St. Michael and All Angels

Are there nine different names for angels in the Bible? The medieval scholastics thought so, and they stacked them up into a hierarchy of ranks or choirs. They divided the nine into three groups of three and assigned each a function. The first three ranks of angels see and adore God directly. 1. The seraphim make up the highest choir. They comprehend God with maximum clarity, and therefore their love flames the hottest. The word “Seraphim” means “the burning ones”. Lucifer was once a seraphim. That’s why he’s still very powerful and dangerous. He remains a burning dynamo for death and evil. 2. The cherubim comprise the second rank in the angelic aristocracy. They contemplate God too, but less in Himself than in His providence, His wise plan for creatures. 3. The thrones are the third group. They contemplate God’s power and judgments.

The fourth, fifth and sixth choirs fulfill God’s providential plans for the universe, like middle management personnel. They are called dominations, virtues, and powers. Do the words “dominions, virtues and powers” when they are found in the Bible ever refer to ranks of angels? Maybe they refer to fallen angels (Eph. 6), but there is little biblical evidence for the ranks. In reality the nine-choirs-of-angels scheme rests primarily upon philosophical speculation. But it is interesting; it has a long tradition, and our collect for this Feast of St. Michael and All Angels hints at it. So let’s finish our survey of it.

4. The fourth place on the angelical scale of being is composed of the dominations or “dominions.” These ruling angels command the lesser angels below them who operate creation. 5. The fifth group is called the virtues. These receive their orders from the dominations and “run” the universe, especially the stars, sun and moon, clouds and rainfall. 6. The powers serve the virtues by fighting against evil influences that oppose the virtues’ providential plan.

The last three choirs (the seventh, eighth, and ninth) directly order human affairs. They are like warriors. 7. The seventh rank of angels is called principalities, and they care for cities, nations and kingdoms. The mighty angel Michael is an example of a principality. The prophet Daniel mentions Michael on several occasions (Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1. The passages from Daniel suggest that each nation has its angel. 8. The penultimate rank in this medieval notion is called archangels. Gabriel is a famous archangel. Archangels carry God’s important messages to man. Gabriel delivered valuable messages to the prophet Daniel and later to the Virgin Mary. The medieval angelical scheme breaks down again here: St. Jude calls Michael an Archangel (v. 9). Yet, Daniel speaks of him guarding and defending the nation of Israel as a principality. So what is Michael? Is he an archangel, a principality, or both?

9. Now we come to the lowest order of angels? They are the ordinary angels called “guardian angels.” What do they do? According to the Early Church and the medievals, God appoints one guardian angel to care for each believer on earth. If this opinion is true, each of us has our own angel. They never leave us. You have your guardian angel, I have mine, and so on. They stand next to us; and wherever we go, there they are. What do they do? They bring our situations before God; they protect us from evil spirits and harm (Eph. 6:12), and they help us fight our spiritual battles. Peter Kreeft writes, “If it were not for guardian angels, we would be like sheep without shepherds surrounded by wolves. Or like hobbits without Rangers surrounded by Black Riders…” [Angels (and Demons) by Peter Kreeft, p. 107. Though Kreeft’s Roman Catholic loyalty leads him to some erroneous conclusions, this is, nevertheless, the finest book on angels I have seen. I borrow from his outline on the nine choirs.]

Our Gospel passage supports the guardian angel doctrine. Matthew 18:10 says, “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.” Jesus says this. He is speaking about children and then He says, “their angels see the face of the Heavenly Father.” The personal pronoun “their” is key. The angels are in some sense “theirs.” They belong to the children, and have special care over them. In like manner, the patriarch Jacob referred to an angel who had concern for him (Genesis 48:15). These passages may be references to guardian angels.

Some Protestants have opposed the idea of guardian angels and archangels. Much of it is anti-Roman Catholic reaction. Rome urges her members to pray daily to their guardian angels as well as to St. Michael Archangel. This practice plays into prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary and veneration of the saints, which contradict Scripture. Is there a happy medium between outright rejection of guardian angels on one side and prayers and veneration to angels on the other side? Of course there is! We marvel at the presence of angels among us. The stars of the sky, the birds of the air, and the water of the sea symbolize their activity. The atmosphere is indeed populated with spiritual armies that fight on our behalf (2 Kings 6:14-17). God uses them to run nature (Rev. 16:5), care for us, and conquer the territory occupied by Satan. These are some of the truths about angels that fill us with wonder. On the other hand, the Bible prohibits us from venerating angels (Rev. 19:10; 22:8), while telling us, “there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). Therefore, it is improper to pray to angels, for it detracts from the glory that belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate. Rather, we pray to God through Christ Jesus to graciously grant us supernatural help to fight our supernatural foes, and God answers our prayers for protection by directing His angels to defend us when we are in danger. Let’s study more of our Gospel passage. Reading Matthew 18:1-5. [Read them.]

For some reason the disciples began to entertain the question of who would be greatest when Christ established His kingdom. Jesus had just promised Peter, as the representative of the disciples, that he would receive the keys of the kingdom (16:19). After that, they climbed the mountain of transfiguration and gazed upon the Lord in all His divine glory. These events made them increasingly sure that Jesus was the Messiah, which meant that the messianic kingdom was just around the corner, and that in turn meant for them that the top places in the kingdom were up for grabs. “Which of us will be the greatest? Will it be Peter? or one of the others?” In response, Jesus called a child to Himself, set him on His lap, and asked the disciples to draw near.

