The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels – September 29, 2024Psalm 103; Daniel 10:10-14; 12:1-3; Revelation 12:7-12St. Matthew 18:1-18
In the Name of the Father, and of the +
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Every Sunday, we confess that God
created all things visible and invisible. Those things invisible primarily
refer to the angels. Angels are a creation of God, distinct from all other
creation. Humans do not become angels when they die any more than humans become
cats upon death. Angels are spirits, that is, without body.
Sometimes, angels appear to man. They
can appear in the form of a human, as fire, wind, or simply a voice. They also
take on the visage of terrifying beasts, with multiple heads, hundreds of eyes,
wings, and engulfed in flames. They are always referred to with male pronouns
in Scripture and are said to neither marry nor procreate.[1]
From the beginning to the end of time, there is a fixed number of angels – no
more and no less than were created by God.
Individual angels are not omnipresent
or present in all places. They are located in a particular space at any given
time, but God has not revealed how they are present in space and time. We do
not know how big or small they are. They are also spiritual beings. They do not
have a physical body that is all their own. They can assume a physical body for
a time, like the angels who visit with Abraham or who call Lot and his family
out of Sodom.[2]
Although this temporary body is physical (in that it can interact with the
physical world), these angels are not “incarnate.” They did not take on a body
of their own. It is a temporary “man suit.”
Angels are not omnipresent or present
in all places, but because they are spiritual, they always see the face of our
Father in heaven, even when they are ministering to man on earth.[3]
This incomprehensible mystery speaks of their spiritual nature and the fact
that God is near to all things, even if we cannot see Him at times.
There is also confusion over the duties of angels. The word “angel” means “messenger.” They are the messengers of God, heralds who bring His Word to man. We see this explicitly in the Angel Gabriel, who speaks to Daniel and then appears to Mary, telling her she will bear the Christ child.[4] However, this use of the term “angel” to mean “messenger” is also applied to human beings. John the Baptist is called an Angel.[5] In the Revelation to St. John, the pastors of the seven churches are called the angels of those churches.[6] All pastors are considered angels as they are the messengers, the ambassadors of Christ, sent to deliver His Word and His gifts to God’s people.[7]
Most importantly, the Son of God, Jesus
Christ, is called the Angel of the Lord throughout the Old Testament.[8]
This reflects that fact that Jesus Christ is the Word of God, he himself is the
message and the messenger, bringing the Word and Will of God to man. When
reading Scripture, you can be assured that the angel being discussed is Jesus
if the angel accepts and receives the worship of man, beast, or any other
created thing.[9]
Angels are the messengers of God and
yet they have also been given other duties. The Revelation to St. John records
how the prayers of the saints are carried to heaven by an angel. He offers the
prayers with incense before the altar of God.[10]
The Angels are also said to bear the soul of the beggar Lazarus into the bosom
of Abraham.[11]
The angels rejoice over one who repents and turns toward God.[12]
They are superior to us in their delight in the Word of God and yet they
joyfully submit themselves to us in love. They are our big brothers in
creation, who guard and protect us from danger while ensuring our safety in the
hand of the Father.
St. Paul tells us the Holy Angels are
present in the Divine Service.[13]
We join in their song, first in the Gloria, singing the words of the Holy
Angels present at the birth of Christ.[14]
Then, we gloriously join their singing in the heavenly temple during the
Sanctus.[15]
The Holy Angels are present with us and singing the glorious song of heaven in
praise of the Most High God. Our time in the Divine Service is a glorious
glimpse into heaven, when the veil between this world and the eternal world is
thinnest. Heaven itself, as the dwelling place of Christ, comes down to this
altar. The risen Christ, the Angel of the Lord, Messenger of the Father, is
present for us in His Holy Body and Precious Blood, together with the Father,
the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Angels.
According to Psalm 34, they “encamp
around them that fear the Lord.” The Holy Angels stand guard over the faithful
children of God. Satan walks about as a roaring lion and the Holy Angels keep
vigil lest our heels should strike a stone.[16]
In the broadest sense, there are two
kinds of angels. There are the Holy Angels, which attend to the Lord, herald
his Word, guard the faithful, and bear our prayers and our departed souls to
heaven.
Then there are the evil, fallen angels.
Scripture calls these “demons.” They are the angels who fell like lightning
from heaven, in service to Satan, the prince of demons. These too are spiritual
beings, invisible unless they take on a form to be revealed to man. The pagan
gods of old, the spirits contacted by mediums, ghosts, goblins, and all manner
of “supernatural creatures” are manifestations of demons. They thirst for you
soul, that it would spend eternity in torment and misery, as they themselves
have been consigned to eternal hellfire. It is against Satan and his minions
that the Holy Angels stand vigil on our behalf.
What then of this war in heaven that
St. John saw in his vision? “War broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels
fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not
prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the
great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and
Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and
his angels were cast out with him.”[17]
St. John sees a war in heaven between the
holy angels, led by St. Michael, and the demons, led by Satan. The result of
the war is that Satan and the demons are cast out of heaven, down to the earth.
