Don’t Ignore the Angels

Today is the Feast of the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and the rest of the Angels in heaven. There are countless angels serving God and interacting with us on His behalf. There are nine orders of angels in heaven. That includes a special guardian angel for each one of us.

The orders of angels are Thrones, Cherubim, Seraphim, Dominions, Powers, Authorities, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels. Each ‘type’ of angel has a different job, which is not my purpose of today’s blog. Today I have a different purpose.

I have noticed that it is customary for people to invoke their guardian angels or other angels, especially Archangel Michael, who is specifically commemorated today. The curiosity is so many ignore the devotion to God, which is exactly what the angels convey to humanity.

I don’t understand why we would honor Archangel Michael and then live a life that would embarrass him. Many do the same thing with their patron saint. We flock to church on our ‘name day’ but forget the Church the rest of the year. Would the saints and angels agree with us?

On this point many Protestant Christians have a legitimate complaint against the Church. If we honor the saints and angels but neglect the life of Christ they preach, are we acting in an Orthodox way? We honor the angels because they are GOD’S messengers, not ours.

I like to remind people to build a relationship with their guardian angel and patron saint. This relationship should be a reason for a Godly life to ‘rub off’ on us. Let’s not get carried away with honoring the angels but forgetting God’s will.

We should also not ‘throw the baby out with the bath water’ just because we are tempted to lose focus on God. It is better to change out the water and keep washing the baby! So, keep honoring the angels. Just follow it up with a God’s life that would make the angels proud!