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