God’s instruments, the guardian angels

Sermon for St. Michael & All Angels

Revelation 12:7-12  +  Matthew 18:1-11

When God was all that existed, He spoke and the universe was created out of nothing. The only instrument He used was His powerful Word. He acted directly, immediately, upon the creation, and the creation did His bidding.

But in most things, God doesn’t act immediately. He uses instruments of His own creation. For the first three days of the creation’s existence, His word provided light for the earth. But from day four onward, God has been using the instruments of sun, moon, stars, fire, and electricity to provide light. Instead of holding up the earth by His word alone, He uses instruments like gravity and the laws of physics. Instead of dropping food down to us from the sky, He uses sun and rain and dirt and seeds and human hands to grow and prepare food. In almost all things, God uses instruments, created things, to run the universe.

Even in matters of our eternal salvation, God uses means and instruments. We often speak of the Means of Grace—the preaching of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments—as God’s instruments for creating and preserving faith, to the point that ministers of the Gospel are called God’s “angels” in the book of Revelation, God’s special messengers, workers, tools, or instruments for gathering and for guiding His Church.

So, too, in His running of the universe, God has chosen to use angels as His instruments, those powerful spirit-creatures that inhabit the invisible spirit realm, created sometime during the six days of creation.

Now there’s much we don’t know about angels, but there are some things we do know from Scripture. Angels don’t have flesh and blood as we do, but they can appear as men when they wish, like the two angels who accompanied the Lord in His visit to Abraham. We often picture angels with wings. That’s because Scripture describes them that way in several places, including how God Himself commanded Moses to depict them on the ark of the covenant and in the temple. They’re often called “cherubim,” sometimes “seraphim,” having either two wings, as in the temple, or four wings, as in Ezekiel, or six wings, as in Isaiah.

What do the angels do? Well, first and foremost, they worship God, their Creator, their Father, and their Lord. The seraphim are pictured doing that in Isaiah’s vision as they flew around God’s throne, calling out, Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory! Or in Revelation, the angels join their voices with all creatures, singing, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing! The writer to the Hebrews tells us that when God brought His firstborn into the world, He says: Let all the angels of God worship Him. And they did. Remember when they appeared to the shepherds of Bethlehem, and a great multitude of the heavenly host appeared and sang, Glory to God in the highest! Peace on earth, goodwill to men!

Not only do the angels worship God, but they teach us to worship God together with them. There was a reason why God told Moses to place two cherubim on the mercy seat, the lid of the ark of the covenant, with their wings spread over the mercy seat, and with their faces staring down at it in reverence, just as there was a reason Solomon had two statues made to stand guard in the most holy place in the temple, and had carved figures of angels placed in the walls of the Temple. God was teaching Israel to worship Him as the angels do. God was teaching them to imitate the worship of the angels, and that, when we worship God, the angels are present there, too, which is why, whenever we sing the Sanctus before Communion, we pray, “Therefore, with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify Thy glorious name!”

Now, if the angels worshiped God there at the mercy seat where He appeared, and in the temple, how much more shouldn’t we worship Him? The angels worship Him as their Creator and Father. We worship Him, not only as our Creator and Father, but as our Redeemer and Savior. The sinless angels have never needed God’s mercy. We poor sinners need it at all times. God didn’t send His Son into angels’ flesh, but into ours. God didn’t give His Son into death for the angels, but for us men. God has not had to forgive the angels any sins, but He forgives ours constantly. God has not brought the angels into the body of Christ, but He has made us members of Christ’s body. So let our worship not just imitate, but surpass that of the angels. We have far greater reasons to worship than they.

But the main purpose of the angels, the primary work they were created to do, at least as far as we’re told in Scripture, is to serve the people of God. As it says in Hebrews about the angels, Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

There have been two main ways in which angels have served the Church. First, they were often God’s messengers to certain men, bringing the Word of God to people here and there, to Jacob, to Moses, to Joshua, to the judge Gideon, to the prophets Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah. You all remember the angel Gabriel, who brought messages to Zacharias, to Mary, and to Joseph. Angels brought word to the shepherds that a Savior, Christ, the Lord had been born. They warned the wise men to stay away from Herod. They announced the resurrection of Christ to the believing women, and they announced to the disciples that the ascended Christ would return from heaven one day, just as they had seen Him go into heaven. It was an angel who told Peter to go see Cornelius, an angel who told Paul he would survive his shipwreck and arrive safely in Rome. And it was an angel who revealed the Revelation to St. John.

Messages delivered by angels were important, but they were rare. The ongoing work of the angels is something that we never get to see, and that is, to guard and protect the people of God from dangers both seen and unseen, from attacks both spiritual and physical. The angels are God’s instruments to keep us safe from harm.

Now we finally come to the angel after whom today’s celebration is named: Michael. His name means, “Who is like God?” He’s mentioned a few times in the Bible: three times in Daniel, once in Jude, and once in Revelation. In Daniel, he’s called “one of the chief princes,” and “your prince,” that is, the prince of Daniel and the people of Israel, and “the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people.” In Jude, he’s called an “archangel,” that is, a chief angel, similar to the phrase used in Daniel. He’s pictured as a warrior, fighting battles for the people of God, as in tonight’s Epistle from Revelation 12.

This special angelic protection for God’s people is seen throughout Scripture. The two angels brought Lot and his family out of Sodom before they went to destroy the wicked cities. Jacob was protected by angels from his brother Esau. The people of Israel were led and defended by angels as they journeyed through the wilderness. Elisha was surrounded by angels when men came to kill him, when he famously said to his servant, Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. Daniel was protected by angels in the lion’s den. Peter was rescued by an angel from his prison cell. And, as you heard in the Gospel this evening, Jesus warns any who would look down on the little children who believe in Him or cause them to stumble, See that you do not despise one of these little ones! For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

All of this fits perfectly with what David wrote in Psalm 34, The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him and delivers them; and with what the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 91, Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

It’s a good thing God has provided these guardian angels all around us, because the dangers around us are very real—danger from other people, danger from accidents, and danger from things that may look like accidents but are actually demons, the devil’s angels, seeking to bring us harm or to lead us into temptation. If we could only see the spiritual battles being fought all around us, we would never stop giving thanks for the protection God gives us through the angels as His instruments.

So take comfort in the angels’ presence and protection, whether you’re on land or on sea, in your home or in the hospital, knowing that the angels are faithful servants of God, and mighty warriors against all that might bring us harm. And if any bad thing does happen to a child of God, we can know for certain that it was not a failure of the angels to protect us or a failure of God to see to our protection. As St. Paul wrote, “We must enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations.” This is not yet Paradise, where we will be truly safe from all harm. We’re still on the battlefield here, still living in the realm of the prince of this world, still living in enemy territory, as it were. But if any bad thing happens, we have God’s promise that He allowed it to happen for a good purpose, for our eternal good, and for the good of His holy Church, even as it finally worked out well for poor Lazarus, who suffered much in this life, but whose soul was finally carried by the angels up to Paradise.

There will come a day when the troubles of this life are finally removed forever, and the angels will be there on that day, too. Jesus says, The Son of Man will come in His glory, and all His holy angels with Him. And, As the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. At the same time, Jesus says, He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

So give thanks to God today for how He runs the universe to work all things together for good to those who love Him, including His use of these holy instruments of His, the mighty angels, our fellow servants of the God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who worship Him together with us and lend us their ministry and protection. We don’t see them now, but we will see them when Christ comes again. Until then, we will continue to pray in Luther’s Morning and Evening Prayers, “Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me.” Amen.