Email from Church of the Redeemer

Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost

September 29, 2023

Invitatory

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Reading - Revelation 12:7-9

And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Meditation - Winnie Smith

What image comes to mind when you think of an angel? Is it white, dazzling, with wings? Does the figure fly above you or sing in a choir of similar creatures? It is a child with a halo atop its head? In Scripture, angels are considered messengers of God. They are “spirits in the divine service, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation” (Heb 1:14). They appear at pivotal moments in the Bible: to Mary at the annunciation of Jesus’s birth, to the shepherds watching their flocks after he is born, to Jesus after his temptation in the wilderness, and before his arrest and crucifixion. It is an angel that rolls back the stone at Jesus’s tomb after his resurrection in Matthew’s account. Angels pop up in these significant moments, but it is difficult to grasp who and what they are.

As Christians, we talk a lot about listening for God - for the “still, small voice of calm” (Hymn 652). That, I can handle. I expect to sense, hear, feel God’s presence at various moments of my life. In fact, I have spent most of my life trying to understand and recognize who God is. But these bodiless creatures sent by God? To speak to us? They seem more frightening than comforting. As we move from summer to fall, and Halloween decorations are seen in stores and on front lawns, I find myself blurring the lines between ghosts and angels. Both are human-like but not human, representing some kind of liminal space between here and heaven, person and God. I’m suddenly interested in learning more about these messengers who seem to be present at some of the most significant moments of Jesus’s life and ministry and in the early church.

Today is the feast of St. Michael and All Angels. Michael is one of the few named angels in all of Scripture. In the Revelation to John, he is said to have appeared alongside his angels to fight a dragon (representing Satan). On his feast day, we recognize Michael as leader of this band of spiritual messengers. Michael is an agent of God; he wards off evil and ultimately brings peace. He is not a baby with a halo, but he is a fantastic creature. Michael is often depicted with wings and the sword with which he slayed the dragon Satan, and maybe that is really what he looks like. Maybe not. I think we adorn these figures as heroic warriors with magical features because we cannot fathom their power as God’s own messengers. Michael’s slaying the dragon was great, but what it represented, the power he and the other angels hold, is their capacity to come to earth and interact with us as direct messengers of God. They give us a glimpse of the Almighty - and that is truly spectacular.

The Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy Name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those

who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever. Amen.