Feast of St. Michael and All Angels

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To the best of our understanding, the celebration of the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels is historically dated to the fifth century A.D. and was “especially popular in medieval England. The institution of the feast goes back to when a basilica was dedicated to St. Michael on the Via Salaria, a little north of Rome – the first church in Italy dedicated in honor of the archangel.”¹ — I think, if I conducted a poll, I would receive varying opinions from Christians, and even people here at St. Mark’s, about angelology. Angelology is the systematic study of the theology of angels as presented to us in Holy Scripture. Most Christians do not have a robust angelology, but the Bible frequently speaks of angels and their ministry. 

“Belief in angels of the heavenly realm as attendants upon GOD’s court, ministers of His will, succorers of GOD’s people, and representatives of the powers of nature, was a fairly late development in Hebrew religion; though the doctrine was not accepted by the Sadducees [in JESUS’ day]. It was fostered by the Pharisees, and in general, was popular with the Jewish people … Of course, modern men, trained in scientific habits of thought, are naturally skeptical about angelology, and tend to view the whole subject as belonging more to the realm of poetic imagination than to actuality.”² —So then, what is our Anglican angelology, and what lesson should we draw from the angels on this feast day, particularly from St. Michael and the choirs of angels like him, all of whom are dedicated to serving the Everlasting GOD of Heaven?    

We are aided in our pursuit of these questions by the assistance of our Collect on this feast day. In it, we prayed, “O Everlasting GOD, who hast ordained and constituted the services of Angels and men in a wonderful order…”³ — Has GOD indeed constituted the service of angels as He has men? If so, this should significantly influence our theological notions about angels. The bookends of the Bible, and many books in between, inform us about the services of angels to GOD. Think back to the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit and died, spiritually. What did GOD say and what did GOD do? — Well, according to Genesis 3.22-24, we read: “Then the LORD GOD said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever’— therefore the LORD GOD sent man out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So, GOD drove out the man, and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.” — GOD constituted the services of angels in the very beginning of human history, to guard and protect what was holy and precious in His sight. They were not only to keep the primordial, terrestrial Temple of Eden safe; they were also posted as sentinels to keep mankind from despoiling his chance for redemption by eating of the Tree of Eternal Life, before they had been redeemed by the second Adam, Christ.  

At the other end of the Bible, in the Book of the Revelation, we see angels constituted for the service of GOD in a plethora of ways. There is a host of angels assigned to offer praise and thanksgiving to the LORD GOD, day and night, saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, who was, and is, and is to come” (Revelation 4.8). — Further, in the Apocalypse of Christ revealed to St. John the Divine, the angels blew the trumpets of judgment and poured out the chalices (bowls) of the wrath of GOD on the Harlot, mystery Babylon, who is also called spiritual Egypt and Sodom. — And as our Epistle reading reveals, the angels fought the forces of darkness on GOD’s behalf, and they prevailed – serving GOD and protecting mankind. As our Collect says, the angels of Light obey GOD and ‘always do Him service in Heaven.’ In today’s Epistle scene from Revelation 12, it is Michael, the Archangel, along with his angels, who battle with the dragon, that serpent of old, the Devil, Satan and his dark angels. And as a result of this contest, we are told, “the Devil was cast to the earth, and his [fallen] angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12.9). 

The Devil (whose name means ‘accuser’ or ‘slanderer’) who disguises himself as an angel of light, but whose heart, in contrast to Michael’s, was not, and is not set on serving GOD and defending mankind on earth. The Devil, unlike Michael (whose name means, ‘who is like unto GOD’), “deceives the whole world … and accused the brethren before our GOD, day and night” (Revelation 12.7 & 10). That is, he did these things until he was thrown out of Heaven by the command of GOD and the might of St. Michael and all his angels. — The Devil was created by GOD to be ‘the accuser’, but that was not enough for him – he sought more. He also became the deceiver. The prophet Isaiah tells us of the Devil’s dark, corrupt, underhanded intentions, when he writes: “For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of GOD; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north [in the most exalted seat in the congregation]; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High’” (Isaiah 14.13-14).  

