Saints Alive

Saint of the Month for September

September 29: The Feast of Michael and All Archangels
Scripture: Psalms 8, 34, 104, 148, 150;
Job 38: 1-7; Daniel 12: 1-3;
2 Kings 6: 8-17; Hebrews 1: 1-14; Mark 13: 21-27;
Revelation 5: 1-14

This is the only holy day designated in the Book of Common Prayer to angels. There are just three archangels mentioned by name in the Bible. These are Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.
Michael is perhaps the most prominent of the three. He is an important figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. (The Muslims believe his tears formed the cherubim when they fell.) He is the helper of the Jews in the Old Testament. It is he who appears to Moses in the burning bush and he who wrestles with Abraham. It was his voice that Joan of Arc says she heard, encouraging her to lead the French to victory against the English. Traditionally, Michael is considered God’s commander in chief. He is the angel who cast Lucifer out of heaven, and will lead the victorious heavenly army against Satan in the final battle, as Revelation proclaims. Many visions of Michael have been reported throughout history, including as late as WW II, when he appeared on battlefields in Italy, France and England. His emblems are scales (for weighing souls), a dragon (representing his fight against evil) and the sword. Michael is seen as an intercessor so powerful he can rescue souls from hell. His patronage includes artists, soldiers, police officers, and the dying.
Gabriel, like Michael, is one of the three angels seated at God’s throne. Gabriel appears to Daniel in the Old Testament and announces the time of the Messiah to him. He interprets visions of the prophet. It is Gabriel who appears to Zechariah and tells him about the birth of John the Baptist. Of course, Gabriel’s most famous mission was that of appearing to Mary, to tell her she had been chosen by God to deliver the Messiah. Angelic lore also has Gabriel as governor over the Garden of Eden, defending the Tree of Life. His name was first invoked in the Liturgy in the Litany of Saints in the seventh century. His emblems are the spear, the shield, and the lily, a symbol of purity. His appearance to Mary has been the subject of many paintings in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. His patronage includes telecommunication and television workers, diplomats, and postal service workers.
Raphael’s Hebrew name means “the shining one who heals.” In the Jewish Old Testament, in the book of Tobit, Raphael appears disguised as a young man named Azarias. He helps another man, Tobias, catch a fish which cures the blindness of Tobias’ father. Raphael is the angel who helps cast out evil spirits; it is he who “troubles the waters” of the curative pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, and he who heals the earth when it is defiled by the sins of the fallen angels. He moves the waters of the healing sheep pool in John 5: 1-4. Raphael is shown with the emblems of the gall of fish and a jar of ointment. His patronage includes pharmacists, health inspectors, travelers, and young people leaving home. In today’s modern world it’s easy to dismiss angels as folklore along with fairies and ghosts. What is interesting about these three angels is their prominence in the Bible, as well as in the three major monotheistic religions of the world—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Perhaps our lesson is a reminder that we are always in God’s protection and care, no matter what evils befall us.

-Beth Savage