Proper 21 (October 2, 2024)

2 Kings 6:8–17 NIV84

8 Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.” 9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places. 11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Will you not tell me which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?” 12 “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.” 13 “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” 14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city. 15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked. 16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Revelation 12:7–12 NIV84

7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”

Luke 10:17–20 NIV84

17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” 18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Green Berets. Rangers. SEALs. Delta Force. These special operators are part of the United States military. They are the elite: highly trained with unique skill sets, with many of their important missions carried out in total secrecy. If we hear about them at all, it is after their mission has concluded.

Two weeks ago we were reminded that we are in the middle of a massive spiritual war. And today, we thank God that we fight this war with the protection of God’s special forces.

Since the fifth century, Christians have observed the Festival of St. Michael and All Angels. We commemorate the fact that God sent Michael, one of the great archangels described in Scripture, and countless of his fellow angels to protect and serve mankind.

Interestingly enough, experiences regarding God’s angels are reflected in African American spirituals and American camp-meeting songs. The rhyme and rhythm of “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore” plus the confident cadence of “All Day, All Night, Angels Watching over Me, My Lord” emerge from simple faith to emit Spirit-filled praise to God for his good, and their ordered protection.

Scripture assures us, as today’s Prayer of the Day reminds us, that although angels continually serve God in heaven, they are appointed by Him to help and defend us here on earth. The object of their ministry is the maintenance of Christ’s church.

St. Michael and All Angels Day is a fit occasion to reflect that followers of Christ have powerful allies!

Evil Angels Among Us

Intervening with calm, Archangel Michael took on arch-accuser Satan, according to Jude 9. It reads, “The archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’”

Michael merely announced God’s will. A shouting match wasn’t needed. The accuser’s apostasy was judged; Michael proclaimed God’s decision.

Today’s second reading clearly tells us what happened when Jesus died, rose, and ascended into heaven. A great war broke out in heaven. At the center of this warfare was Satan’s ability to stand in God’s holy presence and accuse the saints of God (Rev. 12:10). In this war Satan claimed that he, not Christ, truthfully represented the saints before God’s heavenly throne. This warfare is serious, for if Satan’s accusations were validated in the heavenly court, then God’s justice would require Him to deny His own people because of their sin. But for that to happen, God would have to deny the claim of His own Son to be the rightful representative and advocate for God’s people. Christ victory upon the cross and empty tomb has earned for Him the right to represent fallen humanity; He is the one “who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—” (Rev. 1:5).

Therefore the accusations of Satan are thrown out of court, and Satan himself is thrown out of heaven (Rev. 12:8-10). Because of the rightful claim of Christ to represent God’s people with Christ’s own sinlessness and righteousness, the very presence of Satan in heaven was now an offense to God and all the heavenly host.

The was in heaven was concluded by “Michael and his angels” against “the dragon” and “his angels,” that is, it reached its climax when Michael cast Satan out of heaven (Rev. 12:7-9). This casting of Satan out of heaven took place as a result of Christ’s victory and his ascension and taking His rightful place at God’s right hand.

The Lutheran theologian, Louis Brighton, wrote in his commentary on this scene: “Now that the miraculous, divine Counselor or ‘angel of the great counsel has come back to take his rightful place as the Lord of the council of angels, the devil who had made claim to that seat could no long do so.’” …’there is no longer any room in heaven for the accuser. The dragon had to be thrown out of heaven…”

So, the Satan was thrown out and then we hear this in verse 12: “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”

And now that he can no longer accuse us before God he has a single aim: Satan and his evil angels accuse us directly, and attack us for placing our trust in God’s gracious promise of eternal life. Satan’s deadly thrust aims to counter that lively trust with, “You will not surely die” (Gen 3:4) that he spoke when he dared the first sinner. That doomsday dare gets doubled and redoubled into all kinds of actions today. How easily we yield to notions like “sin is in,” “vice is nice,” “everybody does it,” “I can handle it,” or “just do it!”

And so,

God Sends Good Angels

God sends good angels to assist us. They help us to face each temptation with calm in the full knowledge of Jesus’ promise, “I will never leave you or abandon you.”

For example, No sooner had the Father’s decree at Jesus’ Baptism, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Mk 1:11), been spoken than “The Spirit immediately drove Him out into the wilderness” for “forty days, being tempted by Satan . . . and the angels were ministering to Him” (Mk 1:12–13). Then three years later “there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him” (Lk 22:43) because he was in anguish over the imminent crucifixion; you remember what he prayed: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Lk 22:42). Secure in His Father’s will, Jesus went to the cross for you and for me that we might be secure in salvation.

