Fr Alex Swain
Beloved in Christ,
Happy Michaelmas! That is to say: Blessed Feast of St. Michael and All Angels!
This lets me ponderously examine the wild world of angelology in the scriptures, at least a little bit.
Who are the mysterious beings, the angels?
We know that they are obedient to God, and heralds of the will of God. Angel, after all, comes from the Greek angelos meaning messenger. The Hebrwe mal’akh likewise means “messenger” or “sent one.”
As a kid, I was fascinated by the invisible world of angels and demons. The ideas of hierarchies of angels and the speculations which bubbled up about them never failed to exhaust my imagination.
(If you ever want to read a wild series of Pseudepigraphal texts where the angel Metatron is involved, read 1, 2, and 3 Enoch. These are not scripture, but they existed in the cultural milieu the second-temple period, roughly).
Michael is referred to in Daniel 12:1 as the “great prince, the protector of your people…” as well. The seven archangels (found through scriptural and pseudo-scriptural sources) were read as being the “seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God” (Rev. 4:5) in front of the throne of God.
Michael comes from Hebrew meaning “Who is like God?” or “Who is like the Lord?”
In Christian tradition, Michael became the primary archangel—drawing from Jewish tradition—but also from Revelation 12:7-12 where Michael does battle with Satan and defeats him, and from Jude 1:9, where the Devil and Michael dispute over what to do with the body of Moses.
There is a vast diversity of art of the angels—but Michael is almost consistently holding a sword and trampling down on the Devil. He is wonderful to call on against evil forces and wickedness.
One of my favorite prayers comes from Compline, where we pray:
Visit this place, O Lord, and drive far from it all snares of the
enemy; let your holy angels dwell with us to preserve us in
peace; and let your blessing be upon us always; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
The angels, much like the communion of saints, intercede on our behalf and protect us.
May Holy Michael the Archangel do battle against forces of cosmic evil!
May the angels preserve us in our path as we respond to the call of Christ on our lives!
Amen!
—Fr Alex
