Angels and Little Ones

Matthew 18:10  

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. 

For I tell you that in heaven their angels 

always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

photos by E.K. Wimmer

Let's Make a New Holiday - Santamas!

I have a GREAT idea!  Let's advocate for a new holiday and let's call it Santamas!  We can make it be about a chubby guy in a red suit that has reindeer to help him fly all around the world, delivering presents.  He can only deliver presents to children who earn them through their good behavior.

It will be FUN!  We can say that he slides down our chimneys.  Maybe we can make up that he has elves to help him make toys for children!  He can live far, far away... how about the North Pole?  He can be all about candy canes and we can focus on getting lots and lots of presents from him!

This new holiday can be appropriate for everyone as it will be quite secular.  We'll be able sing about Santa in our schools!  It will be so cool! We can make it clear that it is just for fun; that the story is just a story, loosely based on nice man who lived and died long ago.

THEN...

Let's celebrate another holiday, called Christmas!  We can focus it on Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God!  We can read about his birth from the Bible, including reading that his birth was prophesied centuries before it occurred.  We can imagine how it was for his mother, Mary, when she found out she was going to be mother to God's Son, and that her son would be The Savior. We can talk about multitudes of angels declaring his birth! It will be so exciting! Imagine the glorious songs we can sing in our churches, homes and even out caroling to shut-ins. Doesn't it just give you goose-bumps?

We can let our children know that it is a real story.

The story will be about giving, rather than getting.

It will be a story of joy and peace and hope.  

It will be just what the world needs.

It will be all about HIM.

It will be holy.

A Word From Pastor Mike - Angels Along the Way

  The following is Mike's sermon, given last night, at our midweek Advent Service.  The text he used was Isaiah 6:1-8 and Luke 1:11-19.

Our Advent Series is called "The Long Road to Christmas".  My topic for tonight is "Angels Along the Way."  We heard about angels in Isaiah's temple vision - 6 winged seraphim flying around the throne of God, praising God and bringing a burning coal to touch Isaiah's lips.  Then in Luke 1, an angel appears to Zechariah and tells him that he and his wife, Elizabeth, will have a son.  That son will prepare the way of the Lord; that child will be known as John the Baptist.

But apparently the real experts on angels are children.  Here are some ideas about angels from children:

Gregory, age 5... Everybody's got it all wrong.  Angels don't wear halos anymore.  I don't know why but, but scientists are working on it.

Olive, age 9... It's not easy to become an angel.  First you die.  Then you go to heaven.  Then there's still flight training school to go through.  And then you've got to agree to wear those angel clothes.

Mitchel, age 7... My guardian angel helps me with math, but he's not very good at science.

Henry, age 8... Angels don't eat but they drink milk from holy cows.

Sara, age 6... Angels live in cloud houses made by God and his son, who is a very good carpenter.

Antonio, age 9... My angel is my grandmother who died last year.  She got a big head start on helping me when she was till down here on earth.

Katelynn, age 9... Some of the angels are in charge of healing sick animals and pets.  And if they don't make the animals get better, they help the child get over it.

Vicki, age 8... What I don't get about angels is why when someone is in love they shoot arrows at them.

We probably don't think about it much when we read the Bible but angels are all over the place.  From Genesis to Revelation, you will find angels.  

Angels are in the Christmas story in Luke's gospel. Zechariah is burning incense in the temple of the Lord... ooops there's an angel, "Don't be afraid." Mary's story, the angel Gabriel comes to Nazareth, "Do not be afraid, Mary." The shepherds watch over their flocks by night. The angel proclaims, "Fear not for I bring you good news of great joy."

Angels are all over the Christmas story in Matthew's gospel. An angel tells Joseph not to divorce Mary, "She will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins." An angel in a dream tells Joseph to take his wife and child to Egypt for Herod wants to destroy him. After the death of Herod, an angel in a dream tells Joseph to return to Israel.

If we move forward in the story of Jesus we find more angels. According to Luke's gospel, an angel from heaven strengthens Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. At the resurrection, an angel rolls away the stone from the tomb of Jesus. It is an angel who announces the resurrection.

Immediately after the Ascension of Christ back into heaven, two men in white robes say to the disciples, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

These angels join us on "the long road to Christmas". What are we to do with them? Job #1 is to understand.

In the Bible the word for angel literally means "messenger".  In the Christmas story the angels cause fear - startle people. They bring announcements; they are messengers of good news. They sing praise to God.

According to the Bible the angels are a part of the heavenly count of God. They carry out God's tasks. They guide, protect and warn. They praise the goodness of God.

The idea of angels also challenges our modern-scientific-skeptical minds. Is there more than what we can see? Is there a realm of the supernatural where there is God and Jesus and angels and more?

When I was living in New Mexico a member of the congregation I served told me a story of an angel.  He worked in a nursing home as a CNA then as a nurse. On one occasion he walked into a room and noticed that the dying person in bed was looking intently at something. He asked, "What do you see?"  The person replied, "Don't you see him, sitting there in the chair? It's an angel." Hallucination or angel? I suppose it depends on your perspective or belief system.

