You and What Army? The Festival of St. Michael and All Angels
“At that time shall
arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall
be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that
time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall
be found written in the book” (Daniel 12:1).
Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
I recently shared a
meme on Facebook. Its heading read: “When people say, ‘you and what army?’” The
picture showed an artist’s rendering of a host of angels looking down on earth
from heaven. It’s a good reminder of the invisible dimension of God’s creation
that we humans, so caught up in the day-to-day circumstances of life in the
visible dimension of creation, can easily forget or underappreciate.
Today is the Festival
of St. Michael and All Angels. St. Michael, whose name means “Who is like God”
is the archangel mentioned in the Book of Daniel (12:1), as well as in Jude (v.
9), and Revelation (12:7). Tradition names Michael as the patron and protector
of the Church, especially as the protector of Christians at the hour of death.
In our Old Testament
reading, Daniel portrays Michael as the angelic helper of Israel who leads the
battle against the forces of evil. In our Second Reading from Revelation,
Michael and his angels fight against and defeat Satan and the evil angels,
driving them from heaven. Their victory is made possible by Christ’s own
victory over Satan in His death and resurrection, a victory announced at
Christ’s ascension to the right hand of God by the voice in heaven: “Now the
salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His
Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who
accuses them day and night before our God” (12:10).
Which brings to mind an
important question, similar to the one posed in the Facebook meme: You and what
army? St. Michael’s host or the army of Christian martyrs? What army actually
gets the victory over Satan, the Dragon? There’s no doubt that a decisive
victory has been won, but it seems two different groups have been involved in
winning the “war in heaven.”
In the dimension of
heaven, St. Michael summons all his angels to fight against the Dragon and his
demonic hordes. Revelation 12 states it plainly: Michael the Archangel wins
convincingly, and the Dragon—who is Satan the Accuser of humanity and grand
insurgent of all that is good, holy, and true—is humiliatingly defeated. This
devastating loss comes with a stinging consequence: Satan can no longer accuse
God’s people before the throne of God. He is thrown down to the earth, ejected
from heaven altogether, banished from the dimension where God rules in holiness
and uncontested power.
So, let me restate for
clarity: our one reality has two dimensions: heaven—the invisible dimension of
our reality, and earth—the visible dimension of our reality. In heaven a
decisive battle took place and St. Michael and his army of angels soundly
defeated Satan and his angels and cast them down to the earth.
But wait a minute—the
song of victory which follows this great event gives credit for the victory not
to Michael and the heavenly hosts, but to God’s people on earth. It gives
credit for the victory to the visible Church of God. “They conquered
him,” says the loud voice from heaven, “and they have conquered him by the
blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their
lives even unto death” (Revelation 12:11). In other words, Christ’s blood
atonement, His propitiation of sins, and the Word of the Gospel, which is
confessed in the mouths of the martyrs, that is what crushes Satan’s
dominion, powers, and efforts. That is how the Church, the communion of saints,
the holy Christian Church in which we experience life, gets the victory.
So who was it ? What
army actually defeated the Dragon? Was it St. Michael’s, or was it the holy
martyrs of the Church, those saints we name, remember, and celebrate throughout
the year—like Stephen, James, and Polycarp? What army?
In a sense it was both.
The heavenly reality of the victorious battle is umbilically joined to the
earthly reality of the martyr’s deaths. This continuity between heaven and
earth, this cooperation or participation between the heavenly hosts and the
saints on earth, but also the departed martyrs, plays itself out in our liturgy
when we sing during Holy Communion, “with angels and archangels and with all
the company of heaven, we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore
praising You.” In other words, heaven and earth have an adjoining union, an
interlocking, interpenetrating union. This is reality as we experience and
rightly know it even now.
Now, as followers of
the Lamb—those true disciples whose allegiance to Christ is with reckless
abandon, even of life and limb, so devoted to the King are those martyrs—they
own the truth. They have already been saved by His blood. They have been
baptized into His death and resurrection. Therefore, His self-giving unto death
and resulting resurrection life is the pattern which they follow themselves.
That is what wins the battle. It is a cruciform battle already complete and
total in heaven where Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who sits on the throne
and who exacted the expulsion of Satan at the hand of St. Michael; but it is
also a battle engaged even now where heaven touches earth in and through the
Church.
This is in no place on
earth more definitive than where the blood of the Lamb avails and where the
crimson stain of the martyrs proclaims victory in Christ than the Table of the
Lord. Here is a visible place where heaven touches earth. Here Christ reigns
victorious in the Gospel testimony of the martyrs, the good news of His victory
for all who believe—both Jew and Gentile.
Our enemies are
defeated. Heaven itself is an abiding witness of the victory of Christ. St.
