Angels And Aliens
Sermon
Uplifting Christ Through Autumn
Sermons for the Fall Season
Object:
Like some giant, mystical flock of snow geese stopping momentarily in their fall flight to the south, they are winging at us once again for their annual visit of a few weeks or so before moving on.
I am talking, of course, about angels ... or at least what most of our society envisions as angels today.
I have sighted some earlier this year. They usually don't begin arriving until mid-October, but for the last week or two they have invaded my house, by way of the mailbox. Perched on the front and back covers, and scattered throughout the interior of early Christmas catalogs, were a vast variety of angels.
For example, for $169.95 one can purchase a twelve-piece angel band -- handcrafted and hand painted in Italy. There is a little saxophone player, a bassoonist, and a conductor. The catalog calls them "charming and delightful." They wear full-length dresses and smiles and wings. Perhaps an angel tree topper in a flowing gown of gold trimmed in burgundy and beige with a delicately painted porcelain face, could be purchased for $16.95. Or a musical angel, that spins on a stand as she plays "Silent Night" on her harp, costs $15.95.
The angels are coming again for their annual visit, earlier it seems, perhaps more numerous, but just as cute and colorful and symbolically powerless as last year.
Angels have been compared to the last few American bison in our zoos, caged in, swatting flies with their tails -- barely representing the mighty herds that once roamed the west. Angels and American buffalo whose numbers and power once shook the earth with thunder, but are now both just tokens -- a remnant of a spiritual breed that once was.
There are some indications today that bison are making a modest comeback in some national and state parks and on western cattle ranches; so perhaps there is hope for angels.
I must admit that as a young child, angels were a comforting concept. They were positive and joyful, although you could never pin them down. If they existed, good, and why not? God's world is positive and full of pleasant surprises. But as I got older, I really didn't think much about angels. Maybe what shut them out was the feathers, but all seemed rather foolish, although, I did not think it was proper to consider such endearing religious symbols as foolish. I just didn't think about it. Maybe it was those pink, baroque, naked-male-baby angels -- those little chubby cherubs painted by Rubens and others. I didn't have much time for them, never liked them, and their silly, coy smiles. I shut them out.
But as one who haunts the halls of art museums, it is difficult to study historical artwork of any culture -- Asian, African, European -- without being confronted with representations of angelic creatures that were something other than haunting and engaging, not pink, chubby, or naked; not all down-feathers and hand harps -- and yet not fully human either. They were something other --offering by their presence -- something other.
During a summer spent in Greece -- traipsing through Greek Orthodox churches and museums specializing in the Byzantine era -- I consciously wondered again about angels. The angels in the icons were creatures who could see beyond. I now have two copies of angel icons hanging in my office, one of which is Saint Michael peering out the window to the library garden below. If you take the angels represented there seriously, they hold a sense of awe, respect, fear, power, and authority. They are painted as one of us -- and yet a stranger -- something other.
Our Bible has close to 300 references to angels. I don't think we should ignore angels. If we are sincere in our quest for the meaning of our own personal purpose and how we fit into the very structure of existence, too much of that struggle has already been tied historically into tales of angelic encounters.
The usual Hebrew word for angel means simply "messenger -- envoy." Actually the concept of a heavenly messenger is deeply rooted in all the early religions of the Near East as it is in other cultures. Every major Mesopotamian, Hittite, Canaanite, and Egyptian god had his or her messengers who would directly relate to the world and the lives of humanity. Later the Greeks, the far Eastern religions, and the early European mythic, forest tales gathered in the Grimm brothers' collection, all had traditions of messengers from the divine realm who would intersect and change human life. These angels often took different forms -- some were even winged. The winged sphinx and griffin and humanoids of ninth-century B.C. Mesopotamian texts, for example, were later called cherubim and seraphim.
Under the Babylonians who captured Judea and Israel, the understanding of angels underwent a profound change. In the Babylonian structure of gods, angels were not merely messengers but were also the controlling spirits of natural phenomena -- wind, water, earthquake, and the like.