As Christians, our call is not to obsess about angels or dismiss them. Our task is to listen to the message from these messengers: You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.  And the Lord God will give the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end."

The Angel of the Lord brings a message to shepherds in the night, "Fear not. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David, a savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger... and then comes the Hallelujah Chorus, "Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among those with whom he is well pleased."

These angels speak of a coming one, Jesus.  He will be great... Son of the Most High... he will have the throne of David... reign forever... a savior...Christ the Lord.

Let the message of the angels dwell deep within you.  The angels bring us soul food for the long journey to Christmas.

Finally, let me close with words from another man who believed in angels, Martin Luther. This is the evening prayer from Luther's Small Catechism. Let us pray... We thank you, our Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ your dear son, that you have graciously kept us this day and we pray that you would forgive us all our sins, where we have done wrong and graciously keep us this night. For into your hands we commend ourselves, our bodies and souls and all things. Let your  holy angels be within us so that the evil foe may have no power over us. Amen.

Entertaining Angels

New International Version (NIV) Hebrews 13:2

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

I loved the verse from yesterday that spoke of angels watching over our precious ones.  I love this one as well, but it kind of makes me nervous.  I'll tell you why...

I have some gifts in this life, as do we all.  I've long noticed, though, that I don't really have the gift of hospitality.  At least, that's what I thought.  You see, I'm not the one who just loves cooking the big holiday meals.  I'm not good at noticing when someone's glass of lemonade needs refilled.  Actually, I'm not always even hospitable enough to remember to offer then a glass of lemonade in the first place!  I think you get my point.  For some people, entertaining comes easily.  For the rest of us, it isn't our most natural gift.

But, if you also don't feel you have the gift of hospitality, not to worry.  I think we're still ok here.  I don't think this verse is talking about setting a beautiful table or even being a good cook.  I think it is talking about how we treat strangers.

(photo from www.freeimages.co.uk )

First of all, some translations use the word "messengers" instead of "angels".  That is, perhaps we aren't entertaining actual angels but rather someone who turns out to be a messenger of God.  One source I read stated that perhaps the stranger doesn't even know that they are going to end up being a messenger of God.  Hmmmm.... either way, I think the lesson is that we are to be nice.  I think I can do that!  Wait, how nice do I have to be?  Is this going to cost money?

So, who are the strangers?  I guess the lady at the post office could be considered a stranger to me.  The young girl who asks if I need help out with my groceries is a stranger to me.  I suppose it is kind of like the Biblical question, "Who is my neighbor?"  As it turns out, we are supposed to treat everyone with love and respect.  If you want to read another blog on this topic, I suggest you click here.  I don't know the author of the blog but I did like the article he wrote on this verse in particular.

I am not a theologian.  I don't pretend to be certain what this verse means.  I lean more toward believing it is literally speaking of angels, heavenly beings.  I really love the idea of angels walking among us, don't you?  

Grandma Heaven

New Living Translation

Matthew 18:10

"Beware that you don't look down on any  of these little ones. For I tell you that in  heaven their angels are always in the  presence of my heavenly Father."

Eternal God, before Your Throne

Eternal God, before your throne we bend,

Your grace to seek, your holy name to bless;

Our grateful hearts in humble praise ascend

To you whose ways are truth and righteousness.

With all the host of heaven we adore

Your matchless holy love forevermore!

Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior and our friend,

Whom angels praise before the throne on high:

How vast your love, to love us to the end

And on the cruel cross to bleed and die!

O blest Redeemer, hear your children pray;

O Lamb of God, take all our sins away!

O Holy Spirit, truth and peace divine,

Descend to us in all your saving pow'r,

And kindle flames of love and faith to shine

Within our yearning hearts this sacred hour!

Make plain the Father's will, the Savior's love,

And fit us all to dwell with you above.

Text:  Ernest E. Ryden,, born 1886

Tune: Carl W. Landahl, 1908-1961

The Adjustment Bureau

Yesterday Mike and I went to see the Adjustment Bureau.  I have to say it was thought-provoking.  The plot deals with the issues of free will, predestination, angels, God, ripple effects and more.

I am certainly not going to claim the theology in this movie is sound.  In fact, I think it made God (referred to as The Chairman) and the angels (Adjustment Bureau) seem like the enemy throughout most of the movie.  It also seemed rather humanistic, that is, I think it elevates humans to be on a level with God.  Maybe I took it wrong, I don't know.  I do think, though, that any movie that even makes people think about God at all has some edification value.

As a love story it is really compelling.  The main characters are pretty and easy to like.  On the way home Mike and I talked about whether we were destined for each other or if it was just chance that we meant.  Do we together reach our potential or did we in any way inhibit each other.  I asked him if he thought marrying me kept him from becoming the president of the U.S.  You'll understand that question if you watch the movie.

Also, I like thinking of angels.  I believe there are angels around us, visible and otherwise.  I believe they are kind and good and want what is best for us.  I never pictured them as wearing hats.  Again, you'll have to see the movie.

So, I'm giving it 4 stars out of 5.  I might have given it 4 1/2 but I kept forgetting the name of it.  I think a more memorable name would've made the difference.