St. Michael and All Angels by the Rev. Bonnie Matthews, Deacon
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Sermon by the Rev. Bonnie Matthews, Deacon
Trinity Episcopal Church, Hartford, CT
September 29, 2013
St Michael & All Angels
Gensis 28:10-17 Psalm 103 Revelation 12:7-12 Luke 16:19-31
Bless the Lord my soul and bless God’s Holy name.
Bless the Lord my soul He leads me into life.
For those of you who read the lessons assigned for any given Sunday prior to the service, you may notice the scripture we heard this morning does not follow the Revised Common Lectionary appointed for today the 19th Sunday of Pentecost. Today the lessons are a combination of lessons appointed for the 19th Sunday of Pentecost and The Feast of St Michael and All Angels September 29th , which this year was moved to Monday.
During the collect for The Feast of St Michael and all Angels, we gave thanks for God’s loving care given to us by the ministries of angels and mortals directly and indirectly watching over us.
When presented with the concept of angels I immediately recall those in my life who have been looking out for me, loving me, caring for me, teaching me and guiding me. But many of my angels have become heavenly angels. They watch over me, guarding me by night and guiding me by day. I imagine that my concept of angels is not unique.
We think often of those we love and who love us as angels. I’m sure when posed with the question “who are the angels in your life” each of us has many whom we have loved and many who we have lost.
But what of the mortals we remember and give thanks for that directly watch over us?
In doing research on St Michael and All Angels I read an article about angels written by James Keifer.
In this article, James writes “In the picture of God sending His angels to help and defend us, we are reminded that God, instead of doing good things directly, often prefers to do them through His willing servants, enabling those who have accepted His love to show their love for one another.”
Perhaps those angels and mortals are part of God’s mission of healing and reconciliation for us as we and those who are less fortunate struggle in our daily lives.
Imagine how expansive God’s love is that it reaches out to all of us.
Psalm 103 demonstrates the breadth of God’s love for us. It reminds us just how broad God’s love is. And it calls us to respond.
Scholars believe that Psalm 103 is a meditation by the psalmist on the goodness and forgiving love God shows us and we are called to Bless the Lord for his love that starts with the inner being and extends to the ends of the earth.
The words of this psalm reach out to and are meant for you and me.
If we take a closer look at the psalm it may also be a call to us, individually and corporately to be the mortal messengers of God’s love for us, urging each of us to carry out God’s mission of love and reconciliation in our daily lives.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, *
and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, *
and forget not all his benefits.
He forgives all your sins *
and heals all your infirmities;
Verses 1- 4 call us to action. They call us to Bless the Lord remembering all we have benefitted. We are human, we err and we are frail. God still loves us. Through the forgiveness of our sins we have been healed of the illness that eats at us. The Lord redeems us from the grave and showers us with mercy and loving-kindness. God satisfies us through his love, he gives us strength, he renews us.
Is there another psalm that can show us such bountiful love?
Take a minute to imagine with me that Psalm 103 speaks to all of God’s creation.
God is calling us to be messengers. As messengers how do we demonstrate God’s love?
The LORD executes righteousness *
and judgment for all who are oppressed.
Do we respect and give dignity to all? Isn’t attending forums such as last week’s town hall meeting on prejudices a beginning to understanding others? Do we talk with one another to gain understanding about what is going on in our church, in the Asylum Hill community,in the state? Do we help to build relations with our neighbors?
The LORD is full of compassion and mercy, *
slow to anger and of great kindness.
When faced with anger do we respond with anger or do we step back, take a breath and seek peaceful resolutions to misunderstandings.
He will not always accuse us, *
nor will he keep his anger for ever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, *
nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.
For as the heavens are high above the earth, *
so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.
Do we forgive ourselves and others?
But the merciful goodness of the LORD endures for ever on those who fear him, *
and his righteousness on children's children;
On those who keep his covenant *
and remember his commandments and do them.
Do we respect our God? Do we keep God’s commandments? Do we practice our Baptismal Covenant? Do we love those who transgress and turn to God for help?
The LORD has set his throne in heaven, *
and his kingship has dominion over all.
The Lord has dominion over all, not just those who are privileged. The Lord has dominion over the sick, the dying, those who are living on the margins. His love extends from earth to heaven and reaches out to all that is between.
Bless the LORD, you angels of his,
you mighty ones who do his bidding, *
and hearken to the voice of his word.
Bless the LORD, all you his hosts, *
you ministers of his who do his will.
Are we blessed to do God’s bidding, to do his will? Are we (Trinity Church) God’s messengers sent to bring compassion, understanding and healing through love to all?
Again we are called to action.
Bless the LORD, all you works of his,
in all places of his dominion; *
bless the LORD, O my soul.
Amen