In our biblical scripture there is no set definition of angels. They play various roles. They appear, they surprise, they announce. They are strangers from beyond. They cannot be pinned down. They come and go freely. In the later apocalyptic writings of the Old Testament like in Daniel, and the books of the intertestamental period like Tobit, Levi, Enoch; and the New Testament book of Revelation, all influenced by Persian symbolic language and concepts, angels are grouped into forces -- divided into different ranks and varieties -- as vast armies -- salvation armies -- geared for a final confrontation with "the dark side of the force." The angel leaders were named Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, and Michael. Michael, for example, chief of the order of virtues, captain of the archangels, prince of the presence -- and by decree of Pope Pius XII in 1950 -- patron angel of policemen.
In the New Testament, we have messengers -- strangers -- angels -- who come into the story to offer a word that changes a life, and then they are gone. Both ephemeral and mystical, the Pharisees acknowledged angels but the Sadducees denied their existence. And the book of Revelation, as mentioned, offers the Persian concept of angels as the warriors against chaos.
At various times in history, since the New Testament, angels have fascinated theologians. A theologian in the thirteenth century claimed that there were nine choirs of angels, "each choir at 6,666 legions and each legion containing 6,666 angels." I am sure you all calculated that to be 399,920,004 angels in all. But don't worry about an angel population explosion, according to thirteenth-century biblical interpreters, angels are sexless, or at least faithful celibates, with zero population growth set at their creation.
On the other hand, one section of the Hebrew Talmud, a fifth-century encyclopedia of Jewish tradition, ethics, and folklore, stated that new angels are born with every word that God speaks. Another section of the Talmud said that every blade of grass has its angel, which bends over it and whispers to it, "grow, grow." Accordingly, every living organism was created with a guardian angel.
Medieval theologians wrote discourses on nine angelic ranks or choirs -- seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominions, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, and angels. Using the interlocking, abstract system of cosmology derived from Plato, philosophers divided the universe into nine spheres -- each with one of the nine choirs of angels assigned to it. Plain angels assigned to the inner core of the moon and earth (and us), for example: the seraphim assigned to the very principal or force behind the movement of all existence.
When Luther and the Reformation came about, angels were put on the back burner. Luther had nothing against angels and would even defend their existence, but what he also proclaimed was that people could directly approach God. One can go directly to the source of all, you need no intermediary, priest or pope, no blessed saints, and no ranks of angels. They were still to hold importance, but now, in the real presence of Christ, God is with us -- here -- in bread and wine and word. So, for many, all of a sudden, angels were theologically unemployed.
For many Christians they quickly slipped into cupids, or were finished off by rationalism, or are wrapped up with the Christmas tree ornaments most of the year. So why not leave them there? I personally can think of a number of reasons. They are mentioned about 300 times in our Bible. What was their message then? And how does that translate to us today? They often speak good news. Angels have been considered beings that can respond freely to God's love, who are not hampered by our physical limitations and human selfishness. Just for the sake of argument, why can this not be true? I think it is human arrogance to believe that we humans are the climax or ultimate of God's total creation.
To leave open the option of supra-human beings, beyond human, self-realized, love-bearing beings that praise God as the universal Creator, does not to revert back to the Dark Ages. As a civilization that has generated World Wars and now the nuclear blast potential to rend asunder the very fabric of the earth, we have little cause to designate the Middle Ages as dark.
Perhaps as NASA project, Pioneer 10, with its little gold anodized aluminum plaque affixed to its side with a symbol of peace on it and mathematical clues to its origin -- all designed for any inhabitants of other worlds who may intercept the satellite -- leaves our solar system at 30,558 miles per hour ... and as the 84-foot wide Harvard radio telescope north of Boston listens for hints of life in the depth of outer space -- perhaps especially now we can again be humble in the realization of our limited insight into other dimensions. Perhaps we can see more clearly that God is the ruler and prime power within and behind all dimensions and all creations and life forms -- even those that may be found to be other than ourselves. In this light, it is safe to say that angels, too, can certainly share in praising God. In this light also, angels remind us that existence has a universal dimension -- a universal dimension that is more than just a physical, astronomical universe but also a spiritual universe. The existence of angels suggests the fact that the very fabric of the universe beyond human understanding and sight unites in praise of the one primary force of creative love.
