I Believe In Angels; On Michaelmas, Protection and Angels (Revelation 12.7-12, John 1.47-51)
Michaelmas, God’s Protection and Mystery
Today is Michaelmas, the day when the church celebrates Michael and all the angels of God. I wonder what your views on angels are? Perhaps that song by Abba is playing in your head right now? I mean I find them a bit confusing, not Abba obvs, but angels; and biblically accurate angels are often absolutely terrifying.
This from Ezekiel:
4 As I looked, a stormy wind came out of the north: a great cloud with brightness around it and fire flashing forth continually, and in the middle of the fire, something like gleaming amber. 5 In the middle of it was something like four living creatures. This was their appearance: they were of human form. 6 Each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot; and they sparkled like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: 9 their wings touched one another; each of them moved straight ahead, without turning as they moved. 10 As for the appearance of their faces: the four had the face of a human being, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle; 11 such were their faces.
I think that would be enough even
to make the baby Jesus cry. I’m not sure you’d want that in your nativity.
I have a soft spot for Michael as
the church I grew up in was dedicated to St Michael. Michael is the sort of
enforcer of God. God’s henchman if you will, or at least that’s what our Bible
reading today on the face of it seems to say.
But I’d like to think about Michael
and the angels differently.
When the Bible was written, in a
time before science, a lot of bad stuff happened. Because people had such gaps
in their knowledge of the world and how it works, they would often chalk up bad
stuff to being God’s wrath or punishment. I mean it was only natural. Bad
stuff, it’s God’s punishment for doing this or that, when sometimes it wasn’t
that at all, it’s just the way the world is.
We see through the Bible that
people have encounters with angels in lots of different ways. Sometimes
negative, sometimes positive. For example the annunciation, when Gabriel comes
to Mary and tells her all about God’s plans for her, and about the bringing of
the new age of salvation.
There’s the angels appearing to the
Shepherds, angels who give messages on God’s behalf (I mean they didn’t have
SMS back then did they). Angels fulfil all sorts of roles.
According to the Bible they take an
interest in the affairs of human beings and Jesus mentions them multiple times "Likewise,
I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner
who repents." (Luke 15.10) for example.
So what then are we to make of our reading
from Revelation today?
The thing to remember about the
book revelation is that it’s extremely symbolic. The language is very
allegorical and it’s essentially a story about the power of Rome, the
crucifixion and salvation.
So when it sways Michael fought
against a dragon, it doesn’t necessarily mean that this is literally true.
When revelation was written the
church was being heavily persecuted. They were being hunted down and killed for
their faith. So of course there’s going to be lots of disturbing language about
warfare.
This war between Michael, the
angles of God and Satan represents the war that is going on for them. It also
represents the war between good and evil. Right and wrong that is playted out
every day, both in our hearts and in the world at large. What’s the moral of
this story?
That Christ has the victory.
Forever and always over evil. God’s righteousness and love and power triumphs
always. That evil has no power anymore. Yet it wasn’t through triumphalism that
God has the victory, but through the weakness of the cross and his own love.
Isn’t that cool!
This passage is an encouragement to
those who originally read it, but to us too. Particularly the poem at the end.
“For the accuser of our brothers and sisters
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
11 They triumphed over 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.”
They might have power over us now, they might abuse us and
mistreat us, but God has the final word. The writer is encouraging them to hold
on to their faith.
So it encourages us too. There might be times when we feel
hopeless or alone, but evil and the bad stuff that happens to all of us hasn’t
and will never win. Those who use their power to oppress have not won. God
wins, God’s love and salvation wins forever.
What Michael symbolises is God’s
protection. God’s protection on that original community, and on us now. Just
because we are protected by God doesn’t mean bad stuff won’t happen to us.
But we have an assurance that through
the awful times, when hope feels a thousand miles away, God is there, because
God never abandons us and has sovereignty over everything.
So today we thank God for his
protection, for his love and mercy. We remember Michael and the other angels
and all those who have been God’s servants down the ages.
And if the angels do literally
guard us, we thank them, and may they watch over us as God always does, today
and always. Amen.
Preached at St Cuthbert's Sprowston. 29/9/21
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