“I believe in Angels”—a homily for the first evensong of the Feast of Michael and All Angels
I’ve never preached on angels or Michaelmas before, so this was a new adventure to me! Thanks to Bristol Cathedral for having me preach, to my dear friend Baxter for his notes on the seasons, and to ABBA for the music.
The readings were 2 Kings 6:8-17 and Matthew 18:1-6,10
Holy Spirit, open our hearts and minds, and stir our imaginations and our souls, Amen.
***
I’d like to begin with a quotation from a text that some of you might know.
I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
You can take the future, even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
So sang ABBA, in 1979.
And I wonder what comes to mind when—or perhaps if—you think of angels?
Halos and wings?
Birkenstock sandals, harps and clouds?
Dramatic interventions in the lives of humans?
Perhaps some of you will think of great works of art depicting angels in praise and worship, perhaps around the crib; or of Gabriel mid-annunciation or the Archangel Michael fighting a dragon.
Do you think of Angels as human-like? Or as an aspect of humanity or creation—the ‘something good in everything I see?’ of the song. Or do you think of them as not-human, some kind of spiritual or semi-divine being? The book of Ezekiel describes angels as having four faces, four wings, with wheels and many eyes—which would be quite a sight to see in a graveyard.
Perhaps you don’t think about angels very often? I know that I don’t, not outside of nativity plays and this particular festival: Michaelmas, the Feast of St Michael and All Angels.
Abba might have sung, “I believe in Angels,” but they also placed them in the realm of the fairytale. And this is often where they exist for us: in the mythology, if you like, of Christianity, in the background of our world.
It can be quite easy for Christianity to do without angels. And yet here they are, in our scriptures and in our worship: a part of our story and the story of the world’s relationship with God.
So, I wonder if we might ask ourselves: what do angels do for us?
***
In the Bible, angels are often messengers.
The Hebrew word malakh and its Greek counterpart ángelos mean both angel and messenger and they bring messages from God to humanity. We see this most famously in Gabriel at the annunciation, but it is nothing new. We see them visiting humans and making interventions in their lives from the beginning: Abraham receives a promise of a son from angels; Jacob has encounters with angels; they enter the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Mesach and Abednego.
As messengers, angels make God present to humans, revealing God’s will, God’s compassion, and God’s protection to us in the midst of our lives.
And there is a sense, too, that they carry something from us back to God. Perhaps not a message, as a clearly worded piece of communication—but a reminder of us, an awareness of our troubles and our needs. In Revelation, the writer sees an angel offering the prayers of humanity at the heavenly altar. And in our gospel reading this evening, Jesus tells his disciples that the angels of children continually see God’s face in heaven forever able to keep their vulnerabilities and needs in God’s sight, invoking God’s protection
The Old Testament, meanwhile, reminds us that the angels’ work as messengers of God and guardians of God’s children is not necessarily something that is proactive and not always gentle. We can’t just imagine soft-focus images of delicate beings watching over golden-haired cherubic infants in their beds.
No, as Elisha is threatened by the enemies of ancient Israel, the Lord reveals an angelic army guarding the prophet with chariots and fire. They are ready for war.
In the stories about Michael in the Bible and beyond, the Archangel is the commander of this heavenly host. He is the one who throws Satan out of the heavens, meaning that the devil can no longer advocate against our salvation.
And while the violence of the imagery might be disturbing, it is a way of conveying the authority and power of Almighty God and God’s protection of the vulnerable; a drama that conveys the depths of God’s desire and determination to save those who God loves (—which is all of us).
***
If we are asking ourselves what angels do for us, this is where the answer lies: they play a part in God’s work of salvation, guarding and guiding humanity from the evils of the world, reassuring us of God’s power and love. There is surely something reassuring for us in this, particularly at this time.
Here in the British Isles, Michaelmas—falling around the equinox—has long been associated with the shifting of the seasons. Traditionally, the harvest was done and revelry and rituals took place, celebrating the gathering in of supplies that must sustain people through the winter. Shorter days and longer nights are drawing in, coldness and darkness loom.
It is a time when people might well want the comfort of knowing that Angels are guarding and guiding us, carrying with them the power of light and the fire of God’s Spirit.
And in our present world, things feel more fragile than ever. This fragility is, perhaps, not new to much of the global population, but in Britain it may feel closer than it has for quite a long time.
Changes to the world’s climate and environment are becoming more apparent in our own weather, affecting our harvests, and contributing to the migrations and movement that has become such a stressor in our own political and social lives. Division and violence simmers close to the surface; warfare and oppression move geographically closer.
We might well want to see and feel the presence of Angels as our guardians and our guides: though we must be careful not to tie this protection to our own communities and nations, for it is for the good of the kingdom of God, which spreads beyond such human boundaries. Angels work for the work of drawing all creation towards God’s love, a reminder of the hope we have in God’s power and goodness.
And so there is, I believe, a deeper truth to be found in the lyrics of a pop song than we might sometimes expect. We have a dream, a song to sing, to help us cope with everything—but in angels we find not just the wonderful dream of a fairy-tale or a fantasy, but a vision of supernatural beings working for the realisation of God’s kingdom. This is why stories and pictures of angels as guardians and warriors, connecting us with and preserving us for heaven, have become such a part of our culture and folklore.
To see angels is to possess a vision that sustains our hope in the coming of a world whose reality is waiting to become tangible. A dream, to return to ABBA,
To help [us] through reality
And [our] destination makes it worth the while
Pushing through the darkness; still another mile…
I believe in Angels
Amen