“Serve, Sing, Speak”
Original sermon given September 29, 2024, written and delivered by Pastor Jeffrey Leininger at First Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church.
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“Serve, Sing, Speak"
Luke 10.17-20
Luke 10.17-20
In the name of the Living God and the risen Christ. Amen.
The gospel according to Bill… Shakespeare. Hamlet, Act I, v. (You may remain seated. As much as I like Shakespeare, we won’t be doing a second gospel processional!) Hamlet, having just seen his father’s ghost, turns to his skeptical scholar friend, Horatio, and reminds him, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
Today, the church celebrates Michaelmas—the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels. In a way, it’s our “more things in heaven and earth” day. Of course, we’re not talking about ghosts, as was our tragically indecisive Hamlet, but about the biblical truth that there are indeed Spiritual beings all around us. There exist non-corporeal, intelligent, individual creatures, who have been given certain powers, but are not omniscient or omnipotent or omnipresent. They’re muchmore like us, than like God, let’s keep in mind—although they serve God in a way different than us.
And of course, as beautiful and inspiring as this thought is, it’s accompanied with a dark reality, as our readings make clear. There’s a shadow to this angelic light. The book of Revelation tears back the curtain, giving us a glimpse of a time beyond time, when one third of these angelic beings rebelled against God. Bad news for us: though defeated, they’re thrown down to earth, led by the ancient serpent, Satan. “Woe to the earth and the sea”, we’re told (Revelation 12.12). We don’t have to read much of human history to confirm this dark reality. We don’t even have to get out of the 21st century. Woe, indeed.
St. Paul too confirms this dark reality when he reminds us in Ephesians 6 about the real battle: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6.12). There is real evil. It’s personal, powerful, intelligent, and active on earth, equally in league with the world and our own sinful flesh.
But today is “St. Michael and All Angels” not the “Devil and his Demons Day”, so how about we talk more about the light than the darkness?
If there is one theme that we find throughout scripture as we read about these angelic beings, it is that in all their work, they point to the work of God. When they minister and protect us on earth, they do so as an extension of the Lord’s hands. When they sing, they sing about Christ’s salvation. When they encourage people, they tell them that the Lord is with them. When they rescue people from physical danger (and we’re told that they do), it is always at God’s bidding. In short, if your angel ain’t talkin’ about Christ, it ain’t an angel you’re talking to!
The church at one time was rather apologetic about its “angelology”—that’s the technical theological word for our teaching on Angels. These days it seems different. It seems that more people have a desire to connect with spiritual things. If there’s “more things in heaven and earth” than we can see or touch or prove, there’s a desire to somehow connect to spiritual things and spiritual beings. Spirituality is “in.” Much of this can be misdirected, or misguided. (Remember: if your angel ain’t talking about Christ, it ain’t an angel you’re talking to!) I would suggest that there are three ways angels do God’s work—and thus also three ways we mortals join with them in their work. Three “S”s will make it easy to remember: serve with them, sing with them, speak with them.
The first “s” is service. We know that Angels at times serve as extensions of God’s providential care in the world. They came and ministered to the physical needs of our Lord, after his temptation in the wilderness, for example (Mark 1.13). And at his loneliest and darkest hour in the Garden of Gethsemane—as he was preparing to bear the weight of all this world’s sin—so burdened was he that he sweat drops of blood. But St. Luke gives this detail that an angel came and ministered to him (Luke 22.43). Even the son of God, in his full humanity, needed the physical intervention of angels.
Psalm 91, which our choir will sing during communion, also reminds us of God’s providential care through angelic beings. God will “command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91.11). So the first thing I would suggest if you really want to connect with Angels is to work alongside them: be an extension of God’s hands by caring for the physical needs of others. Serve with them. We do so much of this work through our Community Meals program and social ministry work at First Saint Paul’s. (You might even be able to see some wings sticking out behind our backs!)
The second way you can connect with Angels is to sing with them, that is, through worship. Okay, not everyone is a great singer, but we are all called to worship. When we worship, we worship not only with those we see here. The Book of Revelation makes it clear that when we sing the praises of our great God—when our alleluias to the lamb who was slain are lifted up—they are joined with the voices of the heavenly host, which never fade. Our choir numbers tens of thousands this morning! And in particular during the Lord’s Supper, we join with the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, singing “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise” (Revelation 5.12). I think it’s fair for a pastor to say, if you really want to join with the angels, come to church!
So, the first way to connect with Angels is to serve with them; the second is to sing with them—to be present in worship, where we know that we worship not alone but join our voices with them in unending praise.
The third is to speak with them. Most often when Angels appear in the New Testament, it is to proclaim the good news of who Christ is and what he has done. They give witness to the salvation of the world, in Jesus Christ, and to his ultimate victory over evil. Gabriel tells Mary that she will bear “the Holy One, the Son of God” (Luke 1.35). An angel brings good news to the Shepherds, today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you, who is Christ (Messiah) the Lord (Luke 2.11). The word “angel” literally means “messenger”. We join the work of the angels most importantly by our confession of faith, our witness of the good news of Jesus. We unite with them as we stand next to them and point in the same direction: towards Christ.
Note in this somewhat scary scene revelated to us in Revelation 12, how we overcome the great accuser: “They conquer by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” Satan is silenced by what Christ our Lord has done for us. His blood forgives our sins; his sacrificial death declares us innocent; his resurrection opens the throne room of heaven for us. We connect with and work with God’s angelic beings when we proclaim with them the saving work of Christ: here, in this place, in our city, and to the ends of the earth. Satan rages in battle on this earth, but the ultimate victory has been won through Christ’s work, which we give witness to.
There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our world’s philosophy. Hamlet is more right than Horatio. Some of it is dark and sobering, and we have to be honest about this reality. But if you ever get confused, or frightened, or lost, or anxious, or feel oppressed by the darkness, or depressed by the woe of this world, remember this simple formula: serve, sing, speak. By so doing you participate in angelic work. Serve someone in need. Sing God’s praises in regular worship, with the angels and all those who have gone before us. Speak the gospel of Christ’s victory over sin and Satan—speak it to yourself, as well—and to one another—for the battle rages on, but the victory is assured. Merry Michaelmas.
ThCome soon, Lord Jesus. Amen.