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The Feast of
St. Michael and All Angels
Feast Day: September 29

Collect:
Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Appointed Lessons:
Genesis 28:10-17
Psalm 103 or 103:19-22
Revelation 12:7-12
John 1:47-5

Click here to discuss texts or worship service

Other Resource Links:
St. Michael and All Angels (1928 Book of Common Prayer)
Vesper Music for St Michael's Day
St Michael's Day--a Pre-School celebrates
St. Michael's Day--Amish Version

 

Genesis 28:10-17

Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the LORD stood beside him and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place-- and I did not know it!" And he was afraid, and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

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Psalm 103 or 103:19-22

1
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.
2
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
3
He forgives all your sins
and heals all your infirmities;
4
He redeems your life from the grave
and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness;
5
He satisfies you with good things,
and your youth is renewed like an eagle's.
6
The LORD executes righteousness
and judgment for all who are oppressed.
7
He made his ways known to Moses
and his works to the children of Israel.
8
The LORD is full of compassion and mercy,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
9
He will not always accuse us,
nor will he keep his anger for ever.
10
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.
11
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.
12
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our sins from us.
13
As a father cares for his children,
so does the LORD care for those who fear him.
14
For he himself knows whereof we are made;
he remembers that we are but dust.
15
Our days are like the grass;
we flourish like a flower of the field;
16
When the wind goes over it, it is gone,
and its place shall know it no more.
17
But the merciful goodness of the LORD endures for ever on those who fear him, *
and his righteousness on children's children;
18
On those who keep his covenant
and remember his commandments and do them.
19
The LORD has set his throne in heaven,
and his kingship has dominion over all.
20
Bless the LORD, you angels of his,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
and hearken to the voice of his word.
21
Bless the LORD, all you his hosts,
you ministers of his who do his will.
22
Bless the LORD, all you works of his,
in all places of his dominion;
bless the LORD, O my soul.
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Revelation 12:7-12

War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world-- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming,

"Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Messiah,
for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down,
who accuses them day and night before our God.
But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
Rejoice then, you heavens
and those who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
for the devil has come down to you
with great wrath,
because he knows that his time is short!"
 

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John 1:47-51

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" Nathanael asked him, "Where did you get to know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you." Nathanael replied, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus answered, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these." And he said to him, "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."


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Contributions:

Date: 28 Sep 2002
Time: 16:53:58

Comment

I didn't come back to this site early enough to see that there was a possibility of study for the St. Michael and All Angels passage. So, here it is late Saturday afternoon, nevertheless, hope springs...The one reading about St. Michael etc that has me fascinated is Walter Wink's work on principalities and powers, ENGAGING THE POWERS:Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination. Regarding the Daniel passage, here are several quotes(--not all are necessarily directly usable in a sermon)--italic in original text are in all caps in this text: "The angel of Persia is able to block God's messenger from answering Daniel's prayer! For twenty-one days Daniel contends with unseen spiritual powers.....it is not AFTER (Daniel) has purified himself that the angel is dispatched. He is heard on the very first day, as the words leave his lips. The real struggle is between the angels of two nations. The angel of Persia does not want the nation he guards to lose such a talented subject people. The angel of Persia actively attempts to frustrate God's will, and for twenty-one days succeeds. The Principalities and Powers are able to hold Yahweh at bay! Daniel continues praying and fasting, God's angel continues to wrestle to get past the angel of Persia, yet nothing is apparently happening. God SEEMS not to have answered the prayer. Despite this apparent indifference, however, there is a fierce war being waged in heaven between contending powers. Finally Michael, Israel's own guardian angel, intervenes and the angel gets through. This is an accurate depiction in mythological terms, of the actual experience we have in prayer." (p.310)

Our younger children are going to be focussing on the primary role of messenger as the work of angels.

I will probably work with the images of prayer, messages, struggles, and as in another lengthy Wink, "The Principalities and Powers are able to assert their will against the will of God, AND FOR A TIME, PREVAIL......God is powerful to heal, and all healing, I believe, is of God. But if the Powers flush PCB's and dioxin into the water we drink, or release radioactive gas into the atmosphere, or insist on spraying our fruit with known carcinogens, God's healing power is sharply reduced....God does want people to be free to become everything God created them to be...But when one race enslaves another to labor in its fields, or to dig its mines, or when children's lives are stunted by sexual abuse or physical brutality, or when whole nations are forced to submit to the exploitation of other states more powerful, then what is God to do? We may pray for justice and liberation, as indeed we must, and GOD HEARS US ON THE VERY FIRST DAY. But God's ability to intervene against the freedom of these rebellious creatures is sometimes tragically restricted in ways we cannot pretend to understand." "It takes considerable spiritual maturity to live in the tension between these two facts: God has heard our prayer, and the Powers are blocking God's response......God is the constant possibility of transformation pressing on every occasion, even those that are lost for lack of a human response. God is not mocked. The wheels of justice may turn slowly, but they are inexorable...Our prayers are the necessary opening that allows God to act without violating our freedom. Prayer is the ultimate act of partnership with God....The sobering news that the Powers can thwart God is more than matched by the knowledge that our intercessions will ultimately prevail."

That is the primary material I'm working with. Any later posts are still welcome by this desperate preacher! Aslanclan

Date: 28 Sep 2002
Time: 19:17:02

Comment

Thanks for the pointer about wink's work on the powers. I had not thought of that with regard to angels. I felt led to do something with the angel idea but had no idea what. I'm late too. Yikes. carcajada

Date: 28 Sep 2002
Time: 22:32:25

Comment

Thanks for your contributions. I also did not see this opportunity early enough. In addition, according to my computer the whole site was inaccessible due to some kind of scheduled maintenance.

I ended up reading a bunch of sermons and information on the feast day, and coming up with a very general account of Michael and the fight against "the original sin" the desire to be the same as God.

Thanks all, Michelle