A number of years ago, angels seemed to be very popular. Books, conferences, clothing, and a host of “angel products” were available – all giving evidence that angels were real and active in the lives of people. Sunday’s commemoration of the Synaxis of the Archangels is proof that belief in angels is nothing new for the Orthodox Christian Church. The activity of the angels is twofold: they are present in heaven to glorify God. They are also here on earth to carry out God’s guidance and will concerning human persons. The word “angel” itself means “herald” or “messenger.” They rest not, day and night, saying: ‘Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty which was, and is, and is to come,’ writes St. John the Beloved (Rev. 4:8). And St. Paul writes of the ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation (Heb. 1:14). St. Gregory the Theologian tells us: “Some of those intelligences are standing before the great God, and others cooperate in holding the whole world.” St. John of Damascus teaches that “They are powerful, and ready to accomplish the will of God, and they appear anywhere and instantly, according to their subtle nature, wherever God orders them.” Angels are spiritual beings and as such, like God Himself, cannot be completely captured by human sight or understanding. The Fathers of the Church taught that there are guardian angels of nations, countries, churches, as well as of individuals (Rev. 2), even of elements, stars and planets. St. John of the “Ladder” testifies of his personal guardian angel: “Whenever I was longing for a greater advancement in spiritual life, the angel appeared in such a case and enlightened me.” St. Basil the Great says: “The angel will not retreat from us, unless we drive him away by our evil deeds. As the smoke drives bees away, and stench the doves, even so our sin drives away from us the angel who protects our life.” With such a preponderance of Fathers teaching of the real and active presence of angels in our lives, how are we, in the post-Christian, post-modern world, to understand these heavenly beings?
Angels may be described as “the hunch we feel about God.” Can you identify moments in your life when, for no explicable reason, God just comes to mind, or you have an overwhelming warm sense of His goodness to you, of His care for you? Have you, in the midst of a conflict, anger, or temptation, been moved instead to do what you know is right? When a time or moment of some danger threatened you, to whatever degree, were you moved towards a feeling that you were protected and safe? Even when you experienced great loss and the pain of discouragement and despair, could you feel a growing awareness that God steadily was working to bring you through the darkness back to His own wondrous light? Meet your Guardian Angel — the messenger, the announcer, the one who reminds, the spiritual presence that is your “hunch” that God is with you, that you are intimately close to Him, that He wants only the best for you. This is why the angels, like us, were created: to be messengers of the Divine Presence in the millions of moments of our daily lives when we come perilously close to forgetting Him. They are mercy-messengers who, despite our frailty and human imperfection, repeat over and over the words of God to the holy Prophet Jeremiah and to the people of Israel: “I have loved you with an everlasting love, and with loving kindness, I have drawn you to myself.” Take time to closely look at your daily life to see if there is an angel there with a message of unconditional love for you. Trust your hunches…
