St. Chad’s All Saints Service 3rd November 2013.
Whatever inspired the designer of the altar in the church to choose archangels as the focal point is probably lost in the mists of the 1920’s.
It is unusual because the seven archangels are more often associated with the Roman Catholic traditions and given that this church is named after St Chad, who was a Bishop in the Celtic church adds to the mystery.
Nevertheless we have a beautiful altar with four saints to weekly remind us of the role of angels in God’s Kingdom.
Can we name them?
Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel.
Michael as we know is Leader of the Armies of Heaven. As a warrior he led the armies in the defeat of Lucifer, and he is depicted carrying a sword. There is an amazing sculpture to St Michael on the walls of the new Coventry Cathedral. http://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/
Gabriel brought the news to Mary that she would bear the Christ child; but Raphael is a bit less well known, but if you read the book of Tobit in the Apocrypha Raphael is there as a travelling companion to Tobias and he carries a fish because it is a reminder of the story of his protection of young Tobias and the healing his father Tobit.
These three are named in the bible.
Now Uriel, the fourth saint depicted is a bit of a mystery. Neither the Oxford Dictionary of Saints, nor Butler’s Lives of the Saints honour Uriel with a listing.
Our altar shows him carrying a Sword flames and the fire reminds us of the descent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost and the flames of the gifts of the Holy Ghost.
Look up Uriel on the internet and a whole series of statements are made about him, but none of them are biblically based.
These four are said to have three other companions, whose names are not mentioned in the bible, and who are not on our altar. Though names have been given to these three, there are at least six names to choose from.
The word angel means messenger and archangels are head angels, but I reckon if we met one today we might be a bit overwhelmed, particularly if the angel turned up with his wings unfurled! And we probably would not hear the message.
But isn’t that how we often are. We come to church. We sing hymns, listen to the readings, say prayers and when it comes to the sermon, we start planning Sunday lunch or trying to remember what we have to do this afternoon. We just don’t hear the message.
Today we commemorate all saints…even obscure ones like Uriel.
Nowhere in the bible is an individual called a saint. The word we translate saint actually means holy. Holiness has been defined as the sense of awe we feel in the presence of a power greater than ourselves- the mystery which attracts us yet also makes us afraid. A holy place came to mean somewhere set aside for worship, holy robes, holy vessels; holy people were set apart for sacred use. So when St. Paul writes to the saints who live in Corinth and goes on to rebuke them for sins we haven’t even thought of he tells them they had been set aside by God to serve him. They are saints, now they must become holy in their lives. And a holy life is a life full of love.
So remember you and I are all saints. God has chosen us for his service so we are holy people. We are called to be saints and must grow into people who are able to serve God. What sort of people are we supposed to be growing into? We need look no further than this sermon Jesus gave. The people described as blessed are the very opposite of what the world would consider to be lucky.
Jesus is suggesting that the easy life is not good for us. As we think of the great saints of the past it is well to remember none of them had an easy life, yet each of them showed greatness with the way they coped with adversity.
St Chad was made a bishop in the Celtic church, then in 669 had to hand over that role to St Wilfrid who had been consecrated bishop in France by 12 bishops from the Roman Church. Yet Wilfrid himself faced various challenges following that appointment including being virtually deposed and also being imprisoned. We may wish that God would let us live in a garden of roses, but every rose bush is full of sharp thorns. God may be trying to tell us something when our lives hit patches of adversity. For God is always trying to tell us something, usually because he wants us to do something for him such are caring for someone less fortunate than ourselves. So listen for God’s message. It can come in many guises and may be you will meet an angel without realising.
AMEN
Reverend Edwina Wallace.
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