Be Like the Angels

“For You have made him a little lower than [a]the angels,

And You have crowned him with glory and honour” (Psalm 8:5).

This Sunday we celebrate all the Archangels, angels and the bodiless powers.  What spiritual and practical benefit can we derive from this feast?

In the Incarnation, God has come among us is the flesh - our humanity willingly offered by the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary to God, elevating our humanity such that the human holy ones, you and I, have a dignity and calling which now that exceeds that of the angels!  It is right and proper, therefore, for us to consider this elevated calling of all Christians in angelic terms.  In this sermon, I shall list each of the angelic roles in the service of God and then I shall explain how we are now called to mirror that angelic service in our own lives.

Messengers of God: e.g., Archangel Gabriel’s Announcement to the Panagia that with her willing consent, the Saviour of the world would be conceived and born and then also, later, their announcement of our Lord’s birth to the shepherds. (Luke 1:26-38; 2:8-12)

We are all called to be messengers of God, proclaimers of the Gospel of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ, ambassadors in His Name by His commission to declare the wonderful works of God to this generation.  This means confessing Christ before men both in word and deed and according to the apostolic tasks that God gives each one of us from time to time as His holy messengers.

Glorifiers of God: e.g., After the angels heralding of the shepherds, St Luke records that they heard the heavenly choir, glorifying and praising God. (Luke 2:13-14)

We are all called to glorify and praise God in all things.  To the angelic choirs in the spirit realm God has now added the human choirs in this physical realm.  The Divine Liturgy is also called the Eucharist or Thanksgiving because it is a response of glory and praise for the offering of Christ for all in his holy death and glorious resurrection, and then also for many in the Body and Blood for the faithful.  We, the faithful, continue to glorify and praise God in very practical terms when we offer of our own lives in His service, also in Eucharist, in thanksgiving; and it is in these offerings of both God and ourselves that our prayers and praises find their beginning, middle and end in the sacrificial love of God in Christ Jesus..

Bearers of God’s Presence and Voice: e.g., the Angel of the Burning Bush. (Exodus 3:2)

The voice of the Lord spoke to Moses from not only the cherubimic radiance of the Unburned Bush that he was allowed to behold, but also and differently in that terrible radiance of the divine Presence, the Shekinah, that he had to shield himself from seeing on Mount Sinai when the Law was given to the Hebrew people.  Now, however, having been delivered from darkness and safely into His Light we can behold the glory of the Lord without protection (2 Corinthians 3:4-18).  This means that we do not just bear testimony with written holy words but also all of us now have become blessed (as Moses himself desired) to become prophets of living divine words from God - in the opening of our mouths by God to become bearers His Presence and Voice - just like the angels. 

Guardians sent by God: e.g. the protecting guardian angel of Jacob the Patriarch (Genesis 48:16) and referenced also in Ps 91(90):11 “For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways”.

All of us as baptised Christian have our own guardian angels - guarding, guiding, and influencing us for good and for God. However, on the same basis and as I have already argued here, we also can share in this angelic ministry of guarding, guiding, and influencing others for good and for God.  Most obviously this applies to children in our care, but it also applies to the help we can offer for those who are spiritually lost or who need the encouragement of God in their lives.  This calling is not limited to spiritual fathers and mothers but is a possibility for all who are called to guide and empower others.

Intercessors appointed by God: e.g., the angel that intercedes before God for the righteous as mentioned in the Book of Job. (Job 33:23)

This is the angelic role, that of intercessors, that perhaps for many, most obviously applies to each and every Christian.  Out of deep loving concern we are bid to pray for all sorts and conditions of men and women, of adults and children, for those who love us and for those who hate us, indeed for all creatures great and small.  This angelic ministry of intercession should be woven into the very fabric of our lives.  We must become walking prayers.

God’s Protectors and Defenders: e.g., the protective angel who accompanied the Hebrews after the Exodus (Exodus 14:19) and those heavenly hosts who contended for Israel (represented by the horses and chariots of fire) in the battle with the forces of the King of Aram as witnessed by the Prophet Elisha (2 Kings 6:17) and in other places in the Old Testament.

Finally, how can we become God’s protectors and defenders?  Well clearly, we must protect others and defend their interests, more especially when they are weak, vulnerable, in mortal danger or when have no voice.  We cannot stand by silently and without effective action when the poor, the dispossessed, the exploited and those hunted down are surrendered to the wolves of this world.  As good shepherds we must, self sacrificially if necessary, rescue, look after and protect God’s little ones.  A good example of this might be in the time of the Second World War when many angels sought out, rescued protected and delivered Jewish people from the clutches of the Nazis.  We can think perhaps of Oscar Schindler in Germany or perhaps Metropolitan Gennadios of Thessaloniki, Lucas Karrer, the Mayor of Zakynthos, and with him Bishop Chrysostomos and many, many other angels who protected and saved our Jewish brothers and sisters.  We may not have to be as brave of them, but we also can make a difference I am sure in the lives of many if we look around, truly see and act.  We also can become angels of protection and defence.

So, on this day when we commemorate the bodiless powers, the angels and archangels, let us also recognise and reaffirm our own calling to share in these angelic ministries, not only to receive them, but, according to our human nature, also to express and share them.