September 29, 2019 – St. Michael and All Angels Text: Matthew 18:1-11
Dear Friends in Christ,
I was blessed to have a step-grandfather for 27 years after my grandma had been widowed for 16 years. Many of you know he lived to 102. He was a faithful Christian. When he was around 90 he still liked to drive. My grandparents lived in a trailer on a busy four-lane highway in Kenosha, Wisconsin. My grandpa Dan figured he could pull out in traffic and they could stop for him.
One afternoon grandpa Dan, two of his son-in-laws, and myself went golfing west of Kenosha. We had to take a two-lane highway to the course. Grandpa Dan was all over the road on the way. Without even looking at me, one his son-in-law’s, who was sitting in the front asked, “Chad, do you believe in angels?” I answered, “Yes.” I asked him if he believed in angels and he replied without missing a beat, “I sure do today!”
We think of angels when we travel and at various other times but what do we know about them? Can you relate? As you go about your daily routine . . .
“WHO IS YOUR GUARDIAN?”
Before we get to our verse about angels in our text, we first have some in-your-face teaching from Jesus about personal greatness. The disciples want to know who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. This question had caused quite a stir among these men. It was a bad question that they had argued about long enough. Let’s take the question to Jesus.
This question of greatness is today’s question of success and power and glory. Who is successful? Who has more power? Who gets the glory? Some have been pushed since childhood toward these endeavors. Maybe you are in the midst of a power struggle right now at work or at home or with a spouse or a child.
In his book Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller has an entire chapter on the idols of power and glory. He takes it back to the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve didn’t like the limits God put on their power. Keller writes: “We gave in to this temptation and now it is part of our nature. Rather than accept our finitude and dependence on God, we desperately seek ways to assure ourselves that we still have power over our own lives. But this is an illusion.”
So the athletic hulk bullies the wimpy student at school. Two execs enjoy a cocktail after another round of downsizing with little compassion for those who didn’t make it. They feel the power.
Power and success will ultimately disappoint. I am no fan of Tom Brady, the star quarterback for the New England Patriots, who has won numerous Super Bowls and awards. He said this on 60 Minutes in 2007: “Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? There’s gotta be more than this.” The interviewer then asked, “What’s the answer?” Brady replied, “I wish I knew. I wish I knew.”
When Jesus answers the disciples question He puts an object lesson in front of them – a child. This is an example of true greatness. A child is dependent upon parents for care and nurture. A child is humble.
It is the great reversal. Instead of looking up a ladder to see how great we can become we look down to see how little we must become. The power and glory belong to God. We are dependent upon Him. Who is your guardian?
Jesus became like a “little one.” He humbled himself unto death, even death on a cross. In humility, he leaned on his Father in prayer. As he died for the sins of the whole world, he whispered a traditional bedtime prayer from Ps. 31:5, “Into your hand I commit my spirit.” Faith calls us to trust God for our eternal life – that in grace he has provided everything for our salvation.
Jesus says in verse 10, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” Jesus’ is saying we shouldn’t be deceived by the littleness of little ones. These little ones have attending them mighty angels who come from the very presence of their heavenly Father.
On this St. Michael and All Angels Day, we remember the victory of archangel Michael and the good angels over Satan in Revelation 12, our Epistle Reading this morning. We remember the angel Gabriel in Luke 1 carrying the news to Mary that she would give birth to the Savior of the world. We also celebrate the work of angels who guard and protect God’s people just like that day on the way to the golf course. The angels also ministered to Jesus in his time of temptation.
So, who is your guardian? It is our Lord and His Holy Angels. Because Jesus, the servant of God, trumps our desire for power and glory by pointing us to a child and to the angels. Do you believe? I pray you can say, “I sure do today!”
Amen.