Sermon - Michaelmass 2020 - Matthew 18:1-11

 Jesus, setting a small boy in the midst of the disciples, said: “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” You, who have been adopted into God’s family through the waters of baptism, whether you are in the golden morn or silvery eve of life, you are God’s beloved children. God, your heavenly Father, sent His holy angels to guard you, His children. “For I tell you that in heaven their [God’s children’s] angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”

My brothers and sisters, we are God’s children, Jesus Christ is our brother, and we are all one family in Him through the waters of baptism. When Christ was baptized, He sanctified all waters of baptism to be a lavish washing away of sin and an adoption into the holy family. You are God’s children.

From the womb to the cradle to the grave, you’re God’s little children. Like the Lord says through the prophet Isaiah: “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb.” Think about what that means for you. A child in the womb is utterly helpless and blissfully ignorant of the many dangers surrounding it! 

The mother carefully guards her child within her womb from a host of threats outside. She is careful to avoid heavy drinking and smoking; she avoids rough activities; she fills her body with plenty of water and nutritious foods; she avoids places with dangerously loud sounds; she and her husband comfort and teach the faith to their yet unborn baby by reading scripture, praying, and singing. 

Then after birth, the father and mother provide the child with a safe home, clean water, warm clothes, healthy food, a Christian education, and training in righteousness and good works. Before and after birth, the child is vulnerable and needy, dependent upon father and mother for nearly everything. Likewise, our relationship with God, our Heavenly Father, is one in which we are in dire need of His protection and loving care, and He guards us.

One of the ways in which He guards His dear children is by sending his angels to watch over us. “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” Having angels who watch over us is one of the privileges of being God’s little children, since the angels only guard God’s children, they don’t protect the unbelievers. “Are [the angels] not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?”

We do indeed have guardian angels! But they do a whole lot more for us than what we typically think they do. Usually when we think or talk about guardian angels we think of them just as guarding us from some bodily threats, like from getting in a car accident or from falling from a high place. While that is part of what they do, that’s not their primary job. 

Remember that angels are spirits, not flesh and blood like us. It’s a rare occurrence when an angel appears in bodily form, more often they’re invisible spirits. As such, they guard us not merely from bodily threats, but particularly from spiritual danger. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but… against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

Angels guard you by being messengers, that’s literally what their name means, angelos, angel, messenger. So angels are armed with the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” “The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.” The danger that angels guard us against is primarily to our souls, not only to our bodies. The means by which angels guard you is by use of God’s Word, and ensuring that Christ crucified remains at the center of your life.

Devils tempt you to sin, cause you guilt regarding that sin, and then drive you to despair of God’s mercy. Whereas angels do just the opposite! When you’re tempted to sin, they give you strength to resist those temptations. When you fall prey to temptation and sin, the angels direct you to Christ, they bring to your remembrance the Word of God, and they comfort you with the promise that you’re forgiven through Jesus. When you begin to despair of God’s mercy, the angels direct you to the cross of Christ so that you can recall God’s abundant mercies which are yours in Christ Jesus our Lord. Finally, when you do die, the angels are there to bear you home to heaven! The angels fight against the demons for you, not by being primarily concerned with your bodily safety, but with your spiritual safety.

But as wonderful as it is that the angels guard us, the angels are not responsible for it! They are but the hands of God. God is the one working out our salvation for us, comforting us, and delivering us to heaven. The angels are just the messengers.

We always need to be cautious about thinking more highly of angels than we do of God. Angels are like us: created beings; they’re not gods. In fact, angels were created in order to serve humans, not for humans to serve, worship, or pray to angels. God is God and the angels are His servants. To illustrate, if you were stuck in a pit, and someone reached down and pulled you out, it would be silly and foolish to just thank the person’s hands, because their hands didn’t save you, the person did. Likewise, it’s silly and foolish to worship the angels for anything they might do for us, when they’re but the hands of God. 

Everything that angels do to serve us is done by pointing us to the Gospel, to the good news. The good message which the messengers have been sent to proclaim is that Christ was born in Bethlehem of the virgin Mary, He died upon the cross bearing the sins of the whole world, and He rose again for our justification. The Good News these messengers bring is that all of this has been done for you in Christ Jesus. The job of the angels is to point us to Christ!

When St. Michael the archangel in heaven, along with his heavenly troops, battled against Satan they won because of the message which they proclaimed. “They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” So St. Michael, that amazing archangel who fought the demons in heaven, is also your servant who ministers to you with the blood of the Lamb and the Word of God, by pointing you to Christ.

Our Lord has also established a troop of angels, messengers, upon the earth, who minister to you with the same weapons of the blood of the Lamb and the Word of God. Within this church God serves you the blood of the Lamb from this altar and from the horn of the altar at this pulpit the Word of His testimony is spoken aloud. Here victory is joyously proclaimed at the font when a new child of God is adopted. Here victory is joyously proclaimed every time you receive the sacrament at this altar. Here victory is proclaimed every time your sins are absolved at this rail. Here victory is proclaimed when the casket is marched down the aisle and right before it’s lowered into the ground. 

“Therefore, rejoice o heavens and you who dwell in them!” For “many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” The angels have declared it! God’s children have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, they are saved from the deadly jaws of the lion, rescued from the fiery breath of the dragon! You are those children.