Today we celebrate the archangels. The term archangel appears only once in the Scriptures, in one of the shortest books of the Bible; namely, the Book of Jude. In verse nine of that book, Jude refers to Michael as an archangel. The term identifies him as the chief angel or messenger of God.
Angels do act as messengers for God. The primary example of that would be Gabriel who brings news of the conception of God’s Son to Mary of Nazareth. However, we cannot simply limit them to our traditional understanding of the role of messenger. They also function as companions, guardians, guides, overseers, and members of the heavenly court. All of these roles suggest that we should think of them as personifications of the loving presence of God among us and in us. We understand angels best if we think of them as doing what all of us should be doing for each other; that is, serving as the means by which God heals, comforts, strengthens, or helps our fellow human being. Since it is every Christian’s vocation to do all of these things, angels also serve as examples for us in addition to all of their other functions.
The names of each of the three archangels that we celebrate today ends in the syllable that names God in the Scriptures. To our Jewish brothers and sisters, he was known as Elohim. Jesus is called Emmanuel, God with us. Today’s Gospel introduces the character of Nathaniel, a name which means “God has given.”
Speaking of the angels is not just some academic exercise. Names are important in the Scriptures, God’s name being the most important. Today we join our voices to theirs as we praise our God for being present in our lives.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator