Festival of St. Michael and All Angels Sermon

September 30, 2007

John 1:47-51

⁴⁷When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" ⁴⁸Nathanael asked him, "Where did you get to know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you." ⁴⁹Nathanael replied, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" ⁵⁰Jesus answered, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these." ⁵¹And he said to him, "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

Fear Not

You know, it must be very scary to be in the presence of angels. You know it must be scary because every Biblical account where an angel makes themselves known to the person they are addressing, they always begin with some statement of not “Be not afraid!” or “Fear not!” If an angel were to visit me in this way they’d probably have to say something like, “Stop crouching behind that desk and don’t try to run away!” Because, I’m pretty sure that that would be my first instinct.

Our reading today in Daniel is no different. The angel touches him and says, “Do not fear…” And we all know the angel Gabriel’s beautiful poetry spoken to Mary at their initial greeting, and then to the shepherd’s on that fateful night. “Do not be afraid, for I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people…”

Yes, it must be scary to be in the presence of an angel. Scary and awe-inspiring.

But before we get too caught up on what it means to be in the presence of angels, even on this feast day of St. Michael and All Angels, let us calm ourselves, even as we know the angels surround us. Too much of what we hear about angels today revolves around them being the benevolent caretakers of people. “Touched by an Angel” or “Angel’s in the Outfield” or even depictions like this small icon have really tainted what these creations of God truly are. They are disembodied messengers. They have no form until they speak the word of God. Angels are simply messengers of God. That is, they are the vessel that carries God’s message to the world. And so we call them “Angel” a derivative of the Greek “Angelos” which means “message carrier.”

Angels are not so much creatures with arms, legs, and feet, but God’s messages to humanity put in form, and forms humanity would recognize. And because they are God’s word in form they are scary and awe-inspiring; God’s Word makes things come alive, God’s message makes things happen.

In Genesis God spoke light into being. In baptism and communion, God’s word makes water, bread, and wine means of grace, ways that God comes to touch us. God’s word spoken in Mary created a savior, and in Revelation, God’s word spoken to evil in the presence of the created order of the cosmos puts evil under foot.

And God’s word to humanity is God’s promise of love. Love shown in God’s ultimate Word, Jesus Christ.

The promises of God make things happen. And that is why we celebrate Michael and All Angels, because angels remind us that God is still speaking in our world.

And how does God speak?

In our gospel reading today we get a picture of it. In the verses before John 1:17, which we didn’t read, we find Nathaniel sitting under a fig tree. Phillip calls him to come see this new preacher in town, this new guy named Jesus who is from Nazareth. Then Nathaniel makes a crack about Nazareth, saying that nothing good could come from there.

But he takes this journey with Phillip, and that’s where we pick up our gospel reading for today. Jesus takes a look at Nathaniel, still far off, and calls out his name and says that he is a “true Israelite.” “Israelite” is a Hebrew word meaning, “God sustains” or “God preserves.” Jesus names Nathaniel for who he is, one preserved by God.

This is the first way that God speaks to us: God names us for who we are. We are God’s, the people that God sustains.

And at this naming an amazing change comes over Nathaniel. This man who had been skeptical of this Jesus character, who had been reluctant to follow Phillip to see him, now makes the bold proclamation, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

Jesus names Nathaniel, and Nathaniel gives a statement of faith. The Word of God is spoken to Nathaniel, and Nathaniel is then able to speak the Word of God.

Make no mistake about it; this is not just a simple exchange. This passage of John is testament to the fact that God’s Word has power. It allowed Nathaniel to speak truth, it allows us to speak truth, it allows us to give a profession of faith. It moved Nathaniel past his reluctance to follow Jesus. And God’s word spoken to us today does the same thing. It moves us past our reluctance, past our doubts, to truly claim that Jesus is God come down to be with us.

And there is more. Jesus says, “You think that is something? If you hang around me, you’ll see more. You’ll see angels from heaven bringing messages upon me. You’ll see more of the word of God to come.”

In that, Jesus, the Word of God claimed Nathaniel. It told him that this journey he was about to embark on would be one where Nathaniel would see more of the word of God.

The Word of God not only names us, it claims us. It says that we are followers of God, radically loved, radically accepted, and that we have a radical purpose.

And Nathaniel did just that. He followed Jesus, named by the word of God, claimed by the message of God, to tell others God’s word.

And just as Nathaniel was able to proclaim the Word of God upon being named and claimed, we too are able, called to proclaim the Word of God because we have been named and claimed. In baptism we are formally named, we are identified children of a God who continues to speak through revelation, whose messages continue to call us to love, good works, acceptance, and peace. As radically loved people of God we are given the purpose to extend that radical love to others. We are called to bear the word of God’s claiming love to others.

But it’s difficult.

It’s difficult to do in a world that doesn’t always want to hear the radical good news. It’s hard to do in a world that would rather look for angels because they are fascinating and mysterious, than hear the message that angels proclaim. That’s hard to do in a world where greed, envy, starvation, and poverty are not seen as the evil that Michael and the other bearers of God’s world have come to destroy, but merely facts of life.

It’s hard to do, and so sometimes we are timid, ashamed, afraid, or unsure of doing it, of proclaiming that message, of speaking to the evil in this world. Sometimes we feel like we just want to crouch behind a desk or run away.

But God’s message is still there. The hosts of angelic choirs are still singing to us, still encouraging us, still chanting to us.

The angelic choirs are still telling us, “Fear Not.”

Fear not, even though this world is difficult. Fear not, even though greed continues to thrive and exist. Fear not, even though poverty and hunger continue to ravage. The word of God in action speaks against these worldly evils, the Word of God in action can overcome these devils, these serpents and tread them underfoot.

Fear Not! When you are facing the burden that you think you can’t overcome, that barrier, that addiction, that disease. Fear Not! Because tidings of great joy have come to bear upon our ears, our hearts, our lips, unto us is born a savior who takes away those barriers that keep us from joining that celestial army in fighting against these things. We have been named by the God who continues to speak, whose Word continues to work in this world, who will not let us go, who will continue to love us as we struggle to speak the Word of God in this world.

So fear not.

On this day, the Festival of St. Michael and All Angels, we once again remind ourselves that God is at work in the world in ways that we do not always see. Heavenly messengers continue to move with heavenly messages that continue to name us as children of God, and claim us as people sustained and preserved by God. On this day we once again muster up the courage to hear the angels tell us to “fear not” in the face of a difficult world, because God in Jesus has crushed underfoot those things that prevent us from speaking truth.

God continues to speak through angels, through the Word, and through you and me.

So, let us join the company of angels in giving praise to God here this morning. Surely they match our voices and rejoice as we rejoice. And then, let’s go from this place, joining that company of angels in speaking God’s word and doing God’s work in a world that desperately needs to know that God has freed them from the power of evil, sin, and death. Amen.