Therefore, good angels assist us against whatever would draw us into spiritual insecurity. We see this in our Old Testament reading today. The army of king Ben-Hadad surround Elisha and his servant in order to capture him. Early in the morning Elisha’s servant went outside and saw the vast army surrounding them and then cried out to Elisha, “Alas my master, what shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15). And Elisha’s response is classic: “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16). Elisha was fully aware of God’s angels assisting his children. Even the Psalmist declared, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them” (Psalm 34:7).

So Elisha prays to Almighty God that he will allow his servant to see the angelic forces sent by God to provide for Elisha: 2 Kings 6:17 “And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

As the author of Hebrews said, “are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Heb 1:14). They stand with us as we fight the good fight. We sing with confidence,

Though hordes of devils fill the land All threat’ning to devour us, We tremble not, unmoved we stand; They cannot over pow’r us. Let this world’s tyrant rage; In battle we’ll engage. His might is doomed to fail; God just must prevail! One little word subdues him. (LSB 657:3)

“United we stand, divided we fall” is an adage worth accepting because Satan’s strategy is “divide and conquer.” After Michael and his angels defeated Satan (called dragon, serpent, devil) and his angels, Satan was “hurled down to earth, and his angels with him” (Rev 12:8–9). Satan and his hell-bent host seek to “lead the whole world astray.” His con is a quick fix. He appeals to our emotions. He disguises sin as something we can’t live without.

God’s angels, these powerful allies!, however, assist us by interceding when we are tempted to succumb to Satan’s lies. Make no mistake, the arch-accuser is determined to make inroads on our faith’s journey. He’ll sow the weeds of greed and glory among the seeds of Gospel and grace in Christian groups of any size.

Jesus is our Savior who forgives our sin and fills us with his Spirit. Angels, who serve in God’s presence, long to look into human hearts that are filled with Christ’s promises (1 Pet 1:12). They hope we’ll repent. Jesus said, “I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Lk 15:10). Did you ever stop to realize that your daily repentance (baptismal renewal) causes the angelic hosts to rejoice?

Angels Worship with Us

Did you know that Angels Worship with Us?

Isaiah 6:1–8 NLT

1 It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” 4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.” 8 Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

Yes, just as Elisha’s servant was enabled to see the heavenly host surround to protect them, Isaiah was enabled to see the heavenly host as part of the Divine Service. Likewise, they are with us!

We sing with them the song of heaven. And they participate with us in the various parts of the service. The liturgy joins their acclaim in the ordinary remembrances of what the triune God has accomplished in our behalf.

At each Divine Service we hail with angels their Gloria in Excelsis they sang at Jesus’ birth: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests” (Lk 2:13). The Gloria in Excelsis is sometimes this is called the “song of the angels.”

With angels and archangels and the host of heaven we laud and magnify God’s holiness, while echoing the outcrying of the seraphim: “Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabbaoth” (Preface and Sanctus).

With angels we see what Isaiah (6:1–10) saw and Paul describes as “the mystery that has been kept for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints . . . which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:26–27). Our vision becomes vibrant in Christ. Such sacramental sharing makes even the timid courageous. So, pull out all stops! Not even what some might call spirit-filled music can contain this fire of the Holy Spirit.

Our Sending Hymn today we will sing “Crown Him with Many Crowns” (LSB 525), sends us off with the blessed reminder that our Lord Jesus has ascended into heaven and taken His rightful place on the throne at God’s right hand, where NOW He lives to intercede for us. Our guilt is removed as it was nailed to the cross with Christ, and Satan banished from God’s presence because there is no more accusation of guilt. Yet, Jesus now prays for us because Satan has been hurled to the earth and is enraged, because he knows his time is short. And God sends His angels to watch over us.

Thank God, we have these powerful allies to assist us! When they are not serving Jesus directly, they announce God’s actions to humankind. They want us to stay connected with Jesus so we’ll confidently pray,

“And when my short life is ended, By his angel hosts attended, He shall fold me to His breast, There within His arms to rest” (LSB 740:3).

A blessed St. Michael and All Angels Day to you!

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Resources

1. Edward W. A. Koehler, A Summary of Christian Doctrine (St. Louis: Concordia, 1952) 45.

2. Crosby and Schaeffer, An Introduction to Greek (Boston: Allyn and Bacon Publishing, 1958) 101–2.

3. J. T. Mueller, Christian Dogmatics (St. Louis: Concordia, 1955) 202.

4. Fred L. Lindemann, The Sermon and the Propers (St. Louis: Concordia, 1962) 66–67.

5. Gerhard Kittel, ed., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, volume 1 (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1964) 84.