Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text this morning is from the book of Daniel, the tenth and twelfth chapters:
And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.”
“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
Angels are kind of weird things. We suppose that they might look like, but, not really. They aren’t humans with wings. Sometimes they take on forms that look like humans, but that’s about where their similarities to us end. The prophet Isaiah talks about beings that have wings. I’ve never seen a woman with wings before. One angel even has six wings, flying with two, two that cover their face, and two covering their feet. Daniel describes an angel that’s orangey-pink, his face looks like lightning, his eyes burn like torches, his arms and legs shine like polished metal, and with a voice that sounded like multiple people were speaking at the same time. One angel has a giant, flaming sword. One angel has eyes all over his body. Some angels look like they’re on fire all the time. Angels are just kind of weird.
But angels are messengers from God. In fact, that’s literally what the word angel means: messenger. God sends them multiple times to the earth to deliver messages to God’s people. They bring His Word wherever they go, whether it’s God’s Law to frighten the people that they would repent and be forgiven, or God’s promises of the Gospel, which do forgive the people and bring them back to God. Some angels protect people, like Daniel in the lion’s den or the men thrown into the fiery furnace. Some angels even protect you, all the time.
The Church has a special day to celebrate that God made the angels to serve Him and to serve you that we celebrated just a couple weeks ago. We call it the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels. Michael is the chief angel, the best of the best. He’s the strongest, wisest, fastest, most incredible of all the angels. He’s the leader, the general of all the angels, too. And that’s why his name is in the feast day. We celebrate the angels by talking about them with what we know from God’s Word.
But as much as we celebrate the angels who are all around us, we don’t worship them or adore them like we do God. The angels are God’s servants; they do only what He tells them to do. And most especially, the angels don’t want to be noticed; they want you to honor and give glory to Jesus, not to them.
Right now, the angels are watching you because they love to see what humankind is up to. They love to watch us worship Jesus just as they’re worshipping Him. And as they watch us, God sends them also to protect us. They’re working for you, all around you all of the time. Imagine the angels hanging out on the balcony watching you right now. Imagine them on the playground. Imagine them sitting on top of your car when you go home today. They’re all around, protecting you from all harm or danger that God would not want sent to you.
Sometimes, we do get hurt or others we love get hurt. That’s not because the angels failed, but because God allowed it. We don’t know why things like that happen, but they do. And they’re hard. But, the angels are doing what God tells them to do. And the angels with be you, guarding you, until the day that you die, when they will take you to go and be with Jesus to wait for His return to this earth. The angels keep us safe, both in this life, and as we wait for the next.
Angels aren’t make-believe. They’re real. They’re not fairy tales. They’re all around you, doing God’s work for you. Even though angels seem weird to us, god designed them for a purpose: they’re one way that God uses to show His love to you. God sends us parents, teachers, even pastors. He sends the police and firemen. He sends doctors and nurses. And He sends the angels. God takes care you through so many ways. And the angels are one way He does that, the angels taking care of you, to show the love of God to you, to guard you in all of your ways, to point you to Jesus, the very God who loves you, who died for you, who forgives all of your sins, and who can’t wait to live with you and all who believe in Him, even the angels, forever. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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