St. Michael and All Angels
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Michael and All Angels. The topic of angels tends to divide people into extremes. On one end, some people tend to be obsessed with angels, so they read books about angels and try to communicate with them. If you walk through the New Age section in the bookstore you will find numerous books on angels and even tarot cards based on angels. … On the other extreme, some people place angels into the same category as unicorns, faeries, and leprechauns. To them the idea of angels being real is an offence to rationality and science.
As we heard from our readings, angels are present throughout the Bible. They also appear in the experiences of the saints throughout history. If they are so present in the Bible and throughout the history of the church we should probably be cautious about denying their existence. But, we should also be cautious to not allow our imaginations to run wild.
First, I think it is important to acknowledge that there is an invisible side to our universe. There is a part of reality that we are blind to. Music is passing around us all the time in the form of radio waves. We are completely unaware of this music that is around us all the time unless we have a radio that is able to detect the radio waves and transform them into something we can hear.
There are many other parts of reality that we are blind to. We cannot see ultraviolet or infrared light. There are various kinds of “waves” and radiation passing around us every moment of every day. Everywhere that electricity is flowing there are invisible magnetic fields. We are told by physicists that there are elementary particles like Nutrinos that travel close to the speed of light and pass through us all the time. There is an invisible reality all around us that we are blind to.
With various technologies we can detect some of what is invisible to us. But, what about invisible realities that we don’t have the technology to detect. And perhaps no technology ever could detect these things. … The Nicene Creed says that God is the maker of all things, visible and invisible. We can detect a certain portion of the unseen universe. With machines we can pick up radio waves, and we can detect infrared and ultraviolet light. Through our technology we have been able to peer into the invisible side of our universe, but what if we are just scraping the surface of the invisible universe? … What aren’t we seeing because our machines just can’t detect it? …
The Bible tells us that there are invisible beings that are a part of the invisible part of the universe. What if the invisible universe includes entities with consciousness like angels? It is not impossible to imagine this given how much we don’t actually perceive about our universe.
There are occasions when the grace is given to be able to peer into this invisible universe. In Numbers 22 we read about an angel blocking the path of Balaam who was riding his donkey to a place where he could curse the Hebrew people. An invisible angel blocks the road, but the donkey is able to see the angel and turns off the road. Eventually God opens Balaam’s eyes too and he sees the angel blocking the road.
There was another incident with the prophet Elisha in 2 Kings 6, where the prophet’s assistant is disturbed when he woke up and saw an army surrounding their camp.
“His servant said, ‘Alas, master! What shall we do?’ He replied, ‘Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than there are with them.’ Then Elisha prayed: ‘O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So, the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:15-17).
We are told that Jacob saw Angels ascending and descending steps leading to heaven in Gen 28. … Jesus says Nathaniel will see a similar vision of angels descending and ascending in the first chapter of John.
We may not be able to detect this reality with our technology, but there have been countless saints who have dedicated themselves to spiritual training, who have come to experience this heavenly reality, by the grace of God. Perhaps it is not unreasonable to trust these spiritual masters who have experienced these realities.
We live in a very skeptical age. We can have a tendency to think that only “facts” are real. Only things that can be proven in a particular kind of way are real. We don’t want to be naïve, but I think we would also be wise to consider that we are not able to detect everything in the invisible real with our technologies, and that perhaps we should include the experiences of the saints in our considerations.
What are angels? The word “angel” means “messenger”. This is a job description. It isn’t really what they are. It is a job they do. The Bible uses many words for these beings. They are called Elohim- which can be spirits or small ‘g’ gods. Deuteronomy 10:17 says,
“For the LORD your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords.”
They are called the heavenly host, which is sometimes thought of as a heavenly army. Some are called seraphim. Some are called cherubim, and there are others as well. … Angels are not believed to naturally have a material form, though they can take on human form, which is an experience described throughout the Bible. They most often seem to appear like people, but they are described in other ways as well.
They have something like free will and are capable of disobeying God, just as humans can. Though, for some reason, perhaps because they don’t inhabit time the same way we do, their decision to serve God or rebel seems to have become a permanent reality for them. Those who rebelled, don’t seem to have the ability to repent. We are told that there are angels that serve God and angels that rebel against God (often called demons).
Revelation chapter 12 is often thought to describe this angelic rebellion-
They have something like free will and are capable of disobeying God, just as humans can. Though, for some reason, perhaps because they don’t inhabit time the same way we do, their decision to serve God or rebel seems to have become a permanent reality for them. Those who rebelled, don’t seem to have the ability to repent. We are told that there are angels that serve God and angels that rebel against God (often called demons).
Revelation chapter 12 is often thought to describe this angelic rebellion-
“And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (12:7-9).We also see that there are angels committed to God, who have duties to guard and protect as well. Teaching his disciples about children, Jesus says,
“Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven” (Matt 18:10).
This seems to imply that angels look out for children, which is where the idea of guardian angels comes from. Angels seem to have responsibilities to look out for nations, and even churches (as we see in the letters to the churches in the book of Revelation). They are servants of God, and they take part if heavenly worship. They work to draw people to God. They are not interested in having the attention of humanity, and God’s angels certainly do not want worship. They don’t want humanity to be obsessed with them to the point Christ is obscured.
If we were given the grace to see this church in all its depth of reality, I wonder what we would see. What if we could see that invisible side of reality? We would see all the forces, fields, and waves that are passing and fluxing around us. We would see tiny particles shooting through our bodies moving at incredible speeds.
We might also see heavenly beings joining us in worship- (or perhaps we are joining them in worship). We might see angels, the messengers of God, ministering to those of us that are struggling. We would see them rejoicing when we confess and turn from destructive ways of thinking and acting (Luke 15:10). We would see them lifting up our prayers before God. … We would see them strengthening us, just as they strengthened Jesus during his ministry on earth and before his death and resurrection (Matt 4:11; Luke 22:43). We would see them serving Jesus in our midst. … Perhaps the universe is more populated than many of us believe. Perhaps God, in his mercy, has provided us with more help than we know.
Let’s thank God for the angelic host that dwells in the invisible side of reality, who are so attentive to us, and who are pleased to go about their service invisible, and unrecognized. Amen.
If we were given the grace to see this church in all its depth of reality, I wonder what we would see. What if we could see that invisible side of reality? We would see all the forces, fields, and waves that are passing and fluxing around us. We would see tiny particles shooting through our bodies moving at incredible speeds.
We might also see heavenly beings joining us in worship- (or perhaps we are joining them in worship). We might see angels, the messengers of God, ministering to those of us that are struggling. We would see them rejoicing when we confess and turn from destructive ways of thinking and acting (Luke 15:10). We would see them lifting up our prayers before God. … We would see them strengthening us, just as they strengthened Jesus during his ministry on earth and before his death and resurrection (Matt 4:11; Luke 22:43). We would see them serving Jesus in our midst. … Perhaps the universe is more populated than many of us believe. Perhaps God, in his mercy, has provided us with more help than we know.
Let’s thank God for the angelic host that dwells in the invisible side of reality, who are so attentive to us, and who are pleased to go about their service invisible, and unrecognized. Amen.
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