Angels are also reminders that nothing can separate us from the love and presence of God. Historically, as the distance between God and humans increased, angels became more important. In a moment of crushing separation, there was, in a sense, a knock at the door; and a stranger; and the very Word of God was spoken -- enacted. Walls of separation crumble when faced with the concept of an angel. Even the wall of death -- as a young stranger at a tomb spoke some good news that held -- and holds -- permanent power. Who was he? A man, a figment of one's imagination, an illusion, or a mythic story figure? But what does it matter if the truth is spoken? Perhaps, they are all real angels.
And, angels can give us some insights into good and evil that wrestles within each of us and the very cosmos. One of the deeper riddles of the biblical record is portrayed in the Revelation story of angels fighting in heaven. How could "blessed spirits" who eternally perceive the divine glory in heaven be so tempted to turn away from God? "Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven," Milton has Satan say.
Let me restate the question in a more personal way. How can we who are given life and the gifts of love turn away from the source of that life and love in pride and prejudice? The very battle between Michael and the dragon is fought not only in the clouds but also within each of us every day. Good and evil are ambiguously interwoven within. In this sense, demons and angels are not spooks in the night but constructive and destructive powers within the very heart and soul of each person and in each of our social groups and historical situations. The Fall of the Angels and the Fall of Adam are mirror images. They are the cosmos and the personal ethical and psychological interacting in the same arena of freedom.
Let us be kind to angels. I like their style and symbol. I like the mystery of it all. We are not alone. Love transcends. I like to be reminded of the vastness of God's intended universe. This is a day to remember that the direction of God's love spells out the final future. We are not in this alone. God does send messengers to us. Chaos does not have the final word -- personally or universally.
And our praise of God, our thanksgiving to God is not alone, the very mountains cry out and the sea roars, "Yes," and the creation beyond our comprehension also cries out in praise. It is not just this day that we should be open to angels and share praise with angels, but rather, all time. We share a life of praise to God -- the creator of the totality of reality. Amen.
I am talking, of course, about angels ... or at least what most of our society envisions as angels today.
I have sighted some earlier this year. They usually don't begin arriving until mid-October, but for the last week or two they have invaded my house, by way of the mailbox. Perched on the front and back covers, and scattered throughout the interior of early Christmas catalogs, were a vast variety of angels.
For example, for $169.95 one can purchase a twelve-piece angel band -- handcrafted and hand painted in Italy. There is a little saxophone player, a bassoonist, and a conductor. The catalog calls them "charming and delightful." They wear full-length dresses and smiles and wings. Perhaps an angel tree topper in a flowing gown of gold trimmed in burgundy and beige with a delicately painted porcelain face, could be purchased for $16.95. Or a musical angel, that spins on a stand as she plays "Silent Night" on her harp, costs $15.95.
The angels are coming again for their annual visit, earlier it seems, perhaps more numerous, but just as cute and colorful and symbolically powerless as last year.
Angels have been compared to the last few American bison in our zoos, caged in, swatting flies with their tails -- barely representing the mighty herds that once roamed the west. Angels and American buffalo whose numbers and power once shook the earth with thunder, but are now both just tokens -- a remnant of a spiritual breed that once was.
There are some indications today that bison are making a modest comeback in some national and state parks and on western cattle ranches; so perhaps there is hope for angels.
I must admit that as a young child, angels were a comforting concept. They were positive and joyful, although you could never pin them down. If they existed, good, and why not? God's world is positive and full of pleasant surprises. But as I got older, I really didn't think much about angels. Maybe what shut them out was the feathers, but all seemed rather foolish, although, I did not think it was proper to consider such endearing religious symbols as foolish. I just didn't think about it. Maybe it was those pink, baroque, naked-male-baby angels -- those little chubby cherubs painted by Rubens and others. I didn't have much time for them, never liked them, and their silly, coy smiles. I shut them out.
