Today we celebrate the feast day of St Michael and all angels. In our culture, images of angels might be of chubby babies with wings from Renaissance artwork, or the cartoon figure that sits on one shoulder of a character facing a moral dilemma (with a little devil on the other), or perhaps a guardian angel that helps someone in a difficult time – the kind of portrayal on the TV series “Touched by an Angel” of a couple of decades ago.
The biblical images and ideas of angels are quite different to ours – often described as having multiple faces and multiple pairs of wings, sometimes fiery serpents (the literal translation of seraph) and sometimes wheels (according to Ezekiel). Certainly it is hard to reconcile the images of cherubs we see in renaissance art with the characters associated with fiery swords to prevent Adam and Eve from returning to the Garden of Eden. Indeed, the pictures of St Michael that have appeared on our power point this service bear little resemblance to the images of guardian angels in cartoons or cards.
In the Bible, angels sometimes function as messengers or intermediaries between heaven and earth – the term “angel” derives from Greek and Latin words for messenger. Jacob has a dream at Bethel of a ladder with angels ascending and descending (which is referred to in the Gospel of the day), and he proclaims the place as a meeting point with God, the gate of heaven. By the time the book of Daniel was written, there starts to be something of the sense of guardian angels – in chapter 10 Daniel describes Michael as being the “prince” of Israel, contending with the “prince” of Persia, to return the exiles from Babylon. In this morning’s reading from the book of Daniel, it is thought that “the one like a son of man” is a description of the archangel Michael, though the New Testament writers’ experience of Jesus’ life and ministry have led to them associating this figure with Christ.
In our second reading, the continuity of the Church with the Hebrew faith means that Michael becomes the protector of the Christian community. The Book of Revelation, written to communities of Christians in what is now Western Turkey, who were experiencing persecution by the Roman forces either in the time of Nero or in the generation afterward. While Christianity remained part of the extended Jewish faith, it shared some of the protections that they enjoyed as a religion of antiquity. Once the Christian communities began to part ways with the synagogues, their refusal to pay homage to the gods of the Roman pantheon led to them being accused of atheism, and local persecutions would erupt from time to time.
The Book of Revelation was written to these communities to encourage them to persevere in the face of difficulties and pressure from the local authorities, and there was a real risk that their faith would lead to their death. These social and political pressures on earth were reflected in the heavens, with God’s forces trying to overcome the forces of evil, led by the beast (Satan) in the Book of Revelation. The battle described in this morning’s reading explains that Satan, having lost the battle against Michael’s forces, and being forced to earth, now resumes the fight against Jesus’ disciples. There is a spiritual component to the difficulties the Christian communities face.
The imagery of the Book of Revelation, vivid and at times violent, reflecting the violence of the time, serves to remind the communities that God will overcome the forces of evil, and emerge triumphant. They are encouraged to continue their faithfulness, that though their circumstances seem overwhelming, God will continue to protect them and defeat the spiritual forces opposed to them. This is personified by the archangel Michael, who will continue the heavenly struggle on their behalf.
While we may not be comfortable at the violent image of there being a war in heaven, nor may we be at the forefront of persecution as those seven churches in Asia were, to whom the writer of the Book of Revelation directed his message, there is still plenty in our world that may discourage us, or make us feel that the forces of greed and fear, the forces of evil, are in the ascendancy in our world today. Or perhaps the things that discourage and threaten to overwhelm us are more personal: difficulties at work or in family relationships, illness or reduced independence, injustice within our community. St Michael symbolises the reminder that Christ’s redemptive love will ultimately triumph, that God hears and sees the obstacles we face, and God will ultimately triumph over them, giving us courage to persevere in living out and reflecting the love that God has for us and for creation. The support we need to continue to live in such a way that reflects the self-giving, hopeful, generous and inclusive love of God for us may come from the heavenly host or it may come from a place a little closer to home, as the fourth verse of the 20th century hymn “ There’s a Light upon the mountains” by Henry Burton tells us:
He is breaking down the barriers,
He is casting up the way;
He is calling for His angels
To build up the gates of day:
But His angels here are human,
Not the shining hosts above;
For the drum beats of His army
Are the heartbeats of our love.
May we be strengthened by the angels, both in heaven and on earth, to live ever more deeply in God’s love.