ST Michael and All Angels

ST Michael and All Angels   - Sept 29

     Today we celebrate the feast day of our parish and we enter an area that is certainly in Scripture but this is an area of great mystery .  We can only as Christians bow before what we hear in reverence.  When I think of angels I think of that marvelous vision of Isaiah in Chapter 6 of his prophetic book where there is a picture of “seraphims with six wings”.  Isaiah sees them as they cry out ,” Holy , Holy , Holy  is the LORD of hosts”.  Seraph is from the root to burn and these creatures may have been angelic beings that were flying fiery serpents.  Of course there are other kinds of angels-----we think of cherubs as well.  They are mentioned in Genesis 3:24 where they guard the entrance to the Garden of Eden.  As well they sit over the Ark of the Covenant-Exodus 25:20 “ And the cherubims shall stretch their wings on high”  They had wings we know for sure and you can read Ezekiel 28:11-15 and gather that Satan was once a good cherub.

      What I see is a grand order of creation that the angels fit into.  Secondly, I see great comfort to God’s children as we learn about how angels are sent to protect us, and even carry our souls to heaven itself ( Luke 16:22- “ the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom”).  Today’s prayer or collect sums this all up so well that we could use that to celebrate ST Michael and all Angels in using it as an outline for the comments above:”   O EVERLASTING God, who hast ordained and constituted the services of Angels and men in a wonderful order; Mercifully grant that , as thy holy Angels always do thee service in heaven, so, by thy appointment , they may succor and defend us on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen”

    The word angel means good news and comes from the Greek –message or the good news of the gospel. Who was Michael?  He is in the Bible.  He is the Captain of the Lord’s armies.  We heard Revelation 12 that tells us of Michael, an Archangel ( one of the head angels) who fought a war “ And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon….”  That is why we see him pictured with a sword .  There may have been four archangels.  We certainly know Gabriel who announced the birth of Jesus. ( Luke 1:26) 

     What appears in all of these Scriptures above as well as in the Prayer for Today is that God has ordained the services of Angels in a wonderful order.  So the point is that we have order in Creation not only in its systems and its uniqueness but also in the creation and use of angelic beings that serve God and His Church /people who love Him.  Order .  There is order created by God and we are loath to ignore it or disregard it.  Evil has its lure .  The world has its  dark side and we are faced with a choice about which side we are on.  The side of the good or the side of the evil?  The world wants to confuse us about which is the best for us.  The lust of the flesh and of the eyes and the love of money will not take us to God.  Our God has given us resources and time and talent to use here now so that we may be “ received into everlasting habitations” Luke 16:9  Jesus said ,” If you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?”

   Secondly we trust as God’s people who believe in Jesus that angels do God’s work on our behalf. Hebrews 2 reminds us in verse 14 that the “ (angels) are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation”  We also read this in Matthew:”
Matthew 18:10 - Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”  Angels have an active role in our salvation, our protection:” Psalms 34:7 - The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”

   I was surprised about how many references there were to angels in the Bible and their role in our salvation, protection and assistance.  It shows we have a larger salvation then we thought.  We may entertain angels not knowing it says in Hebrews,” Let brotherly love continue.  Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”  As we said in Luke’s Gospel a few Sundays ago, “ there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents.” 15:10  I am glad for this Sunday and glad too for this Church and its name.  It has a worthy name.  ST Michael is our Warrior Angel who fights battles on our behalf as Christians.  We thank God for His order and His protection in our lives, often unseen by us.

I close with the words of the TE Deum  which we say in Morning Prayer:

“ We praise Thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.  All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting.  To thee all Angels cry aloud; the Heavens , and all the Powers therein; To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry , Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God…”