St. Michael and All Angels
Many people are drawn to fantasy stories about epic clashes between angels and demons, in which, on a superhuman scale, the forces of good battle against the forces of evil.
We might sit in amazement as we watch movies about this kind of thing. We might be deeply absorbed in anticipation as we turn the pages of a book about this sort of thing.
But whether we are fascinated by a movie like this, or by a book like this, we know that these stories are about things that are taking place at a safe distance from us. And we remind ourselves that these fictional stories are not even real.
But today, on the feast day of St. Michael and All Angels, I’m here to tell you that the battles in which angels and demons are engaged are not happening at a distance from you – even though your physical senses are usually not aware of them. They are taking place all around you, all the time.
I’m also here to tell you that these battles are not imaginary. To be sure, they are usually taking place in a supernatural realm, and not in the natural realm – although there are times when the presence of angels and demons can be known and experienced in physical ways.
But whether or not you are aware of these battles, they are real, and will not stop for as long as this world endures. The rolling of the credits at the end of a movie, or the closing of the cover of a book, does not make them stop, and does not cause the angels and demons themselves to disappear and cease to exist.
And finally, I’m here to tell you that angels and demons are not fighting merely over cosmic issues of good and evil – like who will control the universe or the world. They are fighting over who will control your soul and over the eternal destiny of your soul.
As God’s servants, the angels are involved in what God is doing when he calls you to repentance and sustains you in faith. As God’s enemies, the demons are always trying to lure you away from God, and away from what he is doing for you in his Word and Sacrament.
In explaining the meaning of his parable of the lost coin, as St. Luke records it, Jesus said: “Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The angels care about the conversion of each and every lost sinner, and about the rescue of each and every fallen human being from the clutches of Satan. St. Paul tells us in his Epistle to the Colossians that God “has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
The reason why the dominion of darkness is dark – for those who do not know Christ – is because the dominion of darkness is the dominion of demons. The gospel of Christ “is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded” – as St. Paul explains in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians.
“The god of this age,” if anyone is wondering, is not the true God, but is the premier fallen angel: Lucifer, or Satan. In deceiving the darkened minds and shadowy hearts of lost men, he “transforms himself into an angel of light,” making people think that good is evil and that evil is good.
Jesus tells us in John’s Gospel that Satan “is a liar and the father of lies.” So, he appeals to people’s pride, lust, and greed – which are made to seem like completely normal components of who they are – and persuades them that God would take away all their fun, and would ruin all the good things in their life, if they let him get too close or have too much influence.
Satan also exploits the confusion and fear of hurting people, offering false solutions to their real problems that actually make those problems worse. But these deceptions do often succeed in distracting hurting people from God’s genuine solutions in Christ.
Of course, supernaturally deceived people almost never know that it is the devil who is whispering into their minds and hearts. They are quite sure that they are coming up with all this worldly wisdom on their own, and are making all their own decisions.
And the devil is not content just with keeping unbelievers in their unbelief. He is always looking for opportunities to discourage and wear down Christians – especially in their suffering and human weakness – and to rob them of their faith. And So St. Peter exhorts Christians in his First Epistle:
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
God’s grace in Christ does indeed overpower the devil and his minions, in order to restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish the faith and hope of his people: so that the forces of evil cannot in the end prevail and steal them away.
God uses his angels to pull the demons off our backs, and push them away, as the saving power of the gospel then pushes its way in, and does its healing and forgiving work.
Guardian angels watch over us and protect us. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus speaks specifically of the little ones who believe in him, and says:
“Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.”
Angels are inter-dimensional beings. They are before God, and with us, at the same time.
And they are at Jesus’ side, helping and serving him in his saving work for those who were lost, or who still are. As God’s instruments, they guard us not only against physical threats, but also and especially against spiritual threats.
In his First Epistle, St. Peter speaks of the promises of the coming Christ that God revealed, through the centuries, to the Old Testament prophets. As those prophets, by divine inspiration, wrote down those promises, they did so ultimately for us, who now have experienced the fulfillment of these things in Jesus. Regarding the prophets of old, Peter says:
“To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us, they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven – things which angels desire to look into.”
Throughout the ages, God’s holy angels have indeed taken a great interest in the plan for human salvation that was gradually unfolding. They saw that this divine plan brought salvation to many ancient people even before it was fully enacted, since the message of a promised gospel is itself the gospel – and has the power to save just as does the message of a fulfilled gospel.
And the Book of Acts tells us of more than one occasion when an angel helped to make the spreading of the gospel possible in the New Testament era.
We read about the time when an angel spoke to Philip the deacon, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This put Philip where he needed to be, so that he could bump into the Ethiopian eunuch, explain to him the meaning of the messianic prophecies of Isaiah that he was reading, and then baptize him.
On another occasion, an angel appeared to Cornelius, a God-fearing Roman centurion, telling him:
“Send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter. … He will tell you what you must do.”
This set the table for Simon Peter to come and preach the full Christian gospel to Cornelius and his household. As he preached, the Holy Spirit fell upon them in an extraordinary way. And Peter baptized them.
We see a pattern here, where angels are making things happen externally, in order to facilitate the gospel of Jesus being preached by men to other men.
So, we do not wait for angels to go and make disciples of all nations. That is our calling: as baptized members of the church who confess our faith to our neighbors, as called ministers of the church who publicly preach this faith to all who will listen, and as generous donors who offer support for home and world missions.