Just before St. John sees the war, he sees a vision a woman who bears a male
Child, who is to rule all nations, and a great red dragon who is prepared to
swallow her Son. After her Son is caught up to God and His throne, the woman
flees into the wilderness, to a place prepared for her by God.[18]
This is a vision of the Incarnation of
our Lord, His death, resurrection, and ascension. The woman is in the first
place, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of our Lord, Jesus Christ, but she
symbolizes the Church. As such, once the Son of God and Son of Mary has
ascended to the right hand of the Father, the Church flees into the wilderness,
to a place prepared for her by God. This wilderness is the world in which we
live. It is the world that is still affected by sin and ruled by Satan.
This vision of the Incarnation through
ascension of our Lord sets the context for the vision of the war in heaven. This
war between St. Michael and Satan is the result of the death and resurrection
of Jesus. In the Old Testament, it seems that Satan had access to the throne
room of God, where he would make accusations against the saints of God.[19]
He would actively test God by accusing His saints, as we see in the Book of
Job. But after the death and resurrection of Christ, Satan no longer has a
place in heaven. He has been cast out of heaven, never again to make accusation
against God’s holy ones before Him.
But we also hear of the danger of
Satan’s new position. Like a terrified wolf backed into a corner, Satan is now
trapped and sees his end drawing nigh. Both the wolf and Satan strike out with
renewed ferocity, believing they can at least take some of you with them even
if they are doomed to lose the war. The war is won in the death and
resurrection of Christ but the battle is still being waged on earth. “Woe to
the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you,
having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time!”[20]
St. Michael, the archangel, and all the holy angels wage a war invisible to our eyes yet more real than you can comprehend. Satan and the demons continue to lash out, trying to tempt and destroy the beloved of God. The torment of the evil angels is the purpose for God creating Hell. It was never intended for man. Yet Satan will fill it with the souls of man so that his torment is never without company.
Against this assault of the devil, the
Holy Angels encamp around the faithful.[21]
They are servants of the Most High who guard and protect man. They fight not
for their own salvation, but for the salvation of man. They long for the peace
of the resurrection and joyously peer into the mysteries revealed to man in the
Incarnation.[22]
The Holy Angels delight in man and in the fruits of repentance. They rejoice in
the works of God and praise Him both day and night, side by side with man.
The time of the war in heaven is now.
It is the time of the Church, that time between the ascension of Christ and his
return on the Last Day. There is no seven-year tribulation nor a 1,000-year
reign of Christ on earth. Now is the tribulation and now is the reign of
Christ. He rules in his Church even as Satan brings tribulation to those
saints. Now the war is fought, but it is already won. Your weapons in battle
are the Word of God and the Blood of the Lamb.[23]
The Word of God upon your lips, in your mind, and stored in your heart is the greatest
weapon against the active assaults of Satan. Receiving the Holy Blood of Christ
in the Eucharist revivifies your soul, such that you become like a
fire-breathing lion against the hordes of hell, terrifying even Satan with your
might because Christ dwells within you.
And those who overcome Satan and his
temptations are those who do not love their own lives to the death, that is,
those who know that man is eternal, that death is not the greatest evil.[24]
If death is the greatest evil, then you must do everything imaginable to stay
alive. But this is contrary to God’s Word. Death is not the greatest evil.
Death is defeated in Christ.
The greatest evil is apostacy, losing
faith and blasphemy against God. And the greatest punishment is not death but
is eternal death, damnation, eternity in suffering with Satan and his angels.
Those who overcome Satan do not love their earthly lives over their eternal
lives. They do not love the earthly lives of their loved ones over their loved
ones’ eternal lives. Those who overcome Satan are like the Holy Angels,
beholding the face of our Father in Heaven at all times, and they do it by
means of the Word of God and the Blood of the Lamb.
Come share in the victory meal. Defeat
Satan by placing the Word of God on your hearts and minds and receiving the
Blood of Christ. Sing with the Holy Angels the victory song of Christ, the Lamb
of God who takes away the sin of the world.
In + Jesus’
name. Amen.
[1]
St. Matthew 22:30.
[2]
Genesis 18:1-15; 19:1-11.
[3]
St. Matthew 18:10.
[4]
Daniel 8:16; 9:21; St. Luke 1:26. See also St. Luke 1:19, St. Gabriel’s
appearance to Zacharias.
[5]
Malachi 3:1; St. Matthew 11:10; St. Mark 1:2.
[6]
Revelation 1-3. See also Isaiah 33:7; Malachi 2:7.
[7]
2 Corinthians 5:20.
[8]
For example, see Genesis 16:7; 22:11; 32:24; Hosea 12:3; etc.
[9]
Compare Revelation 22:8-9.
[10]
Revelation 5:8-12.
[11]
St. Luke 16:22.
[12]
St. Luke 15:10.
[13]
1 Corinthians 11:10.
[14]
St. Luke 2:8-14.
[15]
Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8.
[16]
1 Peter 5:8; Psalm 91:11-12.
[17]
Revelation 12:7-9.
[18]
Revelation 12:1-6.
[19]
Job 1:6-12.
[20]
Revelation 12:12.
[21]
Psalm 34:7.
[22]
1 Peter 1:10-12.
[23]
Revelation 12:11.
[24]
Revelation 12:11.
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