St. Michael and All Angels (September 29, 2024)

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be alway acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen.

Over the summer, we read Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis for our Summer Study. For those who may be unfamiliar, the book is written from the perspective of demons doing their best to prevent a man, their “patient”, from reaching heaven. In the preface of the book, Lewis remarks, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. The devils are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.” A similar logic might apply to angels: many people don’t believe in angels at all because they reject the supernatural; on the other hand, some people are obsessed with them. Many scholars believe Paul’s letter to the Colossians was written to correct an unhealthy worship of angels. Yet it’s certainly true that angels have a role in God’s creation, and it is connected to our lives as human beings. Perhaps we don’t see angels much, or maybe we’re just not aware that’s whoo we’re seeing, but they are part of our lives as God’s providence makes them ministers on earth.

In the Nicene Creed, we say that we believe in God who is the creator of everything, visible and invisible. When we say invisible, we mean spiritual, not imaginary. These invisible realities are very much a part of the hierarchy of creation. God has made material things, plants and animals; he made human beings who are material and spiritual hybrids; and he made the angels who are pure spirit, without bodies. These three different states are unique, but complimentary because they play their own part in the harmony of creation. Even in the spiritual realm, the Scriptures seem to indicate there is diversity among the angels in nine different orders: archangels, angels, principalities, powers, virtues, dominations, thrones, cherubim, and seraphim. These orders each have their own vocations and become the means by which God governs the world human affairs. This is what we get at in our collect this morning that “God hast ordained and constituted the services of Angels and men in a wonderful order.”

And so our lives are impacted by angels. They act as messengers in Scripture, coming to Abraham in Genesis 18 to warn him about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and to rescue his nephew Lot and his family; Gabriel comes to the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Annunciation as recorded in St. Luke 1 and says those incredible words: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” An angel comes to Cornelius in Acts 10 to tell him to call on St. Peter. But they also minister to us. In Daniel 6, an angel shuts the mouths of the lion so that Daniel could be saved. An angel provides food for Elijah in the wilderness when he was a fugitive from Ahab and Jezebel. And of course, angels even minister to the needs of our Lord’s human body in the wilderness after his temptation from Satan and when he was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. So if Jesus’ perfect human nature needed the ministry of the angels, how much more do we who are imperfect need it? At the end of our Gospel reading, Jesus mentions one of the beautiful ways God has ordered the world: “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.” From this verse, we get the idea of guardian angels . Each person has an angel to guard them. “Great is the dignity of souls, for each one to have an angel deputed to guard him at birth,” St. Jerome says. We’re guarded in two ways. First, there’s the universal guardianship of humanity which belongs to the Archangels. S. Michael is depicted in the Scriptures of playing an important role in the fight against Satan. But there is another kind of protection, a very intimate and personal one: we’re each given an angelic guard. This is true not just of Christians, but of all people because we are all born on a road by which we journey to heaven and are threatened by temptations from within ourselves and from without by the demons. This is one way God demonstrates his life for each and every one of us: we have angels that never stop guarding us. And we need that, because the demons never stop assailing us. And we should note one final feature of angels: they participate in our worship. In Isaiah 6, the prophet goes to the heavenly throne room and sees the angels worshipping God; it’s a similar scene to what St. John the Divine sees in Revelation chapter 5. The angels attend to God and serve him in his heavenly court. And even more, they bring our prayers to him: “And I saw another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.” So what we see in the Scriptures is that the influence of angels permeates human affairs—they are messengers sent to us by God, they minister to us, and they worship alongside us.

Now you might say “Well angels don’t seem to matter much to me in my day to day. Even if they’re real, I don’t see them or hear them, so what’s the use?” But it’s important for us to be reminded that we live in a universe that’s not just a machine, nor is it purely material; rather, we are surrounded by an unseen and spiritual reality. It’s all around us. And we know the devil prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking to destroy us; but we can trust that there are holy angels who have charge over us. That places us between the two and reminds us that are choices matter. Think about the dilemma facing some of the early Christians in Corinth about whether they should participate in the worship of the pagans which, according to St. Paul, was worship given to devils: “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and i would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.” For Paul, the dichotomy is stark: “ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.” It’s one or the other. Spiritual warfare is very real, and we should understand ourselves as being situated within it. This means that every Holy Communion, every Daily Office, every devotion, every good work is part of this warfare.

Like I said, our goal is not to be obsessed with angels and demons. But it is important to be reminded of the reality of spiritual warfare. Part of that warfare involves the ministration of Holy Angels who are messengers, guides, and guardians, who share in the same worship that we offer to God. Ultimately, this reminds us that God is in control; like any good messengers, angels always point us to their source, God. And so, as we approach the altar this morning, let’s remember that we’re not just worshipping with the visible community assembled here today. We’re not even just worshipping with all Christians, living and dead. We approach the heavenly throne room with angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven.

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.