But as we confess, as we preach, and as we donate, the angels are with us. They are in various ways helping to bring people who need the gospel to us. And they are in various ways helping to bring us to people who need the gospel.
The angels – with their flaming swords – are keeping the demons away, so that the message of Christ crucified for sinners can be heard without distraction, and can be believed when it is heard.
Dear friends, you personally also need to understand the supernatural dimension of any influence in your life that would keep you away from the gospel: any influence that would keep you from hearing the Lord’s absolution, and from being cleansed by those sacred words; any influence that would keep you from receiving the Lord’s Supper, and from being renewed in faith by the body and blood of Jesus in that sacred meal.
The perceptible reasons for staying away from church might be laziness, indifference, boredom with worship, or an overwhelming feeling of guilt and unworthiness. But the devil’s fingerprints are also on these influences.
With his lies and strategies, Satan will amplify in your mind and will any thought or desire that is contrary to God’s will. Something that the devil finds especially useful is the notion that I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian – which is the exact opposite of everything that Jesus and the apostles ever said on the subject.
With his lies and strategies, Satan will minimize in your mind and will any thought or desire that is in keeping with God’s will. Something that the devil never wants you to hear is the invitation of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel:
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
And he especially never wants you to be reminded of something else that Jesus said, in John’s Gospel:
“Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
The Bible doesn’t specifically teach it, but it is not too hard to imagine that Satan has assigned a particular demon to your case, who will always be watching you, and will keep himself informed of what is going on in your life: as he looks for any opportunity to put distance between you and Jesus.
But there is also an angel, and maybe more than one, who is also watching you, and watching over you. The angels want only what is good for you, in time and in eternity. And to those ends they are always working on your behalf, under God’s direction.
The angels rejoice when you repent of your sins, because they know that whenever that happens, Satan has lost a battle, and is that much closer to losing the war. The angels rejoice when you embrace Christ and receive his Word and Spirit into your heart and soul.
And there is no doubt a very special presence of angels among us, in that sacramental moment when there is also a very special presence of Christ among us. Christian artists and hymnists through the centuries have often been led to paint pictures of angels, and to sing about angels, in conjunction with what is happening when Holy Communion is being celebrated.
An angel is sometimes portrayed in Christian art at the crucifixion of Jesus, collecting the blood that flowed from his side into a chalice. An angel is sometimes portrayed holding a chalice, in preparation for the distribution of that blood to communicants. You can see an example of such a painting on the back of today’s bulletin.
Also on the back of the bulletin, you will see a hymn, translated from the Latin, that describes the body of Christ in the sacrament as “the bread of angels”: not because it comes from them, or is intended for them to eat, but because they in their own special way are involved in seeing to it that this sacrament gets to the people who need it, and who are ready to receive it.
They accompany Jesus as he literally and personally comes down from heaven to us, in this Supper. And they gather with us to worship the Savior of men, as he enters into our midst. There is a communion hymn that speaks of this, too:
Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and with fear and trembling stand;
ponder nothing earthly minded, for, with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth, our full homage to demand.
Rank on rank the host of heaven spreads its vanguard on the way,
as the Light of light descendeth from the realms of endless day,
that the powers of hell may vanish as the darkness clears away.
At His feet the six-winged seraph, cherubim with sleepless eye,
veil their faces to the Presence, as with ceaseless voice they cry,
“Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, Lord Most High!”
Yes, that is what is really happening, beyond our physical sight and hearing, as we chant our sacramental welcome to Christ:
“Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; Heaven and earth are full of Your glory. … Blessèd is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”
And just for today – the day of the angels – we say it a little differently, as we pray to God:
“Through Jesus Christ our Lord…, Your majesty is praised by all the holy angels, and celebrated with one accord by the heavens and all the powers therein. The cherubim and seraphim sing Your praise, and with them we laud and magnify Your glorious name.”
Dear friends: Please, please never renounce your confession of faith in this, or your devotion to this.
This sacrament, which even the angels yearn to see up-close, is what Jesus instituted for the deepest needs of his church: for our forgiveness and comfort; for the strengthening of our union with Christ, and with each other in Christ; and for the fortifying of our faith and courage, as we face the continuing attacks and intrigues of Satan in this world.
How sad it is when misled Christians are cut off from this, in religious gatherings that mix truth with error: so that this revealed truth is not confessed, and this profoundly important meal is not received.
We will not join them in this deprivation. We will hope and pray that someday they may join us, in the rich bounty of what Jesus intended for all his people.
The angels are with us throughout life: protecting us, fighting against demons for us, and helping us find our way to the means of grace. And, at the end of our earthly struggles, the angels are with us in death: helping us to die in faith, even as they had always helped us to live in faith.
In this way they were with poor Lazarus, in the story that Jesus told about him and the rich man in Luke’s Gospel: “So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom.”
We also have a hymn about this, with which we will close:
Lord, let at last Thine angels come, to Abram’s bosom bear me home, That I may die unfearing;
And in its narrow chamber keep my body safe in peaceful sleep
Until Thy reappearing.
And then from death awaken me that these mine eyes with joy may see,
O Son of God, Thy glorious face, my Savior and my Fount of grace,
Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, and I will praise Thee without end. Amen.