St. Michael and All Angels Genesis 28:10-17 John 1:47-51

One hundred years ago, polar explorer Ernest Shackleton and two colleagues reached Stromness, a whaling station on the north coast of South Georgia, which is an island in the South Atlantic. They had been walking for 36 hours, in life-threatening conditions, in an attempt to reach help for the rest of their party: three of their crew were stuck on the south side of the island, with the remainder stranded on Elephant Island, which is just off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean.

To reach the whaling station, the three men had to cross the island’s mountainous interior with just a rope and an axe, in a journey that few had attempted before or since. By reaching Stromness they managed to save all the men left from the ill-fated transantarctic expedition.

They didn’t talk about it at the time, but weeks later all three men reported an uncanny experience during their trek: a feeling that “often there were four, not three” men on their journey. The “fourth” that accompanied them had the silent presence of a real person, someone walking with them by their side, as far as the whaling station but no farther.

Shackleton was apparently deeply affected by the experience, but would say little about it in subsequent years, considering it something “which can never be spoken of”. Encounters such as these are common in extreme survival situations: guardian angels, guides, or even Christ-like figures have often been reported.

We know them now as “third man” experiences, following a line in TS Eliot’s poem, The Wasteland: “Who is the third who walks always beside you? When I count, there are only you and I together. But when I look ahead up the white road, there is always another one walking beside you”.

Today we celebrate, in particular, three prominent angels: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael – these three biblically named angels – are depicted as the beloved messengers of God. Michael (which means “who is like God?”) is perhaps best known for his victory over the dragon, which is told in the Revelation to St John the Divine, and often regarded as the protector of Christians from the devil, especially those at the hour of death.

Gabriel (which means “the strength of God”) is the one who in St Luke’s Gospel is sent by God to Mary to announce the birth of Christ. Raphael (which means “the healing of God”) is the one in the Book of Tobit who restores sight to Tobit’s eyes. Today we celebrate these three - and all angels.

From the Old Testament account of Jacob’s wrestling with the angel, right up to modern times, humankind has not only been perplexed by the existence of angels, but even more perplexed by whether communication with them is either possible or desirable.

It was G.K. Chesterton who once said: “Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly”, while presumably, devils and demons fell from grace, because of the weight of their pride, and greed, and anger.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says to Nathaniel, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” Clearly, Jesus confirms the existence of angels.

How do angles have anything to do with our lives today? There was a time, a few decades ago, when talking about angels was very trendy. TV shows such as “Touched by An Angel”, were popular. But being trendy often means the time of interest comes and goes, and people look back on whatever it was that was so “in vogue” at the time and consider it just a passing fad. Angels, on the other hand, are real – something that especially in our modern technological world is sometimes hard to believe.

Did you know, that every person has a guardian angel? Perhaps the most important task of the guardian angel is to help lead each one of us to the passion of Christ and to His cross. We know this is spiritually important, because it’s only through embracing the cross, accepting all the responsibilities Jesus gives us, that we find our way to heaven.

What does a guardian angel do? Perhaps it’s easiest to explain that angels prick our conscience so that we are able, when we’re pointed in the right direction, to recognize and follow the will of God.

Angels, in general, encourage us to be thankful for what we have, and encourage us to see small acts of mercy and kindness as reflections of our living God, drawing us closer to the divine Presence, and opening our eyes to God’s glory.

We are taught by early spiritual teachers, that there are three ways of seeing things: a diabolical way, an angelic way, and a human way. The diabolical way is to see everything in terms of oneself, and the angelic way is to see everything in terms of one’s relationship with God.

We’re all quite capable of seeing the world in relation to God, but often insist on seeing it with ourselves at the center. What we really need to do, is move away from the diabolical way, away from the all too human way, and align ourselves with the angelic way - to look at the world and see it alive with God.

Angels are not saints, not human, not easily defined. They are messengers, signposts, to help us each in our vocation – which is to become all that God intends us to be in Christ Jesus.

How often have we said to someone who has helped us “you are an angel!” We’re so grateful and pleased when someone puts themselves out for us, and really helped. Angels, do such things in gentle and unobtrusive ways. How often have I had a nudge to buy a gift, or make a phone call, or do something that makes no sense to me at the time – only to discover later that the person for whom the action is intended really needed that small gift, or phone call, or gesture. And I know it is not “just a coincidence”, which is what we so often like to say, but rather that an angel has gently pushed me in the right direction.

All through the Bible, angels are shown to reveal messages from God, and while it is some of the more momentous ones we read about in the Bible, in our lives, God tends to move is small and simple ways. The great gestures are not required of us, it takes only the smallest gesture made with great love to reveal the action of Christ in our lives.

And it is God’s messengers, the angels, that guide us in the way in which we are called to walk – nothing spectacular, no heavenly choirs needed, just the gentle nudge to keep us on the path of holiness, to make sure we continue to share God’s message of love and salvation to those around us.

Pay attention – or you may miss or misinterpret the Divine action in your life, the angel by your side.

Just like Ernest Shackleton and his two colleagues in South Georgia, we are not alone on our journey. The holy angels help us to see that heaven and earth do meet, that God is not inaccessible, that He came down in Christ Jesus and even now is pulling us up out of darkness.

We are the Church here on earth, and our message of faith, our Gospel joy, is a message that the angels delight in and rejoice in hearing.

Let us pray:

O Holy Angels, watch over us at all times during this perilous life, be our guides on the way to heaven; govern us in soul and body; preserve us against the wiles of the enemy; give us strength and courage in the battle of life; grant us peace with God and all people; O brilliant Cherubim, illuminate our minds with heavenly knowledge; O burning Seraphim, enkindle in our hearts the fire of charity. All this we ask in Jesus” Name. Amen.”