Historical, Cultural, and Religious Background:
Of all the heavenly being mentioned in the Bible, no title is used less often then the title of "Archangel". In fact, the world is only used once (Jude 1:9). Since only Michael is specifically called an Archangel the Bible, most protestants do not recognize any other Archangel. Certainly, many protestant would agree that the Angel Gabriel holds a higher rank than others. Nevertheless, Michael is the only universally accepted Archangel (Jews, Muslims, and Christians).
Outside of Protestantism, those from the Roman Catholic Orthodox traditions do not reserve the title to just the ones whose names are found in the Scriptures. It is common to find references to a council of Archangels with 7 members. Although not all of the lists agree on the names of these members, all agree on four: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. The others differ from list to list. Note that each of their names (and the name of all Archangels) ends in "el". "el" is the Hebrew word for "Lord". However, it is often used in the place of the name "God." (For more explanation of the meaning of each name: http://www.angelfocus.com/archangels.htm ).
The title of Archangel denotes an angel of higher rank or a chief among the angels. Sometimes, you will find them listed as Saints as well. In a sense, a loose translation of "Archangel" could be "senior or chief messenger of the God." In the case of St Michael, he also has the task of leader the Army of God who defeated Lucifer and threw him out of Heaven.
I am not exactly sure how to understand the Archangels in the light of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. I have not had a personal experience with an Archangel like I have had with the Holy Spirit. The same can be said about Lucifer, the Falling Archangel. It is hard for me to believe in the existence of ANY archangel because of my lack of a personal contact with them.
Also, the struggle between Good and Evil, God and Satan, has always struck me as a form of dualism. Maybe the fight between St Michael and Lucifer is intended to alleviate this problem by distancing God from the fight. It is much easier to answer this criticism if the fight is actually between two Archangels rather the between two deities.
The Icon:
The icon I chose for this meditation is of the Archangels Council. In this icon, we see the seven archangels with two of them holding the image of Christ. Directly above Christ stand Michael holding in his right hand the name symbol for "Jesus" and in his left the name symbol for "Christ" (this is commonly found on Icons). From left to right we see: Jegudiel, Gabriel, Selaphiel, Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Barachiel. Beneath Christ are three representatives of two other heavenly beings: Cherubims (blue) and Seraphim (red). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archangel
Personal Journey:
I am going to be selling my house and moving into an apartment in Paducah as soon as possible. In order to do this, I have to take on what seems like an impossible job: organize and clean years of documents, books, furniture, decorations, and other objects collected by my parents and me. Moving from a house with three bedrooms and a finished basement into a small apartment is a daunting task.
Message:
Throughout history, there have been times when God needed to speak to humans in a unique way. Whether at the Annunciation to Mary of the coming of the Messiah or the encounter with Abraham before the destruction of Sodom, God needed to make God’s presence felt in a very personal and even physical way. I believe that this need culminated in the coming of Christ. In fact, the Annunciation is the last appearance of an Archangel in history.
I wish that at times like this in my life, God would make clear which direction I should go. Others have expressed the same sentiment to me: “I wish God would appear to me and clearly tell me what I should do!” Unfortunately, an Archangel has never come to me to enlighten me. It would be comforting to know that there is a council of Archangels fighting our war with the Evil One. I look at this Icon and ask “Where are you?” I can hear some people replying: “You just are not listening hard enough.” OK, maybe. I don’t know about that. All that I know is that I have tried throughout my life to listen. Sometimes, I did think I had heard God’s messengers only to be disappointed. It is so hard to know where our thoughts come from. Are they coming from some external source are from a mix of your wishes, history, upbringing, nature, religion, or families? Do we do what we do simply to satisfy our own needs… including the need for affirmation from others or God?
It seems like at this point in my life I should have more answers than questions. Alas, this is not the case. Maybe knowing what I do not know is the beginning of wisdom? Archangels, please speak to me! (Deafening silence).
Icon found in several public sources including collections of the GreekOrthodox Archdiocese of America.
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