As I reflect these first few days of fall, I am most grateful for time away Sherry and I had this past weekend. We didn’t go anywhere tropical like we love to do, and had only one day of activities. The majority of the time was just sitting by the pool, reading, playing games, and just being with each other’s best friend. Despite having the weekend on the calendar for months, we booked our “excursion” for the weekend just days before arriving: Olive Oil tasting! We didn’t know it was a thing, but we had a blast! There were so many fascinating details from the tour and tasting.
Of course that caused me to do a deep dive on olives & olive trees in Scripture! Both are littered throughout Scripture, and in all cases, the olives and olive trees are seen in a positive light. Olive trees can be thousands of years old, and the oil they produce was one of the most highly valued entities throughout Scripture. It was used for food, had medicinal value, and gave them light. The Mount of Olives is central to both Jewish and Muslim faiths as it serves as the location of the Day of Judgment. Interesting Jesus prayed there the night before he was crucified–it’s the beginning of where he faced judgment for us, ironically enough!
It was interesting how olives are harvested, milled, and how the oil is eventually judged. It’s quite similar to the ministry to medical students that we get to take part in.
Olives are often harvested while they are still green.
At least that’s how the grove we went to does it. 70% green & 30% black. I think that’s why the ministry to healthcare trainees is so important. If we wait too long for them to fully ripen, it may be too late. Our students aren’t perfect, whether in their practice of medicine, theology, habits, and more. But neither is anyone ever “ready” for most of the things in our life, whether starting a family, becoming a resident, attending or unsupervised healthcare professional.
Olives are milled and turned into oil within hours.
They cannot just sit around. And it actually doesn’t take that long for them to become oil once they start the process. But it is rigorous. The mill they had was one that 450 other olive farms used to create their oil. It is a special unit and process. I see the Word of God being that–and it being a process to get through (i.e. discipleship). But once someone has the Spirit and moves in a way that gets their jucies flowing for the Lord, they are living into what they were designed for.
We cannot wait to allow students to integrate their faith into healthcare later. Honestly, I’ve gone back and forth about this, but I think I’ve concluded that faith integration in anything is done with sensitivity, respect, appropriateness & discernment. So why does a trainee need to wait until they are an attending to learn how to do it later? If it’s part of their natural rhythm from the get-go, won’t that serve patients (and them) better? We can’t let the olives wait–we gotta mill them right away!
Being a Saline Witness Process Training™️ Trainer, I’ve learned much about how to do this & a paradigm of how to approach it. Not only is it liberating, but I really think it’s walking in obedience. (Quick shameless plug for SPWT in Fresno on October 17, where I’ll be helping train folks there … cmda.org/saline.)
There’s a specific way of judging olive oil.
According to the Professional Olive Oil Certification Services (appliedsensory.com), “a detailed sensory evaluation describes olive oils using specific attributes, defects, overall fruitiness, bitterness, and pungency, and assesses style/intensity (delicate, medium, or robust).” After going through a tasting, I will never be a good judge of olive oil. Similarly, I will never be a good judge like our God, who is king, judge, and lawgiver (Is. 33.22). And I’m grateful for that.
I agree with critics that there is a sincere lack of biblical literacy among our Christian students today. And it needs to be improved. Moreover, while this current generation has faults different than previous generations, so did we! Our job is to help them, not judge them. How are you coming alongside a young(er) person to help them live out their faith in whatever context they need the most help (at home, work, hobbies, service, etc.)?
That’s my quick, raw (green?) reflection. I really want to go plant an olive tree now!.
