September 29, 2013 at Calvary
Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA
Today is one of the quarterly
festival days connected with Christ that are part of the life of the Church.
September 29 is set aside on the Church’s calendar as St. Michael’s and All
Angels Day, or as the old English term phrased it: Michaelmas. Like all days
should be for Christians, it is a time to set our minds on what the Lord has accomplished for us. But it
also provides the opportunity to think about what the Lord continues to do on our behalf through the angels, the
wonderful order that He has created.
As many of you know, an angel is
a messenger. An angel is a herald, one who doesn’t go on his own, but is sent
to deliver news from someone greater than he. We see angels fulfill that role
of herald throughout the Scriptures. Time and time again, the Lord sends a message of what He is about
to do. Sometimes, that would be done through prophets. But there would be
significant messages from the Lord
delivered by the word of an angel. This happened in the events of the Old
Testament, when angels delivered both positive and negative messages.
But the greatest deliveries of
divine messages by angels occurred when the Lord
sends news about the arrival of His salvation, a salvation that would be accomplished
by God the Son in the flesh. The first two chapters of St. Luke’s Gospel
include several angel-events: Gabriel’s appears to Zecharias in the Temple to
foretell John’s birth; Gabriel also announces to Mary in Nazareth that she has
been chosen to be the mother of the Son of the Most High God; an angel declares
to the shepherds that the Christ has been born in Bethlehem; the whole heavenly
host provides the choir that sings doxologies when Jesus is born.
Each of those events requires the
sending of a good message from the Lord
to His people: “Relief is here, your Savior is arriving!” That message battles
against the forces of evil, as the Lord’s
grace and mercy enter a fallen world in order to bring about reconciliation and
restoration. That message declares to the world that there is access to
forgiveness, life, and salvation. That message is spoken in the midst of a
cosmic war, delivering captives from the fate of eternal death, as Christ’s
power works against Satan and the curse of sin.
That is what our Scripture
passage from Revelation states in a most picturesque way about the war that
broke out in heaven. There is the actual casting out of Satan. The old evil
foe, the serpent and dragon, has no place in heaven. There is no room for him in
the holy place of God. Wherever Christ is, Satan must flee. And then the loud
voice rings out from heaven: “Now the
salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His
Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who
accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the
blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their
lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them!
But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great
wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
That message from heaven
concerning Christ’s authority reveals the divine work that is done for our
benefit. Just as the devil was cast out of heaven, so it takes place for us. As
Christ and His gifts have been given to us, Satan must leave. We renounce him,
and all his works, and all his ways. “Depart, evil spirit!” the Lord says, “And make room in My child
for the Holy Spirit.” That is what takes place when the Gospel of Christ is
delivered to us, when we are recipients of the glorious message of salvation—whether
it was when we heard it at Holy Baptism or as we receive it each day of our
lives.
As we have been made Christ’s
disciples, the people of God, that message of victory is given to us. We hear
of how our great enemy has been defeated, how he has been cast out of heaven
and cast away from us. But this is not just a one-time event; the Lord’s work for us continues. He gives
us angelic protection against the dragon and his angels. What the Psalmist
wrote and what we prayed speaks about that: “Because you have made the Lord
your dwelling place—the Most High, who is my refuge—no evil shall be allowed to
befall you, no plague come near your tent. For He will command His angels
concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you
up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and
the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.”
The promise to us, the Lord’s subjects, is divine protection, a
watchful eye and quick hand to help. His servants, these angelic beings, are
ministers to us to accomplish this. They not only serve as heralds, they also
serve as our guardians. This role of protection is what the Prophet Daniel saw
about Michael: “At that time shall arise
Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people.” Jesus also speaks
about this personal connection between angels and the Lord’s people: “See
that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven
their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” They are
sent to ward off enemies that we could not stand against, opponents of a
greater ability than we possess. The ones who aided Christ Himself to cast
Satan out of heaven are present to keep us from eternal harm.
The angels are servants whom the
Lord uses. He promises each His
people, including us: “Because he holds
fast to Me in love, I will deliver him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor
him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation.” The Lord’s deliverance and rescue shall
come, even in the times that despair is all around us. The Lord’s deliverance and rescue shall
come, because we have made Him our dwelling place. The Lord’s deliverance and rescue shall come, because He wishes
to hand over to us the inheritance of life everlasting.
That is what the angelic hosts
in heaven above sing about, as we heard from John’s vision. The angels speak
about our future, what shall be ours: “They
have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,
for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens
and you who dwell in them!” We have conquered Satan. But that victory is
not the result of our own efforts. Overcoming our great enemy is not what we
have done, but it comes from what has been done for us. The blood of the Lamb
and the word of testimony bring about that victory. Christ’s death has removed
the curse from us, the result of the serpent’s deception. Christ’s resurrection
has defanged the great dragon, and so we are able to tread him under foot.
We have been joined to Christ’s
death and resurrection—His acts that bring us victory. But even though
the devil is defeated, he wants nothing more than to keep us from obtaining the
fullness of Jesus’ work for us. What was said about the earth
when the devil was cast out of heaven still stands true: “But woe to
you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath,
because he knows that his time is short!” Jesus’ words about temptation echo
that thought: “Woe to the world for
temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the
one by whom the temptation comes!” As we walk here on earth, we
need protection.
But what we need is what the Lord provides. That is what He has
promised to us: “He will command His
angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” These angels will perform
the Lord’s will for you, so that
you may not falter and fall away, not loving your lives over the life that
Jesus establishes, but so that you will rely on what Christ has done for you,
trusting it for blessing in eternity. That is why are privileged to have angels
on our side, as our helpers. They are with us who confess Christ as Lord. They
are escorting us from this world to Paradise, where we will receive the crown
of life. So it shall be said of you: “You have conquered by the blood of the
Lamb and by your testimony. Let all the heavens rejoice, as Christ’s follower
receives life everlasting!”
+ In the Name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
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