The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels (Observed)

St. Matthew 18:1-11

What images come to mind when you hear the word “angel"? Go ahead and take a moment to picture an angel in your mind.

I wonder what the angel you imagined looked like…

Was it cute? Was it a man, a woman, or a child? Did it have wings? Or a long robe? Did it hold a globe in your hands? Or a scepter? Or was it like those cherubs on the stamps that look like toddlers with no clothes? Those cherubs, actually called putti, symbolize death.

Some things just aren’t what you imagine, are they?

Truth be told, how we envision an angel has changed over the years. History has a way of altering our view of things, doesn’t it? 

The way we view angels has changed for a few reasons: first, because angels are often unseen to the human eye, how should we imagine what God has hidden from our sight?

Second, our view of angels today is directly reflected in how they are depicted in art. Early art presented angels as masculine creatures, holding globes that represent their cosmic service to God as guardians of His children. The scepters that the angels held represented their divine authority, power, and roles as God’s messengers.

But over time, these images changed and softened, as many things in the world and the church have. Throughout the medieval period, artists began depicting angels more youthfully, with vibrant colors and majestic backgrounds. During the Renaissance, angels became more realistic and humanized; this is where our idea of cherubs and putti comes from. But then, in the Victorian era, the portrayal of angels became feminized. Modern and contemporary art reimagined angels, and their depiction became subjective, reflecting both a change in artistic expression and how the Holy Scriptures were treated, with the idea that man could interpret the words of the Scripture, just as art, as they desired. 

Another reason our view of angels has shifted is that we simply don’t speak of them as we ought to, at least not in the church. While nearly seven out of ten adults believe in angels, the church has long failed to teach about them or help the flock see how angels are sprinkled throughout the liturgy of the Divine Service or have been included in many of the prayers handed down from old.

None of this is new either. The feast of St. Michael didn’t appear until the 5th century. While you may say that’s a long time ago, the church year was already taking shape one to two hundred years earlier. During the Reformation, this festival became St. Michael and All Angels Day. Why? Because people needed reminders of the angels and their service to God, and they needed teaching.

Are we that different? Don’t we also need instruction on the angels, let alone constant reminders of all the doctrines of the faith?

We do, because without this teaching and constant reminders, we are liable to veer away from a proper understanding of these messengers of God, including who they are and what they were created and sent to do here among us on earth. 

Alright, so let’s take a moment to examine how angels functioned throughout today’s readings, especially St. Michael.

In the Old Testament reading from Daniel, it began by saying, “Behold, a hand touched me…” This is kind of a startling way to begin: “Behold, a hand touched me…” 

Whose hand?

It was the hand of a heavenly messenger God sent to the prophet Daniel. Daniel has been grieving for his people and Jerusalem: they are in captivity, and Jerusalem has been destroyed. As he continues to mourn what has happened, God sends a heavenly messenger to console him and offer him hope, telling him that St. Michael, who helped defeat the kings of Persia, will come again and fight for you.

And this is what the latter half of the reading from Daniel addresses: St. Michael, the archangel, is seen as having charge over Israel and its people. God’s people will be released from their captivity, their sin, and their death. Daniel writes that those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall be awakened, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2).

What does this sound like to you? 

It’s the day of judgment. Daniel’s words provide a vision of Christ’s death and resurrection, His ascension, and His return on the last day. These words point us to the reading from Revelation, which says that war broke out in heaven, “Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon [and his angels].” (Revelation 12:7)

These words from Daniel and Revelation reveal to us that this is not a normal battle; it’s not simply an earthly battle; it’s a cosmic battle. 

St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, 

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

Behind any earthly opponent to the Church stands a demonic force that does not wish for the Christian to worship God, to receive His forgiveness, or to receive eternal life. 

You see, up until this battle in heaven, Satan stood in God’s holy presence, accusing God’s saints. (Revelation 12:10) As one theologian remarked, “It was a war, so to speak, of words with which Satan accused God’s saints of their sins.” (Brighton, 333) And by doing this, Satan was claiming to represent the children of God. 

