Servants of God: A Meditation on Daniel 12 and Matthew 18, for the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels

 

And at that time shall Michael stand up,

the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:

 and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was

since there was a nation even to that same time:

 

and at that time thy people shall be delivered,

every one that shall be found written in the book.

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,

some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament;

and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

 

One of the more ancient Christian festivals on her ecclesiastical calendar is Michaelmas, or the Feast of St. Michael.  Later ages would come to celebrate and reflect upon all the Holy Angels on this feast day, contemplating what the Scriptures teach the world about the angelic servants of God.  In our day, where modernity often shuns the spiritual realities of both angels and demons, the spiritual essence of mankind, and increasingly of God himself, it is worth taking some time to understand the reality of the world in which we live.  As even modern Physics reveals, there is much more about the universe that cannot be seen, than can be, echoing the opening confession of the Nicene Creed where we declare our faith in a God who has created all things—seen and unseen.

 

What are Angels?  In the strict sense, angels are purely spiritual creatures, made by God for their specific service and work, and given particular powers according to their callings.  There is some theological speculation regarding when the angels were created (either before the creation of the earth and material universe, during, or after that creation,) but regardless of when they were created, it is clear that they were.  They appear early in the story of mankind, rejoicing with God in the creation.  There is also a distinction between angels who remain faithful to God, and those who do not—as evidenced by the work of the devil in our first parent’s temptation (a rebellious angel who we later learn is named Lucifer or Satan,) and a warrior angel with a flaming sword sent to guard the way to the Tree of Life after man’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden (a holy angel, fulfilling God’s will to prevent man from living forever in his fallen state, without hope of redemption).  In this we learn that the angels are powerful, intelligent, ancient spirits, either fulfilling their created purpose as servants of the Living God, or corrupted in their wickedness by rebellion against God.  Elsewhere throughout the Scriptures, as in Revelation 12, we learn that they are many in number; though the multitude of their total is not revealed, it is indicated that roughly one third of the angels followed Lucifer in rebellion against God.

 

What do the Angels do?  Often, though the angels are only rarely named, their work is indicated by their names and what they say or do in Scripture.  St. Michael the Archangel is captain of the heavenly armies, defender of God’s people (the Jewish people of the Old Covenant, and the Christian people of the New Covenant,) and the one who cast down the devil out of heaven when Jesus’ victory over sin, death, hell, and the devil were accomplished via His Vicarious Atonement on His Cross.  St. Gabriel the Archangel is known for his annunciations of God’s Word to Daniel in the Old Testament, as well as to the parents of St. John the Baptist, and to Mary the Mother of Jesus in the New Testament.  St. Raphael the Archangel is recorded in the deuterocanonical book of Tobit, and connected with the healing of Tobit’s son, and driving away a demon who tormented his son’s future wife.  Both in Tobit and in Revelation, there are references to seven chief or Archangels who stand before the throne of God, but only three are named in Scripture (other ecclesiastical writings have offered names of the remaining four, but these are sometime contradictory and hard to nail down.)  Jesus, in our Gospel reading for today in Matthew 18, notes that some angels are guardians for people, especially children—cementing the warning Jesus gave about trying to harm a child in any way.  It is clear from Scripture that the Holy Angels do the will of God according to their callings, and that the demons work against that will, even though they are ultimate constrained by God’s will and providence.

 

Ultimately, what the Holy Angels do in the service of God, is help people to know and be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.  As evidenced across history and Scripture, they do not seek their own glory, and most often are completely unknown to people in this world, even as their work can be quite harrowing, doing battle in our defense against the evil angels who roam throughout the world, seeking souls to deceive and devour.  This means that everyone who is reconciled to God, baptized into Jesus Christ and living by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, is also befriended and aided by all the Holy Angels.  Those angels are not our saviors, but they are our fellow servants according to their created order and callings, so that we become members of the same Kingdom of God by the saving work of Jesus.  The Holy Angels live forever in the love and service of God, just as every redeemed soul of man shall live forever in His grace, and together we will sing of His wonders and love unto ages of ages without end.  The demons, and human souls who partner with them, will eventually be cast into the fiery prison of hell by those same Holy Angels, when the final trumpet of God sounds, and the return of Jesus to judge the living and the dead is complete.  Yet until then, the Holy Angels are our mostly unseen encouragers, guardians, and defenders, fellow workers in God’s Kingdom whom we shall see someday when the Lord of Glory calls us home.

 

While we wrestle not against flesh and blood in this world, but against the spiritual powers of darkness in high and low places, we do not wrestle alone—for the victory of Jesus Christ over every dark power is accomplished through His life, death, and resurrection, and His Kingdom shall have no end.  In that Kingdom we serve alongside every other creature who enjoys the friendship, providence, and grace of Almighty God, including the Holy Angels whom God has sent to draw us closer to Himself through His Word and Spirit.  Give thanks, O saints of God, for the gift of salvation which comes to us by Christ alone, in faith alone, and by grace alone—and that we do not strive nor serve our God alone, but in the marvelous and unmatched company all His holy saints and angels.  Soli Deo Gloria!  Amen.