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“He will command His angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.”

᛭ INI ᛭

These comforting words from Psalm 91, which were used for our gradual, are a good grounding point for our Christian reflection upon St. Michael and all the angels. There’s so much fake news about angels going on out there, and that leads to all sorts of wonky ideas about angels. But the wonky ideas of angels also get us to wonky, unbiblical ideas about demons, ourselves as human beings, and even the comfort we can have as baptized children of God.

Simply put:

THE LORD DOES COMMAND HIS ANGELS TO GUARD YOU IN ALL YOUR WAYS.

(I. Angels are messenger warriors.)

First, it might seem odd that THE LORD COMMANDS HIS ANGELS TO GUARD YOU IN ALL YOUR WAYS, when we think about most depictions of angels. The angels of the Bible are described in ways that don’t jive with how we encounter them in worldly or even generic Christian culture. Angels aren’t cute little chubby childlike cherubs. They aren’t like Precious Moments figurines, nor do they look like Jim Shore creations. Angels are anything but cute, cuddly, weak creatures.

The LORD “makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire.” The flaming angels are called Seraphim, from the Hebrew word for burning. These are the angels closest to the throne of God. These are sometimes also called cherubim, the chariot of the LORD’s throne. They are covered with eyes, they whirl about like wheels, they have faces like an ox, a man, a lion, and eagle. They sound terrible and terrifying, no one to be trifled with! There are also Archangels. The Scriptures reveal two: Michael and Gabriel.

Michael is the “chief prince of God’s people,” as Christ Himself describes Him. (Yes, the Son is speaking with Daniel.) Michael is the great warrior General angel. He comes to fight back the demon in charge of the Kingdom of Persia. (More on that in a bit…) Michael drives the devil from heaven, the proclamation of Christ’s blood and victory sends the devil packing. The archangel Gabriel is the chief messenger angel. The word for “Angel” in both Greek and Hebrew means “messenger.” But the chief messenger angel is Gabriel who arrives to proclaim the coming birth of the Savior to Daniel in Daniel 9, but also to Mary and to John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah.

(Transition.)

THE LORD DOES COMMAND HIS ANGELS TO GUARD YOU IN ALL YOUR WAYS.

And they do this by being warriors and messengers, and this means that because we’re baptized, believers in Christ, the angels fight for us. But this also means that because we’re baptized, believers in Christ, the demons fight against us!

(II. Because we’re baptized, believers in Christ, the angels fight for us and the demons against us.)

If there are angels, there are demons. If there’s an Archangel Michael, it means there’s an arch-demon. The arch demon is “the dragon, the ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan.” He deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden. He is the arch-nemesis of Christ and Christ’s holy people. “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” The demons are at work in the world to undermine the Church, the state. They are the actors being all the nations. As Christ says to Daniel, that He (Christ) and then Michael were fighting against the “Prince of the Kingdom of Persia.” When we’re at work in the world, the demons and devil are behind every government, every institution to undermine God’s Word and finally to destroy the faith of God’s people.

We resist the devil and fight against Him with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God. This is why it’s so important to read your Bible daily, and because it teaches the Word of Truth, reciting one Chief Part of the Catechism has more power than a whole army of demons. In fact, another Word for Catechism is Enchiridion, that is, “handbook” or even “dagger.” The Bible is your sword. The Catechism your dagger—quickdraw!—to send the devil packing.

The devil is the great accuser of God’s people. That’s what Satan means: “Accuser.” He draws our flesh away into sin, and then He accuses the Baptized so that we’d despair of being God’s people. But the Word of God sends Him away, especially the Word and promise of Christ’s blood shed for you. Michael, too, wars against the devil (false accuser) with the same word! Satan’s battle cry is that mankind is wicked, that you are wicked, irredeemable! Michael cries out for you, just as he did when he fought with Satan over Moses’ body, “The LORD rebuke you!” The Lord’s Word stands firm: “Be gone, Satan! God’s blood has set them free from their sins.” It was war of words! The Lord’s messengers and warriors always have the word of God close at hand!

So also his human ones! Christ’s blood has paid for all your sins. This is the message par excellence! This is what we proclaim to the world. It’s ultimately the message the world hates the most. Sure, people don’t like being called out for their sins. But they really don’t like saying they’re redeemed from their sins, or redeemed to be set free from living against God and set free to live as God’s redeemed and holy people.

(Transition.)

THE LORD DOES COMMAND HIS ANGELS TO GUARD YOU IN ALL YOUR WAYS. He sends them forth with words, words to preach against the devil and his demons in the spiritual dimensions, even as we preach God’s Word and Gospel against the same spiritual forces in our physical realm. The true answer to the entertainers, musicians, actors, politicians, is ultimately the Gospel. Christ shed His blood to redeem us from all the ways we don’t live up to what He says. How often our hands and feet and eyes cause us to sin! (What we do, where we go, what we watch!) The words and images and actions of the world fight against the word of God. The solution is preaching big “T” Truth (Christ and His blood for you), or at least getting to small “t” truth (the moral law of God, where every “i” remains dotted and ever “t” crossed till the end of time).

THE LORD COMMANDing HIS ANGELS TO GUARD YOU IN ALL YOUR WAYS also has everything to do with our gathering today, and not just today, every Divine Service!

(III. We join in heavenly worship and the angels join in earthly worship right now.)

The angels are here. It’s heaven on earth. Earth meets heaven. Hebrews puts it this way, when talking about the gathering of God’s people:

You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. (Heb 12)

This is confirmed by Isaiah. He was given to see what we really going on in the Temple: that God was really there, that there really were Seraphim and Cherubim there. The same for you and me. They are here! It’s one thing that’s severely lacking in all Christian Churches these days. There usually aren’t images of angels, but it would be good to have them. In fact many older churches do or did have angels painted in the walls of the apse around the altar, to confess that we really do believe we’re here with “angels” and “archangels” indeed with the “whole company of heaven,” that is, “the spirits of just men made perfect.”

And this gets us to another falsehood about angels, that they’re dead people. People, doesn’t matter their age, they do NOT become angels when they die. Angels are NOT dead people. Angels are angels. Humans are humans. One doesn’t change into the other. That’s false, a lie, and makes God a liar. Angels are “all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation.” (Heb 1) Besides Christ “took on flesh and blood” (Heb 2) “For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.” (Heb 2) In the order of Salvation we outrank the angels!

But they are here. Surrounding us, surrounding the altar was we too gather before it. wonder angels and archangels, the cherubim and seraphim join us, encircle us as we hear the Gospel and receive Christ’s Blood from the Altar. The Altar has all the Gospel Gifts of Christ. It’s why the Gospel Book is there. From it we hear of Christ’s death from the Altar. We receive from the same altar the blood of Christ! The blood that beats back the devil and his demonic horde!

And as we sing the Angelic “glory be to God on high,” the angelic “holy, holy, holy” we’re singing with angels, and they’re singing with us. Each divine service, we join in heavenly worship and the angels join in earthly worship right now.

(Conclusion.)

“He will command His angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.” After all, He “makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire.” They are with you, guardian angels, too, who always see the face of the Father, that the evil foe has no power over you. For, THE LORD DOES COMMAND HIS ANGELS TO GUARD YOU IN ALL YOUR WAYS. All the angels join with us today. To sing our alelleuias and holies, watchers, holy ones, bright seraphs, cherubim, and thrones, dominions, princedoms, powers, virtues, archangels, angels’ choirs, even the saints triumphant, “the whole company of heaven,” too.

᛭ INI ᛭