But Satan was expelled, thrown out of heaven to earth below with all his angels when Christ ascended into heaven. Before Jesus died on the cross, Satan could accuse the children of God of their sins, but once Jesus returned to the right hand of His Father, the devil could no longer remain. 

He is now confined to this earth, where he continues to attempt to deceive God’s children, for he is their adversary, enemy, and accuser. This is what the name Satan means: to be an adversary, enemy, and accuser.

All of this leads us to the Gospel reading from St. Matthew, where Jesus warns, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”

Reflect on this for a moment: the disciples of Jesus just asked Him, again, who would be the greatest in heaven. They have been led into sin; they have permitted the spiritual forces of evil to lead them into temptation and sin.

Why? Because they want to be great, they seek what has not been given to them; does that sound familiar? Sounds like the Garden of Eden, where your parents were led into temptation, disobeyed their Creator, and brought sin into the world? 

But Jesus places a child in their midst and says, “Be like this little one, this child, if you want to inherit heaven.”

What are children? 

If you’ve spent any time around a child, you know they can be talkative, loud, tiring, dirty, and sometimes stinky creatures. But they’re God’s creatures, His children.

If you want to be great in the kingdom of God, then you have to be like one of these little ones. You have to see yourself for who you are, an often too talkative, loud, tiring, dirty, stinky child of God. 

That’s you. 

You have to humble yourselves, have humility, learn to confess your sin, the ways you have given in to the temptations of the devil, and place all your trust in God to care for you, to protect you. 

Learn not to look down on other children of God, your brothers and sisters in Christ, His little ones; because Jesus says, “I have given my angels charge over them, and they see my Father’s face in heaven.”

If you see and understand who St. Michael and His angels truly are and how God has used them throughout Scripture, you should pause, because God still uses these warriors to care for His children on earth today.

So how are we to remember these truths about angels?

First, read the Scriptures faithfully, and you’ll hear stories of how God uses angels and how He defends and protects His people from His enemies, whether through the battles of the Old Testament or the announcements of Christ’s birth, His resurrection, or His ascension. 

Or how they still dwell among us today. 

You won’t take long to understand this, either, if you faithfully attend the Divine Service. Throughout the liturgy, you’re reminded of the angels’ role in the story of salvation: in Gloria Patri, when your voices join those of the angels at Christmas; and in response to the Proper Preface, when the pastor sings, “With angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven,” and the congregation breaks into the Sanctus—a hymn of praise to God, sung with the angels as heaven descends upon earth and dwells within the walls of Good Shepherd. 

When you participate and sing in the liturgy of the Divine Service, you join the angelic choirs, and you can be confident they dwell among you, here and now, in this moment.

Why? Because they see the Father’s face in heaven, and their job is to ensure you are able to hear the voice of your Father in heaven. 

But we must not overlook that, though Satan was cast down to earth at Jesus’ ascension, he continues to tempt you and draw you away from God’s holy Word. The devil wants you to compete with one another, boast in yourselves, and act proudly. He desires your downfall, seeking to break the fellowship and unity you share. When you do not live according to God’s Word, the devil stands ready to be your accuser, for he is your enemy and adversary. 

Make no mistake about this.

So you need to be on guard, but most of all, you need to exercise your faith and pray to God to continue sending His holy angels to be with you, to guard and protect you, so the evil foe wouldn’t have any power over you.

Here is the benefit of praying Martin Luther’s prayers both in the morning, as you wake, and in the evening, as you prepare to lay your head down to sleep: they remind us of the work of angels and of who angels truly are—messengers of God’s Word, guardians, and protectors of His children. 

This is who angels are, after all, guardians and protectors of God’s children. When you imagine an angel, this is who you should see, a cosmic warrior doing the will of your Father in heaven by watching over you. +INJ+

 Rev. Noah J. Rogness

Pastor, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Tomah, WI 

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Website: www.goodsheptomah.org

The Shepherd’s Voice Podcast: https://goodsheptomah.podbean.com/