In this passage from Isaiah 14, the Devil is called Lucifer, which means ‘bright morning star’. This is an appropriate description of Satan, especially since the morning star is brightest at dawn. And yet, when the sun rises, from which the star finds its glory, it is rapidly overcome and darkened by the radiant ascendency of the sun. — Further, in prophecies of Daniel, as Michael is assigned to be the guardian and patron angel of spiritual Israel, so Lucifer is the guardian and patron angel of Babylon. But not Babylon alone, but all nations and political systems like her; those that seek to destroy the true spiritual Israel and remnant of GOD. This is made clear in the book of Daniel when an angel speaks to the prophet of GOD in a vision concerning the deliverance of faithful Israel from the Persians. That angel says to Daniel, “And now I must return to fight with the prince [and patron angel] of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince [and patron angel] of Greece will come. But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these [sinister principalities and powers], except Michael your prince, [and patron and true angel of Light])” (Daniel 10.20-21).  

Dear St. Mark’s, the people and ‘Israel of GOD’ (cf. Gal. 6.16), the charge assigned to us today is clear. Our Collect prayer makes a statement of fact: ‘the holy Angels always do GOD service in Heaven’; our assignment is thus, to do the same for GOD here on earth – especially since the LORD has set us both in a wonderful order. To be successful in this commission, we must draw a distinction between the attitude and heart of Michael and his angels, and the heart and attitude of the Devil and his angels. The Devil, “that old enemy [of GOD and His chosen people], whose pride had puffed him up, so that he was fain (desirous) to be like unto GOD … hath no strength of his own … and he is destined to perish in the last death in the Lake of Fire – [being a corrupted enemy of GOD].”⁴ This is a result of his pride and arrogancy in seeking to outshine the Son – to be likened unto the Most High GOD – to sit in the highest seat in the congregation of hosts at the end of the age. — Michael, on the other hand, perhaps the mightiest and most important of GOD’s angelic creatures, is steadfast in his faithfulness and allegiance to the Most-High. St. Jude tells us that “While contending with the Devil … [Michael] dared not bring against [him], a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The LORD rebuke you’” (Jude 1.9). — Michael has earned the title of Saint in the Church, not because he sought his own will, nor by the reasoning of his own mind in an attempt to annihilate Lucifer in debate, but instead, trusted GOD’s plan and power, saying simply, ‘the LORD rebuke you.’  

As one commentator has said: “Though this contest was mightily eager and earnest, and Michael was victorious in the issue, yet he would not bring a railing accusation against the devil himself; he knew a good cause needed no such weapons to be employed in its defense. It is said that he durst not bring, etc. Why durst he not? Not that he was afraid of the devil, but he believed GOD would be offended if, in such a dispute, he went that way to work [in the power of his own might]; he thought it below him to engage in a trial of skill with the great enemy of GOD and of man, which of them should out-scold or out-rail the other: a memorandum to all disputants, never to bring railing accusations into their contests.”⁵ This is the lesson today for us, the Church! Let us not esteem ourselves more highly than we ought, thinking we can overcome the world, the flesh, and the Devil by the power of anything save the Word of the LORD. ‘The LORD rebuke you!’, must be our battle cry.   

To make this point even more relevant to us, the Anglican Divines couple the Gospel of St. Matthew 18 with the narrative about St. Michael’s defeat of the Devil and his angels in Revelation 12. In today’s Gospel lesson, JESUS brings a child into His midst with the disciples and begins to describe that child as the greatest in the Kingdom.  

In Jewish society, much like our own post-Christian, secular society, children possessed little sociological importance. Children are primarily consumers and not producers. Depending upon the pedological critic that you encounter, children are either viewed as an impediment to personal independence and professional advancement, or they are consumers of limited resources in the world, and their numbers need to be autocratically managed. In either case, children, in most societies, are viewed as some of the least valuable individuals in that society. — Thus, JESUS brings a child into the conversation to answer the question that the disciples have just asked Him in St. Matthew 18: “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (v. 1). 

The disciples had their minds set on things below. They were disputing amongst themselves as to who would rank the highest in the Kingdom that JESUS was ushering in. — The elect three (Peter, James, and John), had just witnessed JESUS transfigured on Mount Hermon in the presence of Moses and Elijah, and after hearing the voice of GOD the Father, these disciples reasoned that JESUS was to inherit the kingdoms of the world, as political and religious Israel expected their Messiah to do. — Thus, it was obvious to the Twelve from these things, as well as the things the LORD had said earlier, that JESUS would be establishing a Kingdom that would supersede in power, might, and authority, any kingdom on the earth. The disciples were only aligning themselves with traditional Judean lore and jockeying for position in the earthly Messianic kingdom they anticipated.  

