we would feel or witness the breaching of the bounds of just plain courtesy and respect in our communication on the national stage or in private conversations. We need some olive oil.  

Historically, we've equated extending the olive branch as being a gesture of peace. No matter what happens during this next 34 days someone is going to have to extend an olive branch.  In order for us to heal our fractured society we are going to need to spray that olive oil all over ourselves and help those around us to do the same. We need to start pressing the olives now because I have a feeling we are going to need a lot of it to get out of these rocky times.


Romans 12: 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you,  live at peace with everyone."


*http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/olive-oil-helps-free-man-stuck-in-jetty-while-fetching-phone/