Sermon - St. Michael and All Angels 2023 - Matthew 18:1-11

The Little Child Set in their Midst, Harold Copping, 1910

The greatest is the neediest and the weakest

1. Children are needy and weak; so are we all

2. Because of our weakness we easily fall into temptation, so we must resist temptation

3. God sends His angels to help us in our weakness

A blessed feast of St. Michael and All Angels to you dear friends in Christ! Before we consider the significance of God sending angels, let’s consider why God would send angels to watch over us.

Our Gospel reading began with the disciples asking a question of Jesus: “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” This is really an awkward question, especially when you read between the lines. They’re not really asking who is the greatest in God’s kingdom, because that would obviously be God. Their question rather is: Am I the greatest in God’s kingdom? Their question isn’t all that different from the question the mother of James and John asks Jesus, about them being seated at the right and left hand in paradise. It’s a question that comes from pride and a big ego, a sense of self-importance. 

It’s the type of mindset that many people still have today, probably many of us included. We think more highly of ourselves than we ought. We feel entitled to whatever we want. We think we deserve God’s forgiveness, we deserve to go to heaven, so we presume that we will go to heaven because we deserve it.

So in response to the disciples’ prideful question, Jesus called “to Him a child, He put him in the midst of them and said ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’” Today we tend to idolize youth, so we read this passage and think that Jesus wants us to be trusting and innocent like children. But that’s not what’s going on here. To understand what Jesus did there, we have to understand how children were viewed classically. They weren’t paragons of virtue, they were considered weak and needy, ignorant and lacking virtue. Children aren’t innocent so much as they’re just ignorant. They’re not trusting, instead they’re generally rebellious and ornery, and perhaps a bit gullible. Depending on the age of the child, they may not be able to count or read, feed or bathe themselves, work hard, or behave responsibly. This doesn’t mean children were hated in antiquity, by no means, they were often loved! It just means youth was viewed realistically; a child hasn’t yet been educated and physically matured, the child is still learning.

This means that when Jesus puts the child in the midst of them and tells them to become like children, it would’ve been shocking to them! Children are needy and weak, not what they would’ve thought of as being the greatest. But in God’s kingdom greatness is not defined in the usual way. “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Instead of thinking of ourselves as deserving of heaven, with such pride and ego, self-importance, we are to humble ourselves and recognize our great weakness and neediness. The greatest in the kingdom of heaven is the weakest and the neediest.

We are all truly weak and needy, like small children. It’s perhaps a bit jarring that some of the first words in our liturgy are: “I, a poor, miserable, sinner.” We are sinners, which means that we’re weak. We’re not great and mighty, we’re poor lowly people in need of God’s mercy. We’re needy, we don’t deserve God’s mercy, we can’t earn the kingdom of heaven, instead we need God to deliver it to us.

I know the world tells us that we need to have more self-esteem and think more highly of ourselves, that we should have pride in ourselves, our accomplishments, our desires, and our people. And while it’s true that we shouldn’t hate ourselves, it’s also true that we shouldn’t have such a large ego. We should view ourselves honestly in light of scripture. Being children we’re weak and needy, but being God’s children, we know that He loves us and provides for us.

One of the challenges of being weak and needy like children is that we easily fall prey to various temptations. “Woe to the world for temptations to sin!” This world is filled with many vices and temptations, evil desires that seek to lead us away from God’s kingdom and eternal life, so that we would be thrown into the eternal fire. Woe to those who lead others into sin, who minimize sin and act like evil behaviors are good! “It would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” If something is sinful, we can’t act like it’s neutral or good. We musn’t tempt others.

Temptation is so serious that here Jesus uses some very strong, and somewhat morbid language, when talking about resisting temptation. “If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away… If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.” Jesus is here speaking metaphorically, so we shouldn’t literally self-amputate body parts. Because our body parts don’t cause us to sin, rather the world around us tempts us and our own hearts tempt us. But Jesus isn’t really speaking hyperbolically, either. Because, if our body parts tempted us, then we really should cut them off. “It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.” 

Thus, the implication here is that those things which do tempt us in this life should be cut off. If the computer tempts you to sin, cut it out of your life and throw it away. If a person is regularly tempting you and a bad influence, cut them off from your life and don’t spend time with them anymore. It’s better to forego various pleasures in this life if it means that you won’t be tempted to sin.

It’s because of these weaknesses that we have that God sends His angels to help us. The one verse that teaches us about “guardian angels” is: “I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” We don’t know any particular details about so-called guardian angels, but evidently God does send His angels to guard us. 

The angels are “all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation.” Angels are uniquely created beings whose purpose is to serve God’s people on earth. This means that people don’t become angels when they die, because angels are their own particular type of creature, distinct from humans. But this also means that God is taking care of us through His angels.

How do angels do this? Firstly, angels are warriors. They guarded the garden of Eden to prevent Adam and Eve from reentering. They fought on behalf of the Israelites, winning the battles invisibly. They fight with demons (angels who rebelled against God) and the Archangel Michael is even described as casting Satan out of heaven. Whenever people see angels their first response is to be afraid, which means that angels aren’t sissy little things, but fierce and holy warriors. As such, the angels fight for Christians and watch over and guard believers from harm and danger.

Secondly, angels are messengers. This is evident simply from their name, which means “messenger.” For instance, an angel announced to Zechariah that his wife would become pregnant, his son’s name would be John, and John would prepare the way for the Christ. An angel announced the conception of Christ to both Mary and Joseph. Angels appeared to the shepherds and proclaimed the message of good news that the Christ had been born. When christians die their souls are carried to the Father in heaven by the angels. On the last day angels will announce Jesus’ return with great fanfare. Angels are before the Father in heaven singing His praises. Thus, angels are pointing us to God, not to themselves, since their message is about Jesus the Christ.

While angels fighting for us may sound a bit more exciting, it’s actually much more beneficial that angels are messengers. They point us to Jesus, away from our prideful selves, away from temptations, and direct us to true salvation in the person of Jesus Christ. If demons are able to tempt us away from faith in God, then it goes to reason that angels may help us to resist temptations and cling in faith to our Lord. God knows how difficult it is to remain a Christian, so in mercy He sends His messengers to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God. The angels are usually invisible spirits, because it’s not about them, instead it’s about their Lord and ours who was crucified and risen for us, so that we may have peace and life in His name.

On the last day we will join our voices with the angels in paradise, singing the praises of God. Until that final and eternal day, we are privileged to sing two of the angels’ songs during the Divine Service: The Gloria In Excelsis, and the Sanctus. What a joy that we who are weak and needy may join our voices with the angels, being strengthened by them, and learning to evermore trust in God’s unending mercies.