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The Reappearance of Angels

Easter Vigil : 19 April 2014

As the 1960s wore on a consensus began to emerge between sociologists of religion and radical theologians about the way things were going to be for organised religion in modern societies in the future. Secularisation was steadily spreading through every nook and cranny of western culture, eroding the possibilities of a religious worldview. The only forms of religious faith that would survive in this situation were those that were prepared to adapt themselves to this reality, which would tone down all the God flannel, and which would make themselves relevant and meaningful to their no nonsense, this worldly neighbour. It was in these years that trendy clergy began to utter fatuous phrases from the pulpit such as, "every year I believe less and less more and more."

So imagine the surprise when in 1970 the respected sociologist of religion Peter Berger published a book entitled, "A Rumour of Angels: the Rediscovery of the Supernatural." The title pointed in the direction of the intriguing contradictory evidence that thoughtful observers had been considering while the so-called irresistible tide of secularisation had been rolling on. How come so many young people in the west were embracing with so much enthusiasm every variety of eastern meditation and esoteric religion? Why was it that spiritual writers such as Thomas Merton were so popular, and that books on contemplation and mysticism were selling like hot cakes. Certainly religious orders were losing monks and nuns in their droves, but the casualties in the main were from the active orders, the useful, practical people who one would have thought would have been basking in the approval of the secular world. Moreover, while that was going on the contemplative, enclosed orders that were focused on the so-called useless activity of prayer were either holding their own, or were growing. And if religious practice was such a chore and a bore why was it that intense forms of religiosity such as Pentecostalism and the charismatic movement were coming on like gangbusters?

The truth of course is that the human spirit craves a vital religious impulse, and that those communities of faith who are ready, willing and able to traffic in the things of the spirit will do well in any age. Just at the time when the spiritually hungry young people of the west were looking for the vertical dimension of religion in all its transcendent glory and spiritual richness, the church had been seduced by the hollow glamour of a demystified modernity. The return of the angels that Berger pointed to was the sign that God was back on the spiritual landscape, with many surprising consequences to follow.

In the New Testament too, angels come and go according to crucial movements of the Spirit. We heard of them around Christmas time as they came down out of the night sky outside Bethlehem to startle the shepherds. Already Mary had received a visit from one, with amazing news about her gynaecological future. And as Jesus prepares to begin his ministry by coming to terms with his temptations in the desert, angels succour him during his 40-day fast.

But there has been a three-year absence of angels during the ministry of Jesus. Now, tonight, in the way Matthew tells it, the first witnesses of the resurrection are confronted by a vivid and powerful reappearance of an angel.

The function of angels is to bring momentous news from God – but they are not just messengers – they also prepare the ground, and emotionally prepare people, so that they are in a position to receive this startling information. As any of us know who have had to be the bearer of either sad or happy news it is essential to do some preliminary work, some tuning in to the person concerned, rather than just blurting it out. Angels are in the business of helping people through these kinds of transitions so that they are in a space and a place to hear what God has to say. Given that Mary of Magdala and Mary are about to meet the risen Jesus face to face, they need all the help they can get.

But the reappearance of angels is of significance at another level also. Another momentous transition is occurring, another changing of the gears is under way in terms of God’s revelatory activity, and another mode of disclosure of God the Word is coming into clear focus. That is the other function of angels – they are heralds of a new dawn of God’s relationship with us.

Jewish people at that time expected that resurrection from the dead was what would happen to all people at the end of time. What the two Mary’s have just discovered is that it has happened to one person in the middle of time. This means that time will go on, but from a radically changed perspective. Now it will be the time of God’s patience and forbearance as he gives the human race enough time to respond to his gracious offer of inclusion in his new offer of salvation. The entire human race is to be invited into the experience of homecoming to its loving creator. Those who have been witnesses of this one resurrection in the middle of time are to be the fishermen and the harvesters of this great catch of souls. These immediate followers of Jesus are about to have their mission redefined and enlarged. They are no longer to go just to the household of Israel. Now they are to go out to the entire world to whoever will listen to them.

That isn’t the last we shall see of angels either. They reappear in a major way in the last book of the Bible. In the book of Revelation they have vital tasks to perform in heaven, and they do battle with the agencies of spiritual evil. Their contest parallels the struggles of the saints on the earth as they contend for the gospel truth despite persecution and opposition. Michael the archangel, the prince of the heavenly host, is the captain of a band that is working in concert with Christian believers in every age and place.

In 2014 we would be surprised to see beautiful heavenly creatures in Renaissance dress coming into our presence on graceful wings. Yet we might like to ask ourselves – what and where are the rumours of angels in our time? Where are the signs of a vital, supernaturally charged Christianity in our day? Does our faith community have the hallmarks of a religion of mystery and wonder that does justice to the power of the resurrection? Here at the Easter Vigil, though small in number, we are joined I am sure by a great number of the company of heaven, the angels and archangels, who surround us on every side, joining in our every hymn of praise.