To teach them the valuable lesson that St. Michael has already shown us, JESUS brings the smallest, most dependent, and needy being among them to demonstrably make His point. “Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me’” (St. Matthew 18.2-5).  

Unlike St. Michael, but more like Lucifer, the disciples began to contend with one another over earthly greatness. In the parallel account to this scene in the Gospel of St. Mark, we read, “for on the road the twelve had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest” (St. Mark 9.34). — On this, St. Augustine of Hippo comments: “The Gospel relates that they contended which of them should be the greatest, and whilst the LORD was yet on earth, they were agitated by a dissension about pre-eminence. Whence was this, but from the old leaven of malice and wickedness? Whence, but from the law in the members, resisting the law of the renewed mind? They sought for eminence; yea, they desired it [as Lucifer did in Isaiah 14 – as Nebuchadnezzar did in Daniel 4 – as the Devil did in Revelation 12]; they thought which should be the greatest; therefore, is their pride put to shame by a little child. JESUS calleth unto Him, one of the age of humility, to tame the swelling and prideful desire.”⁶ ‘Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven’, the LORD announces. 

The ministry of angels, especially of Saint Michael the Archangel and all angels like him, is to the Everlasting GOD and to mankind. It is a type and sign for us to follow. They do not contend with the LORD, His Word, nor with His adversaries – they simply obey in faithful dutifulness, and they trust completely upon Christ like little children upon their parents. With the greatest of hope, dependence, and innocence, the holy angels follow after the Father. This is the lesson for us today. St. Michael and all his angels reveal a pattern of faithful living that we can imitate, preventing us from pursuing glory, station, and greatness for ourselves. Whoever will receive the ministry and example of the angels, archangels, and all the company of Heaven, like little children, will also receive Christ JESUS. Whoever humbles himself or herself like a little child, he or she is the greatest in the Kingdom of GOD in Christ.  

Dear St. Mark’s, “Note, how many love to hear and speak of privileges and glory, who are willing to pass by the thoughts of humility and weekness. They look so much at the crown that they forget the yoke and the cross … JESUS spoke many words of His sufferings, but only a few of His ‘glories’. Yet the Twelve fastened upon that those and overlooked the others on suffering; and, instead of asking how they might have strength and grace to suffer with him, they asked him, ‘Who shall be highest in reigning with You, LORD? … Humility is a lesson so hardly learned that we have need by all ways and means to be taught it, over and over again.’”⁷  

May we, like Michael and all the angels of Light, humble ourselves like little children, obeying the Everlasting GOD in expectant hopefulness, not contending with the LORD, one another, or with the ‘accuser.’ Let us with the angels, and all men who call upon the LORD to be saved, serve GOD in our proper order, overcoming the evil one, the world, and the flesh by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of our testimony. Then, having overcome, you, JESUS promises will be granted to sit with Him on His throne, even as He also overcame … by humbling Himself, even to the humbling of Himself to death on the Cross for you and for me. — Unless you become like a little child – unless you and I become like St. Michael – unless we become like JESUS, we cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen.    

1-2 Sheppard Jr., Massey H., The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary, (New York: Oxford Press, 1950), 251-252. 

3 1928 Book of Common Prayer, 251. 

4 The Anglican Breviary, (Chicago, R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company, The Lakeside Press, 1998), 1464. 

5 BlueLetterBible.org. “Commentary on St. Jude 1.9”. Accessed 1 October 2025. https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Jud/Jud_001.cfm?a=1167001. 

6 Saint Augustine. Christian Classics Ethereal Library.org. “Homily XCV: Harmony of the Gospels.” Accessed 2 October 2025. https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf106/npnf106.vii.xcvii.html?scrBook=Matt&scrCh=18&scrV=2#fna_vii.xcvii-p39.2. 

7 BlueLetterBible.org. “Commentary on St. Matthew 18:1-5”. Accessed 2 October 2025. https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Mat/Mat_018.cfm?a=947001.