Suite 101 (March 2011)

 A new book fills the gap between fanciful philosophy and dry theology by taking a practical, Biblical look at angels.

Angels are mentioned in the Bible over 270 times (600 if you include references to God's “host”), yet Protestant theology and ministry make little reference to them. Into this void have stepped various speculative angel-promoters from New Age, philosophical and paranormal backgrounds, who feed the cravings of anyone eager to personally and autonomously relate the unseen to the material world.

Dr Jonathan Macy, a priest in the Church of England, recognises that angelology has become “a subject of discomfort and ridicule” but has chosen nevertheless to wrestle with it. His methods are very effective: to remind us that “we are not so different from our angelic brethren” and have much to learn from them about persevering, listening, counselling, worshipping, encouraging, and relating, in our daily lives, to individuals and to our community.

Angels are in the Shadow of God's Wings

“Angels are relational beings who, under God, serve God's people.” This emphasis on angels (with humans) coming under the shadow of God's wings -- rather than having any separate authority, as has been more recently implied in spiritual thinking -- is given prominence in the introduction and throughout the book.

Macy first gives an overview of angelic ministry throughout the Bible and spends some time examining the Greek text of the verse in Hebrews that states: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?”

The subsequent chapter considers the history of angelology from Biblical times until today, including Aquinas' study of the nature and knowledge of angels and the Catholic emphasis on angelic ministrations before the Reformation. The author is fair but incisive about Calvin's theological extension of Luther's rejection of angels as intercessors, which has remained the evangelical Protestant standpoint ever since.

Angels Hold Pastoral Roles with Humans

Macy justifies his pastoral approach to understanding angels by pointing out that the Biblical texts show they carry out all four widely accepted human pastoral roles: healing, sustaining, guiding, and reconciling.

His practical approach to how heavenly beings interact with us continues in the fourth chapter when he takes a thorough look at angels in the life of Jesus. “We see no discussions about their creation, nature, fall or organisation, amongst other traditional categories – even though Jesus would know all the answers to these questions. Jesus has no interest in scholastic categories, and never wonders how many angels can dance on the head of a pin!” he notes.

He devotes subsequent chapters to a revealing study of each of the four pastoral roles and how angels carry them out. Macy's style is theologically precise yet touchingly human, no doubt the result of the time he mentions that he has spent working with the elderly, mentally ill and the disabled.

Angels are Our Close Neighbours

Where other Christian writers give an outsider's description, as through binoculars, Macy takes the reader into the presence of angels, introduces us to them and invites the reader to do as they do. Protestants might wonder how they have been neighbours for so long but have barely noticed how important angels are to living the Christian life.

Calvin's single-minded effort to pare the unhealthy excesses of the Catholic church of his time back to the primary means of salvation is at the root of this neglect, Macy argues: ”As a tactic for the period, one can understand it. However, it has never been properly corrected, and continues to be the glasses through which angels are viewed by many.” The author may finally have put this omission right.

Helen Hunter

Read more at Suite101: Angels, Their Pastoral Ministry: A Book Review | Suite101.com 

Paideia Centre For Public Theology (August 2011)

In the Shadow of His Wings: The Pastoral Ministry of Angels - Yesterday, Today and For Heaven

By:  Steve Bishop

Date:  Saturday, August 27th, 2011

Macy, Jonathan. In the Shadow of His Wings: The Pastoral Ministry of Angels - Yesterday, Today and For Heaven. Lutterworth Press 2011. Paperback. Pages xi + 174. ISBN 978-0-7188-68028-5.

How are we to think about angels? There are over 600 references to angels/ hosts in the Scriptures so, as Barth maintains, 'a shrug of the shoulders' is not enough. Macy does more than shrug his shoulders. His 2003 PhD was on 'Angels in the Anglican tradition (1547-1662)' and his 2009 MTh was on 'How does the liturgy of the Church of England present a pastoral theology of the angels?' and now this semi-popular book.

This book is more than an accessible summary of his theses. He focuses on - as the subtitle hints -  the pastoral ministry of angels. For pastoral he takes as his cue the fourfold distinction of Clebsch and Jaekle's Pastoral Care in Historical Perspective of healing, sustaining, guiding and reconciling. These categories provide the framework for chapters 5-8. The first part of the book takes an overview of angelic ministry in the Scriptures, a look at a history of angelogy and a justification for a pastoral theology of angels.

He is careful not to stray from the scriptures. He takes a brief look at the Apocrypha and some Pseudepigraphal material but this is to provide a historical view rather than develop any theology. He is also rightly circumspect as to any sweeping conclusions regarding fallen angels, guardian angels and the identity of the angel of the Lord.

