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| “The Three Archangels with Tobias” by Francesco Botticni, 1470 |
First Option: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
As I watched:
Thrones were set up
and the Ancient One took his
throne.
His clothing was bright as
snow,
and the hair on his head as
white as wool;
His throne was flames of
fire,
with wheels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire
flowed out from where he sat;
Thousands upon thousands were
ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads
attended him.
The court was convened, and
the books were opened.
As the visions during the
night continued, I saw
One like a son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
When he reached the Ancient
One
and was presented before him,
He received dominion, glory,
and kingship;
nations and peoples of every
language serve him.
His dominion is an
everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be
destroyed.
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Commentary on Dn 7:9-10, 13-14
In this vision
from the book of Daniel, we see the symbols for God the Father “the Ancient
One”, seated on the throne of Judgment (symbolized by fire) with all the
faithful before him. Then comes “One like a Son of Man”, this reference is a
messianic vision. Jesus who took that title upon himself in fulfillment of
scripture (in addition to John 1:51, see also Mark 14:62, Luke 22:69 and Matthew 26:64 all of which reference the attendance of heavenly powers.
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OR
Second Option: Revelation 12:7-12ab
War broke out in heaven;
Michael and his angels
battled against the dragon.
The dragon and its angels
fought back,
but they did not prevail
and there was no longer any
place for them in heaven.
The huge dragon, the ancient
serpent,
who is called the Devil and
Satan,
who deceived the whole world,
was thrown down to earth,
and its angels were thrown
down with it.
Then I heard a loud voice in
heaven say:
“Now have salvation and power
come,
and the Kingdom of our God
and the authority of his
Anointed.
For the accuser of our
brothers is cast out,
who accuses them before our
God day and night.
They conquered him by the
Blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their
testimony;
love for life did not deter
them from death.
Therefore, rejoice, you
heavens,
and you who dwell in them.”
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Commentary on Rev 12:7-12ab
This selection from the Book of Revelations is of that same eschatological
prophetic genre as the first option from Daniel. Here St.
John
The vision makes clear that those who were thought to be from God but who
opposed the “anointed one”, Christ, were influenced by Satan and in the Devil’s
defeat, by the blood of the Lamb, God’s victory is assured and the truth will
prevail.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 4-5
R. (1) In the sight of the angels I will sing your
praises, Lord.
I will give thanks to you, O
LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words
of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels
I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy
temple
and give thanks to your name.
R. In the sight of the
angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
Because of your kindness and
your truth;
for you have made great above
all things
your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered
me;
you built up strength within
me.
R. In the sight of the
angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
All the kings of the earth
shall give thanks to you, O LORD
when they hear the words of
your mouth;
And they shall sing of the
ways of the LORD
“Great is the glory of the
LORD
R. In the sight of the
angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 4-5
This song of praise gives thanksgiving for the
visible support of God here attributed to angelic action. The hymn attributes this saving help to an
all merciful God to whom all glory and honor are due.
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Gospel: John 1:47-51
Jesus saw Nathanael coming
toward him and said of him,
“Here is a true child of Israel
There is no duplicity in
him.”
Nathanael said to him, “How
do you know me?”
Jesus answered and said to
him,
“Before Philip called you, I
saw you under the fig tree.”
Nathanael answered him,
“Rabbi, you are the Son of
God; you are the King of Israel.”
Jesus answered and said to
him,
“Do you believe
because I told you that I saw
you under the fig tree?
You will see greater things
than this.”
And he said to him, “Amen,
amen, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened
and the angels of God
ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
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Commentary on Jn 1:47-51
Word of mouth attracts first Philip to discipleship and he in turn invites
Nathanael. The symbolism in this passage is noteworthy. First when Jesus
describes Nathanael as “A true Israelite”. There is no duplicity in him: Jacob was the first to
bear the name "Israel" (Genesis 32:29), but Jacob was a man of
duplicity (Genesis 27:35-36).”
Jesus tells Nathanael “"Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree." The fig tree is a
symbol of messianic peace (cf Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10). So in essence, Jesus is
saying that Nathanael was resting in Messianic Peace inferring from that that
he had faithfully followed the Law and had a genuine love of God. Jesus goes
further than Nathanael’s faith in the final verse telling him that he, Jesus is
the Anointed One. “…you
will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the
Son of Man.
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Reflection:
Today we celebrate the Feast
of the Archangels. Just so we are all on the same page we can listen to the
words of Pope St. Gregory the Great who defines what that means:
“You should be aware that the word ‘angel’ denotes a function rather than a nature. Those holy spirits of heaven have indeed always been spirits. They can only be called angels when they deliver some message. Moreover, those who deliver messages of lesser importance are called angels; and those who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called archangels.”(from a homily by Pope Saint Gregory the Great)
The three Archangels,
Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, are the only ones named in scripture and each
has a distinct role as can be seen from the links provided above. The fact that
these three Spirits have had a direct involvement with mankind is the reason we
celebrate their feast today. We see in their intervention God’s fingers
affecting the course of human events. Deep within each of us there is also the
wish that, at some point in our lives, an angel would speak to us, directly,
personally, with clarity. The angel would tell us what God wants from us or
what he wants us to do.
It is interesting today that,
on this the feast of the archangels, the church gives us the story of Jesus’ encounter
with Nathanael rather than one of the encounters with the archangels. In this
Gospel Jesus has identified the young man as someone without duplicity; that
is, innocent of worldly demeanor that would portray him as something he was
not. The way Nathanael speaks when he says “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you
are the King of Israel” makes us wonder how one, not of the twelve, had such an
instant and deep understanding of Jesus’ identity. Could it be that this was a
messenger from God? None of the commentaries assume this is the case.
Still, we wonder, if this
innocent young man, without prompting, identified Jesus and if he was an angel
in human form. If that were true, it would mean that God may send his spirits,
as Pope St. Gregory the Great has called them, to us and we might not recognize
them as anything but people.
There is nothing theological
in this reflection. It is just a hope that God might one day send an angel to
us so that we might understand at last and clearly what he wants from us. Since
we have speculated above that God may indeed send his angels to us in human
guise, we must be constantly vigilant that one of our daily encounters may turn
out to answer our prayer.
Certainly the more common
intervention of the Holy Spirit can be seen, although usually in retrospect and
not always clearly. The overriding principle here is we must always be open to
that kind of guidance and be constantly vigilant, knowing that God intercedes
in our lives and we must watch for it.
Pax
[2]
The picture is “The Three
Archangels with Tobias” by Francesco Botticni, 1470
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
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