Michael is a mighty archangel described in Scripture as\ncommander of God\u2019s heavenly armies. Many of us call upon him daily as a\ndefender and protector. But in what sense does he protect? And what is the\nbattle really about?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scripture describes Michael casting Satan out of heaven (Revelation 12), battling with Satan over the body of Moses (Jude 9), or battling a spirit described as \u201cthe prince of Persia\u201d (Daniel 12).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If angels are spiritual and immortal beings, what does it\neven mean for them to \u201cfight\u201d? They cannot be wounded or killed \u2013 so how can\nthere be any battle, any victory or defeat?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The real battleground is over human freedom, and all that is impacted by our \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno.\u201d This battle has implications for each one of us individually, but also cosmic ones \u2013 because God makes us his stewards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each and every human person is created in God\u2019s image and likeness. The devils envy and hate each one of us, and relentlessly seek to ruin us. But God also placed the entire cosmos under human stewardship. God invested us with true authority \u2013 an authority the devil has always envied and hated. He seeks to steal it away by seduction and lies. He seems to succeed \u2013 both with Adam and Eve and with each of us. They and we give away what is not his to take. And then he thinks he can hold us captive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enter Jesus as the new Adam. He ushers in the Kingdom of God, the new creation, new heavens and a new earth. Those who are willing to die with him and rise with him through Faith become members of his Body. Under his headship, every enemy is placed under his feet, until at last even death itself is destroyed (Ephesians 1-2). All this happens by human<\/em><\/strong> agency, by the exertion of human freedom \u2013 his human freedom, but also yours and mine.\u00a0 In due time, our human destiny is to become higher than all the angels as we behold God face to face and become like him (1 John 3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n We tend to esteem our own dignity and freedom far less than God does! He never forces us to do anything. For that matter, evil spirits cannot force us to do anything either. Had Adam said \u201cno\u201d and told the devil to leave, the devil would have had to honor Adam\u2019s God-given authority! The same holds true for us, though we need the power of Jesus to reclaim and restore that which we have given away. United with him and in him, we need never fear evil spirits. Indeed, it is they who fear us as we shine with restored glory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I say that God honors our freedom, that also means that he allows our freedom to have its consequences. We were the stewards of this current cosmos, and we failed in our stewardship. Though it still bears stunning goodness and beauty, this cosmos is irreparably damaged. The world as we know it is passing away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [NOTE \u2013 I am using the original Greek word <\/em>kosmos<\/em><\/strong>, which can be translated either as \u201cworld\u201d or \u201cuniverse\u201d<\/em>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus tells us that he came into this cosmos not to condemn it but to save it (John 3:17).\u00a0 He will cast out the devil, the ruler of this cosmos (John 12:31). But in what manner? Jesus does not stop us from dying, and he does not stop this universe from coming to its just demise. His kingdom is not of this world \u2013 because we the stewards have truly ruined it by giving dominion over to the devil. The devil will have his pound of flesh. But the devil has never understood love or the new life that springs forth from love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his dying and rising and ascending, Jesus crushed the\nhead of the serpent. And he ushered in the new creation. Like his risen body\n(or rather, AS his body) this new creation is both the same and new. We already\nparticipate in it! In Christ the head, the battle is done. It is finished. Love\nwins. In us the members, the battle is\nstill playing itself out \u2013 we need only give over our freedom! <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the early Church, the Letter to Diognetus taught that we Christians are in the world, but not of the world. In one sense, we live and act just like everyone else. But we actually live in an entirely different dimension!\u00a0 In the 300\u2019s, Gregory of Nyssa observed that \u201cthe foundation of the Church is the creation of a new cosmos.\u201d More recently, Pope Benedict XVI explained the Ascension of Jesus as opening up a new dimension of human existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is where Michael comes in. He is the mighty guardian of this new creation. He is God\u2019s answer to the devil. His name is not a name but a menacing question: \u201cWHO IS LIKE GOD??\u201d The devil styles himself a god, but is not. Michael brings God\u2019s Truth and Love to full light and casts out the devil. All that is true and good and beautiful is resurrected in the new creation. All that is disordered, all that tends toward ruin or destruction, all that spirals towards nothingness \u2013 that belongs to the devil, who will ultimately be the ruler of nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But back to human freedom. If we\nwant Michael\u2019s protection, we must choose to abide in the new creation, rather\nthan cling to this world, which is quickly passing away. That means becoming\nwilling to die to what is easy or familiar and trust in the newness that is\ncoming. We gain glimpses and tastes of that newness, but are not yet ready for\nit in all its fullness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is truly challenging to abide in the \u201calready but not yet\u201d of Hope. Even now, we possess the Kingdom and already participate in it. But we are not yet ready to see God face to face, and not so completely transformed as to share in the fullness of the ascended glory of Jesus. We call on Saint Michael again and again to defend us in that in-between place, in which we are still vulnerable to the attacks of the evil one. Michael willingly and faithfully defends us. He safeguards the space in which grow. but only we can do the growing! <\/p>\n\n\n\n The more we become who we are,\nthe fewer entry points the devil even has to attempt an assault. God\u2019s light\nshows us the weak spots where the devil will predictably attack us. We ask\nMichael\u2019s protection \u2013 but we also cooperate with Christ to repair those\nbreaches! <\/p>\n\n\n\n