Angels and Advent

“If God will send his angels

Sure could use them here right now

Well, if God will send his angels

And I don’t have to ask how

And I don’t need to know why…”

-- U2, from the ‘City of Angels’ soundtrack

Should it surprise us that angels are more popular now than ever? One look at today’s headlines will tell you why.  Angels inspire; they protect; they herald great events; they guide the blind. Nine choirs of angels have been discerned: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels.  The Seraphim are the highest order or choir of angels. They are the angels who are attendants or guardians before God's throne. Cherubim rank after the seraphim and are the second highest in the nine hierarchies or choirs of angels. In Biblical terms, they do not at all resemble the winged toddlers that we love to see on stationery and coffee cups! Rather, they are closely linked to God's glory and are more manlike in appearance. They symbolize God’s glory and mobility. There are other mentions of the angels’ physicality:

Angels sit down:  And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah.  (Judges 6:11)

Angels stand:  Above it stood the seraphim (Isaiah 6:2)

Angels look like women: Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and behold there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings, for they had wings like the wings of a stork...  (Zechariah 5:9)

Angels look like men: And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo three men stood by him.  (Genesis 18:2)

Angels are spirits: Who maketh His angels spirits  (Hebrews 1:7, Psalm 104)

Angels are like fire: His ministers a flaming fire (Psalm 104)

Martin Luther took literally the psalmist's statement that ‘the wind has wings.’ After a particularly severe and violent storm, he reflected: "The devil provokes such storms, but good winds are produced by good angels.” This heady image invokes the angelic winds of Pentecost for me, blowing through our lives, cleansing our hearts and thoughts.

Archangels have a unique role as God's messengers to the people at critical times in history and salvation. Of all the angelic interactions in the Bible, perhaps none is more deliberate than the involvement of the archangel Gabriel in the conception and birth of both John the Baptist and Jesus. The name Gabriel means "man of God," or "God has shown himself mighty.”  It is Gabriel who announces the good news to John’s father Zachariah, and Gabriel who removes Zachariah’s ability to speak when he doubts the angel’s words. Zachariah’s tongue is stilled for Elizabeth’s entire pregnancy!  Finally, he announces to Mary that she would bear the Savior of the world:

The angel Gabriel said to Mary, "Do not fear, Mary, for Gad has been gracious with you. You shall conceive and bear a son and give him the name Jesus. He will be great; he will be called Son of the Most High..." (Luke 1) 

‘Virgin, you have heard what will happen, you have heard how it will happen . . . You have heard that you will conceive and bear a son; you have heard that it will be by the Holy Spirit and not by a man. The angel is waiting for your reply . . . We, too, are waiting for this merciful word, my Lady… The price of our salvation is being offered you… The whole world is waiting, bowed down at your feet. And rightly so, because on your answer depends the comfort of the afflicted, the redemption of captives, the deliverance of the damned, the salvation of all the sons and daughters of Adam, your whole race.  My Lady, say this word, which earth and hell and heaven itself are waiting for. The very King and Lord of all… is waiting anxiously for your answer… by which he proposes to save the world.’

-- Saint Bernard of Clairvaux