But as one who haunts the halls of art museums, it is difficult to study historical artwork of any culture -- Asian, African, European -- without being confronted with representations of angelic creatures that were something other than haunting and engaging, not pink, chubby, or naked; not all down-feathers and hand harps -- and yet not fully human either. They were something other --offering by their presence -- something other.
During a summer spent in Greece -- traipsing through Greek Orthodox churches and museums specializing in the Byzantine era -- I consciously wondered again about angels. The angels in the icons were creatures who could see beyond. I now have two copies of angel icons hanging in my office, one of which is Saint Michael peering out the window to the library garden below. If you take the angels represented there seriously, they hold a sense of awe, respect, fear, power, and authority. They are painted as one of us -- and yet a stranger -- something other.
Our Bible has close to 300 references to angels. I don't think we should ignore angels. If we are sincere in our quest for the meaning of our own personal purpose and how we fit into the very structure of existence, too much of that struggle has already been tied historically into tales of angelic encounters.
The usual Hebrew word for angel means simply "messenger -- envoy." Actually the concept of a heavenly messenger is deeply rooted in all the early religions of the Near East as it is in other cultures. Every major Mesopotamian, Hittite, Canaanite, and Egyptian god had his or her messengers who would directly relate to the world and the lives of humanity. Later the Greeks, the far Eastern religions, and the early European mythic, forest tales gathered in the Grimm brothers' collection, all had traditions of messengers from the divine realm who would intersect and change human life. These angels often took different forms -- some were even winged. The winged sphinx and griffin and humanoids of ninth-century B.C. Mesopotamian texts, for example, were later called cherubim and seraphim.
Under the Babylonians who captured Judea and Israel, the understanding of angels underwent a profound change. In the Babylonian structure of gods, angels were not merely messengers but were also the controlling spirits of natural phenomena -- wind, water, earthquake, and the like.
In our biblical scripture there is no set definition of angels. They play various roles. They appear, they surprise, they announce. They are strangers from beyond. They cannot be pinned down. They come and go freely. In the later apocalyptic writings of the Old Testament like in Daniel, and the books of the intertestamental period like Tobit, Levi, Enoch; and the New Testament book of Revelation, all influenced by Persian symbolic language and concepts, angels are grouped into forces -- divided into different ranks and varieties -- as vast armies -- salvation armies -- geared for a final confrontation with "the dark side of the force." The angel leaders were named Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, and Michael. Michael, for example, chief of the order of virtues, captain of the archangels, prince of the presence -- and by decree of Pope Pius XII in 1950 -- patron angel of policemen.
In the New Testament, we have messengers -- strangers -- angels -- who come into the story to offer a word that changes a life, and then they are gone. Both ephemeral and mystical, the Pharisees acknowledged angels but the Sadducees denied their existence. And the book of Revelation, as mentioned, offers the Persian concept of angels as the warriors against chaos.
At various times in history, since the New Testament, angels have fascinated theologians. A theologian in the thirteenth century claimed that there were nine choirs of angels, "each choir at 6,666 legions and each legion containing 6,666 angels." I am sure you all calculated that to be 399,920,004 angels in all. But don't worry about an angel population explosion, according to thirteenth-century biblical interpreters, angels are sexless, or at least faithful celibates, with zero population growth set at their creation.
On the other hand, one section of the Hebrew Talmud, a fifth-century encyclopedia of Jewish tradition, ethics, and folklore, stated that new angels are born with every word that God speaks. Another section of the Talmud said that every blade of grass has its angel, which bends over it and whispers to it, "grow, grow." Accordingly, every living organism was created with a guardian angel.
Medieval theologians wrote discourses on nine angelic ranks or choirs -- seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominions, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, and angels. Using the interlocking, abstract system of cosmology derived from Plato, philosophers divided the universe into nine spheres -- each with one of the nine choirs of angels assigned to it. Plain angels assigned to the inner core of the moon and earth (and us), for example: the seraphim assigned to the very principal or force behind the movement of all existence.
