Scripture calls us to be attentive to the signs of the times, and to be vigilant at all times for the return of the Lord.
Seeds
First Reading: Daniel 12:1-3
It’s not clear from the reading whether or not the people protected by Michael would be shielded from the time of distress or protected within the midst of it. Either way, we know that God provides sufficient grace for the trials we face.
Unusually for the Old Testament, we have here a reference to future resurrection, something which is much more developed in the New Testament. You might like to read this alongside Jesus’ parable of the sheep and goats. What does the comparison show?
Psalm: 15(16):5,8-11
The Church prays this psalm weekly at Thursday Night Prayer; it’s a psalm of trust and confidence in the midst of vulnerability.
It is God, the psalm emphasises, who protects and preserves his people; read alongside the passage in Daniel it’s clear that St Michael offers protection at the command and by the power of God, something which is also recalled in the popular St Michael prayer.
Second Reading: Hebrews 10:11-14,18
The Old Covenant sacrifices can broadly be broken down into several stages, as presented in Leviticus: the presentation of the offering, the death of the offering, the sprinkling of the blood of the offering, the eating of the offering (if that was part of the sacrifice offered). With that pattern in mind, applied to the sacrifice for sins Jesus offered: Jesus was presented for death on the cross (think of the Ecce Homo paintings of Pilate and Jesus), died on the cross, then rose into heaven at the Ascension to make intercession for us. We now partake of this one sacrifice at the Eucharist by eating the offering.
Notice the tenses here: “he has achieved the eternal perfection of all whom he is sanctifying” – it is at once achieved, and ongoing. How does that help us understand our lives of faith?
Gospel: Mark 13:24-32
Scripture calls us to be attentive to the signs of the times, and to be vigilant at all times for the return of the Lord. The gospel here warns us against anything more than that attentive vigilance: nobody, not even the Son knows the time of his return, only the Father. We must be careful, then, not to get drawn into speculation.
On the other hand, do we believe Jesus will come again? Often, we speak or act as if he won’t, expecting history to carry on indefinitely. How would our lives look different if we lived as if we expected Jesus to return?
Sapling
In 2013 a new statue of St Michael the Archangel was placed in the Vatican gardens in the presence of Pope Francis and Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI. On that occasion the Holy Father consecrated Vatican City State to the protection of St Michael.
The feast day for St Michael and his compatriot archangels was superseded by a Sunday this year, so it seems providential that the lectionary mentions him today and gives me a chance to reflect on him a little!
The prophet Daniel opens the first reading in these words: “At that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who mounts guard over your people.” That sentence gives us a lot of information.
We’ll return to the reference to time later, but for now let’s look at some of the other points which arise here; firstly, his name. Michael means “who is like God”. Traditionally that has been framed as a question and put onto Michael’s lips as he cast the devil out of heaven, almost as a battle cry: “who is like God?!”
There’s also a hint there, I think, of Michael’s eminence among the angels of heaven. He is, after all, called “the great prince” and numbered among the archangels. As Pope Francis notes: Michael is “the example of God’s primacy, of his transcendence and power.”
Then we’re told that Michael will “stand up”. This is the posture of an advocate, and an indication of readiness for action. With what we’ve already seen of Michael, in his casting down of the devil and his position as a great prince in heaven, for him to be moved to act is both significant and comforting. But act in what way?
This is then given definition for us: he “mounts guard” over the people. Chiefly, of course, Daniel is referring to the chosen people of the Old Covenant. Under the New Covenant his protection extends to us as well, as Pope Francis reminded us when he unveiled the statue in 2013: “he defends the People of God”.
In St Michael, then, we as the People of God have a warrior guardian who readily defends us from evil, not by his own might but because (as Pope Francis once again teaches) “God acts in him”. We would do well to pray for that protection regularly, perhaps using the well-known St Michael prayer or simply in our own words.
This is so much more the case as we turn our attention to the context in which the liturgy brings St Michael to our attention today: we’re hurtling towards the end of the liturgical year, and so the Church ponders the end of all things.
The readings today are from a genre called “apocalyptic” – fascinating, beguiling, but difficult to interpret. They speak in symbols, which are no less real for defying literalism, but which need to be treated carefully.
We’re told that Michael will stand up “at that time”, a “time of great distress”, which Jesus also references in the gospel. Indeed, Jesus places this in the context of the end of time, speaking of his own return “in the clouds with great power and glory”.
I can’t pretend to know what that will look like, or how events on earth will pan out, or even how close or far away we are from Jesus’ return (after all, Jesus says only the Father knows that!). All I can say is that he will come back, we profess it every Sunday in the creed, the Scriptures promise that it will happen.
In the meantime we all face trials and struggles, some big and some small, sometimes the nations rage; amidst it all, though, we have the presence of the Lord and the gift of St Michael and the angels to protect and guide us. We are not left orphans. Let’s thank God for that and develop our friendship with these heavenly companions.
Fruit
Catechism of the Catholic Church, #334-336, angels in the life of the Church.
Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, attributed to Pope Leo XIII
Blessing of the new statue of St. Michael the Archangel, Address of the Holy Father Francis, 5th July 2013: Remarks of the Holy Father on the occasion of the inauguration of the new statue of St Michael the Archangel in the Vatican Gardens (5 July 2013) | Francis
