The first readings for this week are taken from the Letter to the Hebrews. The psalms are ones that speak of the covenant of God with his people. The gospels are taken from the earliest days of Jesus’ public ministry when he confronts the chaos, disorder and evil in the world, seen in the unclean spirits, illness, leprosy, and paralysis to which he brings release, freedom, and restoration of what God intended – that man be whole. Continue reading
Angels have always been of interest in the religious sphere, the entertainment business, books, and more. There is even a baseball team that the name. In the religious realm it is simply that angels are part of the testimony of Scripture as messengers of God. They represent an “avenue” in which we can be assured that God is there, interested in us, and watching. Angels have been portrayed as warriors and as neophytes attempting to “win their wings” as they counsel humans losing their way.
In today’s readings, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews focuses on a different role – as administrators of the world – but not so the world to come. The biblical evidence for the angelic government of the world is early: it goes back to the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:8 where the establishing of the nations is described: “He set up the boundaries of the peoples after the number of the divine beings” (NAB) or as more literally translated from the Septuagint: “he set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the angels of God.”
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