Sermon for 9/29/24: Feast of St. Michael and All Angels

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Holy Angels and Little Ones
Matthew 18:1-11

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

          Every year on September 29, the One Holy Christian and Apostolic Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels. Today we remember with joy these created beings who protect us at the Lord's command. 

        When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce that she would be the mother of the promised Messiah, Mary sang of the Lord, “He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly.” God rightly humbles those who would puff themselves up with their own words and deeds, as He did to the people of Babel who attempted to raise themselves up to be equal with God; and He lifts up those who have been brought low in sin, who kneel before the Lord to confess to Him that they are poor, miserable sinners.

          It seems as though the disciples of the Lord have always had the bad habit of exalting themselves. Whether it’s James and John asking to sit at the Lord’s right hand, or the whole collection of the disciples rebuking those who brought children to Jesus for His blessing, or when they all inquire as to who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven, they’re all quite interested in lifting themselves up and pushing others down. And we who consider ourselves to be faithful don’t seem to mind that very much. We take pride in our doctrinal faithfulness—and this is a particularly dangerous temptation for the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod—as if our faithful adherence to the Word of God alone puts us in an exalted position in the kingdom of God.

And that brings us to the holy angels, the holy beings created by God to serve Him and His people. The high and mighty of the Church can see no need for angels. Surely only the weak need to rely on these invisible beings. Angels, they say, are for children. Angels, they say, are for those who are childish in their spiritual development, those who childishly believe that some higher being lovingly shapes our destinies.

God grant us such a childlike faith and humility, so that we acknowledge our weakness before God and thus pray in faith, “Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me.” Viewing angels as something only necessary for children or for weak people misunderstands what the word “angel” means. Angels aren’t merely heavenly commandos; the words in Hebrew and Greek from which we get the word “angel” both mean “messenger.” These heavenly soldiers come armed mightily with “the sword of the Spirit, which is Word of God.” Angels are mouthpieces who repeat what the Lord says back to Him in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving. They speak against the devil in defiance, for the protection of the children of God. Angels speak the Word of God. The Word is their weapon…and it is a most effective weapon. Consider our appointed Epistle. St. Michael and the angelic band fight with Satan, and they cast him down. Their weapon is nothing else than the Word of God. John tells us, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their witness.” Satan fights by using words of deception, always his most effective weapon against the faithful. Saint Michael and the angels, on the other hand, fight by speaking the Word of God.

The Lord continues to send messengers today. They do not have golden wings or halos. They do not resemble the cute little cherubs you see in the Hallmark store. In fact, they look a lot like you do. They stand at the altar and in the pulpit, wearing collars that mark them as slaves of Christ, as blood-soaked dogs who protect the sheep from the wolves. They wear black to demonstrate that they, like their hearers, are sinners who have been humbled before the Lord. And they cover that black with a robe of white that demonstrates the righteousness of Christ upon them through the waters of Holy Baptism…the very same righteousness that rests upon their hearers. Pastors do not lift themselves up. Instead, with the angel who talks to John in Revelation, they say to their congregations, “I am your fellow servant… Worship God!” And like the heavenly messengers, these pastors come among us armed only with the blood of the Lamb and the Word of God—but these weapons bear the power of God to overcome Satan as effectively as they do for Saint Michael and the holy angels.

Those whom the Word converts become as little children.  They are humbled, and, in turn, humble themselves as children. But those with childlike faith are exalted to the highest place in the Kingdom of God. Everyone in God’s kingdom relies on and takes to heart that angelic Word, whether it is spoken by invisible messengers named Michael and Gabriel or by the visible messengers who preach the Word from this pulpit and feed the flock with the body and blood of the Lamb. And when that Word of God brings even one lost sinner to repentance, St. Michael and all the holy angels of heaven rejoice. God grant that we welcome His messengers, receiving the Word with repentance and faith, so that the angels would rejoice over us. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.