12-19-17 - An Angle on Angels

Have you ever seen an angel? Some see them in childhood, and I've heard of people having what they believed were angelic encounters as adults. I was once praying in a chapel when it seemed filled with a presence that was distinctly “other,” and I was terrified. Was that an angel?

In the bible, angels show up with messages to deliver. The angel Gabriel (one of only two angels named in scripture) was pretty busy in the months leading up to Jesus’ birth. First he appeared in the temple to tell Zechariah that he and his wife, long barren and now past childbearing age, will have a son whom they are to name John. And six months into Elizabeth’s unlikely pregnancy, he comes to Mary in Nazareth to announce a pregnancy that is downright impossible.

And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Only an angel could deliver a message that bizarre and, if you’ll allow it, inconceivable. But that’s when angels seem to be deployed, when God has a specific message or charge for a particular person. Prophets are human messengers for God, usually with messages for a whole community. Angels are heavenly messengers tasked with things like announcing miraculous births – three angels tell Abram and Sarai about her impending and unlikely pregnancy.

What do we know about angels? The Old and New Testaments speak of them as heavenly creatures, neither divine nor human. They deliver difficult messages and occasionally do battle with the forces of evil. They are not cute, or cuddly, or necessarily looking out for us – they work for God. They are often fierce and, it appears, always fearsome, for every angelic encounter seems to begin with, “Be not afraid…”

Should we pay any attention to angels? I can’t imagine they want us to, nor to be worn on pins and or smile on us from posters. They certainly do not want to be prayed to. Their function is to point our attention to what God is up to.

Why have I spent a whole Water Daily reflection talking about something I consider peripheral to being a Christ-follower? Maybe to invite us to examine where we are on the subject of angels. If we consider them intermediaries with God, perhaps we’re being invited to forge a more direct connection. If we want protection, maybe we can invite the Holy Spirit to be more discernibly present in our lives. If we want a message, we can ask for it in prayer. If we want to be able to relate to God more personally – well, that’s why Jesus came in the first place. Let’s get to know him better.

The one thing I feel reasonably sure of is this: If we should be “touched by an angel,” we’ll know it.

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