Macy provides an excellent antidote to new age angel worship and some angelic excesses in some Christian traditions. This is a sane and level headed book. There are 4 pages of bibliography, a scripture and name index.

http://www.paideiacentre.ca/story/shadow-his-wings-pastoral-ministry-angels-yesterday-today-and-heaven

Church Times (July 2011)

Mysterious Ministers


AS AN undergraduate, I was involved in a dangerous accident on my bicycle. I was unhurt, unlike the two people to whom the author refers in his introduction. I attributed this escape from injury to a providential interposition by an angel. Thus I read this book with particular interest.

Written in an easy, accessible style, and a fruit of the author’s own spiritual and intellectual journey, it falls roughly into two halves. The first treats the biblical material and other considerations concerning the ministry of angels, the second its application in pastoral terms. The overviews of angelic ministry in the Bible bring the reader’s attention to many of the passages on which the author later draws. Indeed, one of the values of this study is that it makes the reader aware of the richness and variety of the biblical material concerning angels. The chapter tracing the vicissitudes of angels in Christian tradition is, as the author puts it, “a whistle-stop tour of church history”, but there are particularly interesting comments on the views of Luther, Calvin, and Karl Barth. The second half of the book, with its focus on the continuing pastoral ministry of angels, will certainly inform and enrich the devotional life and pastoral ministry of its readers.

There are, however, features of the book which cause hesitation. It seems to assume that the biblical material is uniform, and can be fitted in to a pattern, or “jigsaw”, a term which the author himself uses. There is little or no mention of the fact that biblical material has its roots in a wide variety of cultural back ground; it employs different literary genres; and it contains much that is (or may be) evocative, figurative, and allusive. The author admits that a few references to angels in the OT indicate theophanies; but he does not consider the possibility that angels are not independent beings, but manifestations of God’s presence and activity, sometimes visible only to the eye of faith.

The enduring value of this study, in addition to its help in the practice of pastoral ministry, will be its insistence on the transcendent mystery of him with whom we have to do, and also its opposition to two modern fashions: on the one hand a neglect of angels and, on the other, extravagant speculation about them.

The Rt Revd Alec Graham is a former Bishop of Newcastle.

The Bridge: Southwark Diocese (March 2011)

The author of In The Shadow Of His Wings begins with a modest disclaimer. His PhD on angels in the Anglican Tradition was, he says, not something which ever helped him in his Christian relations with others. Well, this reviewer begs to differ.

In The Shadow Of His Wings is a study of the pastoral ministry of angels. It is written with a depth of understanding, an attention to detail, and a creative approach to reading the Biblical text which reflects the painstaking care required in doctoral research, yet which wears that learning lightly.

Dr Macy argues that Christians miss out on agents of God’s ministry if they limit angels to the nativity. He takes the reader carefully through their appearances in Scripture and summarises their treatment in the Christian tradition. He takes a chapter to look at angels in Jesus’ life. He then devotes a chapter to each of the particular acts in which angels participate for the good of humanity: healing, sustaining, guiding and reconciling.

Readers from all Christian traditions will learn from this book. Dr Macy writes from an avowedly conservative evangelical stance, although he admits that not all conservative evangelical will have expected his reading of Scripture. Yet if there are some aspects of his study which sit more easily with readers from traditions other than his own, different parts of it will also surprise such readers. I had never read Revelation 8:3-4 as Dr Macy does but what he wrote made me think anew about the passage.

The book is accessibly and comfortably written, with some quite difficult thinking easily communicated. Its overall tone is, as its title might imply, pastoral: this is not simply about pastoral theology, it does pastoral theology. It is therefore a kindly book, leaving the reader feeling that the creation is perhaps richer than we often realise. It is an uncomfortable book, precisely because it is not easily claimable by any Christian tradition. But then Dr Macy observes, angels often say in Scripture, Do not be afraid – and no Christian of any persuasion should be afraid to read this book.

Revd Canon Dr Jane Steen (The Bridge: March 2011)

Christianity Magazine (Apr 2011)

Many evangelicals are not sure what to make of angels. But Jonathan Macy cuts through centuries of bad doctrine and muddled theology, and clearly presents the Biblical evidence for what angels are, what they do and how they can help us.

He carefully dissects the role of angels in Jesus’ life and goes on to show how they have a pastoral role for each of us – in healing, in guiding us at times of indecision and in helping us getting closer to God.

There are times when Macy’s insights are truly breathtaking and he helps us not just know who angels are, but what we need to do to respond to their amazing ministry. Macy doesn’t duck the difficult issues, but he does write with clarity and heart.

Christianity Magazine UK: April 2011 (5*)

This blog is meant to be an easy access resource for anybody who is interested in my book, In The Shadow Of His Wings: The Pastoral Ministry Of Angels - Yesterday, Today And For Heaven. I will post any reviews I can find on here, as well as anything else that might be worth "putting out there". Hopefully, it will be a one-stop-shop for all things related to the book. Happy reading!

Jonathan