When Luther and the Reformation came about, angels were put on the back burner. Luther had nothing against angels and would even defend their existence, but what he also proclaimed was that people could directly approach God. One can go directly to the source of all, you need no intermediary, priest or pope, no blessed saints, and no ranks of angels. They were still to hold importance, but now, in the real presence of Christ, God is with us -- here -- in bread and wine and word. So, for many, all of a sudden, angels were theologically unemployed.
For many Christians they quickly slipped into cupids, or were finished off by rationalism, or are wrapped up with the Christmas tree ornaments most of the year. So why not leave them there? I personally can think of a number of reasons. They are mentioned about 300 times in our Bible. What was their message then? And how does that translate to us today? They often speak good news. Angels have been considered beings that can respond freely to God's love, who are not hampered by our physical limitations and human selfishness. Just for the sake of argument, why can this not be true? I think it is human arrogance to believe that we humans are the climax or ultimate of God's total creation.
To leave open the option of supra-human beings, beyond human, self-realized, love-bearing beings that praise God as the universal Creator, does not to revert back to the Dark Ages. As a civilization that has generated World Wars and now the nuclear blast potential to rend asunder the very fabric of the earth, we have little cause to designate the Middle Ages as dark.
Perhaps as NASA project, Pioneer 10, with its little gold anodized aluminum plaque affixed to its side with a symbol of peace on it and mathematical clues to its origin -- all designed for any inhabitants of other worlds who may intercept the satellite -- leaves our solar system at 30,558 miles per hour ... and as the 84-foot wide Harvard radio telescope north of Boston listens for hints of life in the depth of outer space -- perhaps especially now we can again be humble in the realization of our limited insight into other dimensions. Perhaps we can see more clearly that God is the ruler and prime power within and behind all dimensions and all creations and life forms -- even those that may be found to be other than ourselves. In this light, it is safe to say that angels, too, can certainly share in praising God. In this light also, angels remind us that existence has a universal dimension -- a universal dimension that is more than just a physical, astronomical universe but also a spiritual universe. The existence of angels suggests the fact that the very fabric of the universe beyond human understanding and sight unites in praise of the one primary force of creative love.
Angels are also reminders that nothing can separate us from the love and presence of God. Historically, as the distance between God and humans increased, angels became more important. In a moment of crushing separation, there was, in a sense, a knock at the door; and a stranger; and the very Word of God was spoken -- enacted. Walls of separation crumble when faced with the concept of an angel. Even the wall of death -- as a young stranger at a tomb spoke some good news that held -- and holds -- permanent power. Who was he? A man, a figment of one's imagination, an illusion, or a mythic story figure? But what does it matter if the truth is spoken? Perhaps, they are all real angels.
And, angels can give us some insights into good and evil that wrestles within each of us and the very cosmos. One of the deeper riddles of the biblical record is portrayed in the Revelation story of angels fighting in heaven. How could "blessed spirits" who eternally perceive the divine glory in heaven be so tempted to turn away from God? "Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven," Milton has Satan say.
Let me restate the question in a more personal way. How can we who are given life and the gifts of love turn away from the source of that life and love in pride and prejudice? The very battle between Michael and the dragon is fought not only in the clouds but also within each of us every day. Good and evil are ambiguously interwoven within. In this sense, demons and angels are not spooks in the night but constructive and destructive powers within the very heart and soul of each person and in each of our social groups and historical situations. The Fall of the Angels and the Fall of Adam are mirror images. They are the cosmos and the personal ethical and psychological interacting in the same arena of freedom.
Let us be kind to angels. I like their style and symbol. I like the mystery of it all. We are not alone. Love transcends. I like to be reminded of the vastness of God's intended universe. This is a day to remember that the direction of God's love spells out the final future. We are not in this alone. God does send messengers to us. Chaos does not have the final word -- personally or universally.
And our praise of God, our thanksgiving to God is not alone, the very mountains cry out and the sea roars, "Yes," and the creation beyond our comprehension also cries out in praise. It is not just this day that we should be open to angels and share praise with angels, but rather, all time. We share a life of praise to God -- the creator of the totality of reality. Amen.