As the disciples gathered around in a semi-circle, the Lord announced, “unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” This was a shock. What did the Lord mean? Was He promoting the notion of Pelagius and Jean-Jacques Rousseau that children are born innocent, pure and humble? Not too long ago a parenting program advertised its class with the line, “Children Are Flowers, Not Weeds.” I guess you signed up, went to class and learned how saintly children were. Is this what Jesus believed? Hardly! Our Redeemer taught that the heart of man is desperately wicked (Mark 7:18-23; John 3:19), that the infection of sin ravages all people, even children (John 3:5).

In a book, John Rosemond responded to the “Children are flowers, not weeds” add. He wrote, “Children are not flowers. They aren’t weeds either. The truth is, children are wild things that must be constantly pruned lest they become completely unmanageable. They are self-centered, foolish, undersocialized, undercivilized little people who, if left to their own devices, are capable of incredible selfishness and cruelty, some more than others. The author of this flowery snippet of saccharine sentiment ought to be made to do penance by hand-copying William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.” [Close quote. A Family of Value. P. 40.]

If children are just as depraved as adults, what was the point Jesus was trying to make by demanding that the disciples “convert and become like children”? Status. Status solves the riddle. Status was a big deal in ancient times. People were obsessed with class, and status, and whether or not a person was rich, or powerful, or from an important family. Status obsession is a pretty common cultural phenomenon. Do you remember Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice? Elizabeth came from a moderately rich family and Darcy from a very wealthy family. Elizabeth’s family had a nice house with a servant; Darcy’s family owned a mansion with servants. They both came from wealthy families, but it was a scandal for Darcy to marry a woman from a lower social status. Today, status is measured in other ways. High schoolers show off their status with coolness. In some public high schools, cliques form like the Hindu caste system. A status-enthralled system reeks of pride and vanity.

Christ is countering the status-ridden pride exhibited by the disciples as they coveted the highest places in the kingdom of God. Children epitomize the opposite. Children were powerless in Jesus’ day, without status and utterly dependent on their parents. The child was the symbol of humility not because he or she was humble (hardly none of them are), but because a child has no status in society. Those people who seek great things for themselves, those who devote themselves to being cool will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus didn’t even answer the question of who would be greatest in the kingdom of God. He said that the focus for any and every believer should be on repentance for sin, and humbly making Christ great.

Furthermore, the Lord calls us to notice and welcome children. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me” (v. 5). We are to accept the “nobodies,” to esteem those without status or social respect. A young lady I knew made efforts while in high school and college to seek out girls who were unattractive and lonely. She herself was articulate, lovely and capable of rising to the coolest crowd on campus. She chose to cheer up the lonely instead. For us, receiving children could mean welcoming the elderly, poor latinos, children, helping the bedridden, foreigners with thick accents, and noticing children, especially children. That’s what Jesus did. Inasmuch as we welcome and help the people of least status, we do it to Jesus and on behalf of Jesus (Mt. 25:40). Let’s read the rest of the passage from Matthew 18:6-10. [Read them.]

To grind a little bit of corn or wheat for one day, a servant girl would use a mortar and pestle. She could grind enough grain for a couple meals. But if people wanted a big quantity of ground grain they took it to the miller. The miller of ancient times operated an apparatus with an upper and lower millstone. Grain was poured between the two that was then crushed as a donkey turned the upper stone over the lower stone. Causing a child or a young Christian to fall away from the way of Christ, to fall away from the faith and stumble, deserves a severe punishment. It would be better for a person to be taken out to sea, a rope secured to an upper millstone tied around the neck of the person, and both thrown overboard. What an awful picture!

Drowning was regarded a death worse than crucifixion, yet Jesus uses it to stress the seriousness of causing the spiritual and physical destruction of little ones. Who are those who cause little children to stumble today? What are those cultural trends that cause children to fall into destruction? The words of Jesus apply to arrogant university professors, pedophile priests and pastors, sellers of child pornography and prostitution, terrorists enforcing Islamic law, Planned Parenthood, and gossipers within the church. For Jesus, the impact upon children was always a primary consideration. For us, the impact on children should be a primary consideration in terms of what we allow our children to see, to hear, to do. Our society has accepted too many practices that harm children: pornographic billboards on the freeway, the blasting out of rebellious and obscene music lyrics, sleazy DVDs and videos, computer porn, salacious TV commercials, and perhaps soon laws that legalize same-sex marriage, etc. These things push children towards premature sexualization. It robs them of their childhood, their joy, and leads them to Hell. So, let’s be aware of what causes children to stumble. Let’s oppose everything that is converting the United States into Sodom and Gomorrah.

Victory over these formidable foes may seem impossible. Our enemy is characterized by wicked supernaturalism. Satan, though not God’s equal, has tremendous power through the use of his wicked angels. Nevertheless, we can be certain that the Church will triumph. Moreover, knowing that God’s holy angels guard us can ease our anxieties. Some people nowadays go overboard and give too much attention to angels. We need to keep our eyes on the God who sent them, not on the angels themselves. On the other hand, our invisible companions are ever at hand. They form our protective shield, and over and above them is the everlasting God and Father they serve and we love. On this Feast of St. Michael and All Angels let us be aware of the presence and power of angels. They carry out the Lord’s bidding, assisting Him and helping us.

Let us pray.