Gospel of 29 September 2020
Feast of the Archangels
John 1:47-51
You will see heaven laid open, and the Son of Man
When Jesus saw Nathanael coming he said of him, ‘There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit.’ ‘How do you know me?’ said Nathanael. ‘Before Philip came to call you,’ said Jesus ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ Nathanael answered, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.’ Jesus replied, ‘You believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.’ And then he added ‘I tell you most solemnly, you will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending.’
Reflexion
Once I saw a thread on FB where several Catholics were having a heated exchange of opinions about ... you guessed it - “angels.” One Catholic “in name”, unabashedly declared that she did not believe in such fairy tales - “no such things as angels or devils.” She argued, that belief in such things was not essential to the faith. Of course, when you declare something like this over social media these days - it must be the truth, right?
Well, the Church disagrees. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that, “The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls ‘angels’ is a truth of faith.” So, belief in angels is not just another non-essential tenet of our faith, but a truth of Faith. A non-corporeal being means that they do not have bodies. They are purely spiritual beings, like God.
According to St. Augustine , ‘Angel’ is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is ’spirit’; if you seek the name of their office, it is ‘angel’: from what they are, ’spirit’, from what they do ‘angel.’ With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they ‘always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven’ they are the ‘mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word.”
Whenever I contemplate the work of the angels, I’m reminded of the virtue of obedience and humility, even that of the great archangels. It was St Augustine who said that pride changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels. Notice that the very humility of the angels is seen both in their identity and in their work. The Church discourages us from assigning names to our angels except in the case of the three Archangels.
Even in the case of the big three, their names are not personal names as we would understand them, but rather each reflect an aspect of God’s providence: Michael points to the uniqueness of the position of God, that no one can be like Him; Gabriel, points to the strength that we can draw from the Word of God and finally Raphael, reminds us of God who draws near to us providing us healing, medicine for the body and soul, a remedy to woes and troubles. Apart from God, these three archangels have no name, they have no identity. Note also that only one Angel seems to have a name of his own that is unattached to God – Lucifer – The Light-bearer or the Shining One. In his hubris, Lucifer believes that He can rival God as his name serves to be a parody of the title given to the Son of God, the true Light of the World.
In a way, the angels are not just our protectors, God’s messengers or agents. They too offer us an example of being a child of God and a follower of Christ. They remind us that we do not make a name for ourselves by insisting on our autonomy or by showcasing our accomplishments. Rather, true greatness and glory lie in humbly submitting to the will of God, so that when men and women see our good deeds, they only see the loving power of God, the voice of God and the healing touch of God. Nothing else matters.