By Father Casey

We've had great fun the past few weeks reflecting on angels. They fill the pages of the Bible, and they are everywhere on our campus (Fr. Ted has counted over 60!), but we don't always take time to ponder these mysterious messengers of God. Even if you've missed all the previous weeks, you are most welcome at the final installment of our series this Sunday, when we'll look angels in cinema, including several beloved Christmas movies.

Two weeks ago, we spent some time in class pondering the angels of the Book of Revelation, and in particular, St. Michael the Archangel. Michael is featured in that story, depicted as leading the armies of heaven in a final, cosmic battle for the universe. As a result, Michael is traditionally envisioned as a great warrior, wielding weapons against the forces of Satan, which he ultimately vanquishes.

Revelation is what is known as "apocalyptic literature," a genre of Biblical writing that seeks to reveal where we are headed. They are typically written to people living in times of great stress and fear, to reassure them that God is still sovereign and will one day put all things to right. That was certainly the case for Revelation, which was written in a time of growing persecution against the Church by Rome. To those early Christians, a vision of the ultimate victory of Christ was a source of enormous comfort and reassurance, as they struggled to cling to their faith in the face of brutal oppression. And while we may live in less dangerous times, still we can glean hope from these visions of Christ's perfect justice and peace.

But I want to confess to you my deep discomfort with the idea that at the end of time, Christ will turn to a sword-wielding Michael to finish the work of salvation. Why is it that when we try to imagine the defeat of evil, the first things that come to mind are warfare and weapons? Never mind that Jesus commanded us to love our enemies (Matt 5:44); never mind that in his final hours, Jesus warned his disciples against the temptation of violence and outright rejected calling upon an army of angels to rescue him (Matt 26:52-53). For some reason, we assume that when push comes to shove, and evil needs defeating, it will take a warrior with a weapon.

Such belief is like saying that Jesus' life, death, and resurrection were only partly salvific, and ultimately he will need to return with a giant posse of angels to finish the job. It's like saying that Jesus' words of forgiveness from the cross were nice, but it was mostly just for show, because ultimately he is going to take revenge on all his enemies. I know those scenes are satisfying in movies, when the bad guy always needs to be "taught a lesson," but that is not what we believe. We believe that the cross, and not the sword, is the way to victory. The resurrection, and not revenge, is Christ's means of defeating evil, sin, and death.

Why do I bring this up? Well, Christmas is soon upon us, our annual celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace. And it is so important that we remember that the peace of Christ is not what will one day happen after all our enemies are destroyed. Nor is peace something that God is waiting to bring until Michael leads that army of angels and all the bad guys get their payback. No, peace is what began in that manger in Bethlehem, and culminated on the cross at Calvary. Peace is what happens whenever our warring world is opposed by the most powerful force in the world: love.

Father Casey +