We are in that strange situation
where what we hear in the Gospel
does not seem to fit
with feast of the day.
Our Lord
speaks of the importance
of being as humble as children.
He speaks of the fate
of those who would corrupt them.
He speaks of clear and decisive action
to prevent sin.
Then and only then
does He speak briefly
of the angels
that represent His children
in Heaven.
There is no mention
of St Michael.
In celebrating Michaelmas,
are we focussing
too much on things
that are really unimportant?
[PAUSE]
The thing is
that angels are very important.
We see them throughout
Holy Scripture,
we know three of their names
from the Bible:
Gabriel, Michael and Raphael.
They herald important events,
offer healing to the righteous,
and battle evil with swords drawn.
We know Our Lord
has legions of angels
at His disposal.
So why, on this celebration
of the Angels
is there so little in the Gospel?
[PAUSE]
Angels are background workers.
Their days are spent
in service to God.
As spirits,
they have no bodies,
just appearances of bodies
when rare circumstances demand.
They don't operate
in the same part of Creation
that we do.
We don't see them
because our eyes are physical
and the Angels are spirits.
But God tells us they are there
and on our side.
We also know
that there are those spirits
who wants us to fall
and be destroyed.
There are spirits of hate
and malice,
who corrupt those
who are weak enough
to be corrupted.
There are spirits
who are corrupters
of the children of God.
We have seen them
almost from the beginning
tempting us
to eat the forbidden fruit
and turn from Almighty God.
These beguiling spirits
are the cause of much
of our misery
because they exploit
our weaknesses.
It s these spirits
that God bids us
amputate from our lives.
[PAUSE]
We don't always see
the evil until it's too late
but, if we listen,
we can learn to hear the words
of temptation
which seek to corrupt us.
Our duty is
to keep our humility,
realise our need
for someone greater to look after us
in our weakness,
and not try to be greater
or more powerful than we really are.
We differ from the angels
because we have bodies.
While those bodies limit us
they are gifts of God to us
and they are to be used
for the Glory of God.
Of course,
having a body
makes us open to corruption
sin and temptation.
Our Lord says
that we are better off
cutting off bits of our body
than entering Hell.
But we need not do that
if we recognise the work
of the angels around us.
For,
behind the scenes,
we know that St Michael
has already fought
with that old serpent
and cast it away.
It is the Devil
and his angels that have
caused offence
and are cut off
and thrown into the pit
so that we can be free
from the same fate
through the resurrection
of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Behind the scenes,
the angels climb up and down
the ladder connecting
Heaven and Earth
on our behalf
bringing us messages of hope
and instruction,
protecting us
lest we should dash
our foot against a stone.
It is not permitted for us
to use the angels as our servants
for they obey only
the Divine Master.
Any spirit that would obey us
is a spirit that seeks
to take advantage of our bodies
and corrupt us
with enticements and trinkets
which we need to cut out of our lives
so that, like the angels
we might obey only God
in our service of Him.
[PAUSE]
Our Lord tells us
that the angels are there
before the throne
on our behalf
but we must keep our focus
on being children of God.
But, if Our Lord says
that they are there,
then we ought to venerate
their feast day in gratitude
for their service to us.
For they will take our veneration
and give it to the One
to Whom all glory is given
a glory that is not just
reflected in angels
but in all of His creation.
Including us.
Including you.
Yes. You.
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