Michael and All Angels, including guardian angels, are abiding witnesses of
Christ’s victory. The martyrs of the holy Church whom we remember, venerate,
and emulate are abiding witnesses to the victory of Christ. Take courage. Be
mindful of their witness and presence, their voices and testimony, in the Word
of God, the church calendar, and at Holy Communion. The victory is won. The
outcome is certain. Christ is victorious. St. Michael is our patron of victory.
The victory, again, is
not like an election victory or a defeat of the rivals of our favorite sports
team. No, this victory is over a deadly and vicious enemy bent on the
destruction of humanity, destroying human beings, and murdering souls—the
Dragon who is the Accuser.
The early Church
learned to see this supernatural “accusing” activity standing not far behind
all the “accusations” leveled against them. Accusations alone can have the
power and import of destroying reputations, wrecking families, and ruining
lives. In the early Church, such accusations included both the informal ones,
whispered by their critical neighbors, wondering why these people were not
joining in the usual pagan festivals, especially the imperial cultic religion,
and the more formal ones accusations and charges, brought by the authorities,
and carrying an official penalty, often death.
And this is the thing
to remember—accusations are poised and purposed to a particular end: judgment,
condemnation, conviction, and punishment. That is the point of an accusation,
to make publicly the culpability and guilt of the accused and thus to also make
public—at least theoretically—a just judgment and punishment. So, the
Christians endured all kinds of accusations as slander and lies were told about
the early Church: infanticide, cannibalism, incest, atheism, etc.
The Christians learned
to see them for what they were: accusations from “the father of lies,” and they
combatted them with two things: the defensive and offensive power of the truth
and a willingness to suffer and even die for the truth, where Jesus Christ
Himself is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Once again John is
positioning his hearers on the map of the great cosmic drama. This includes you
and me. They, and we, are to know and celebrate the great victory which has
already been won. The Accuser has no place any more in heaven, because the
death of Jesus has nullified the charges which the celestial prosecutor would
otherwise bring. For all those in Christ Jesus there is full justification by
God’s grace through faith. Christ has suffered and died on our behalf. Jesus
has repented and merited perfect righteousness for us. He is our scapegoat, our
salvation, our vindication, and our holiness.
But this vile accuser
will do his best, in the time remaining, to attack the woman—the image of the
Virgin Mary but also the Holy Church—who has fled into the wilderness, even
though, as in Exodus 19:4, God has given her eagles’ wings so she can fly away.
In the history of redemption this happened when Jesus’ mother Mary, led by her
husband Joseph, guardian of our Lord, retreated into Egypt while Herod the
Great murdered the children of the surrounding region of Bethlehem. And then,
the holy Church is taken into the wilderness, that is, outside of the auspices
of Imperial Rome or any other temporal government, where it is protected and
shaded by the wings of Christ our King.
What follows is a
series of symbolic snapshots which advance the drama, not with literal
descriptions of events, but using Old Testament imagery that is packed with
meaning and significance. The Dragon spits out a jet of water like a river to
carry the woman off. The earth opens its mouth to swallow up the river. The
woman escapes and the Dragon, angry, turns his attention elsewhere—precisely to
the woman’s “children,” further defined as, “those who keep God’s commands and
the testimony of Jesus.” In other words, once again, you too are part of this
drama.
The Accuser turns his
wrath on the Church—but not to the departed saints in heaven (he has permanently
lost that battle). The saints in heaven are impervious to his schemes. Departed
saints, as well as angels and archangels, do nothing but bask in the ultimate
victory of Christ Jesus and the army of St. Michael. No, Satan has been cast
down to earth with aspirations to disrupt, where and when possible, the Kingdom
of God.
So, do not be surprised
when the Dragon is out to get you with more of his foul but powerful
accusations, spat out like a flood, to condemn you for your sins, guilt,
regrets, and shame. He will accuse you with the mouths of others and through
the influences of our society—where any and every other name but Christ’s will
claim you and own you and destroy you.
But remember, recall
the testimony of the martyrs. Hear the good news of St. Michael: Christ has
conquered by His blood, and the Kingdom of God and His will shall, in fact, be
done on earth as it is in heaven. Trust that the God of creation and the
victorious, resurrected and reigning King will look after you.
Take courage! This is
what the Festival of St. Michael and All Angels is about. Take courage because
we stand with all the company of heaven and the great cloud of witnesses, the
noble company of martyrs strong, declaring the Gospel testimony: Christ has
died, Christ has risen, Christ shall come again!
There is no accusation
that stands against you! You are forgiven for all of your sins.
In the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Unless otherwise
indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard
Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good
News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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