angels remind us of our neediness - 25th week saturday archangels

Our faith teaches us that angels exist.  The bible says that they minister to God day and night singing holy, holy, holy – a song we sing with them at every mass.  They are the messengers of God, sent to fulfill God’s will – from the time of creation when an angel was sent to guard the tree of life, to the angels sent to Abraham and Sarah, to the angel Michael guarding the chosen people, to the angel Raphael sent to heal Tobit, to the angel Gabriel announcing the good news to Mary.

More than proving the existence of angels our gospel however reaffirms - that in a world that seeks evidence at every turn, Jesus is telling us as he told Nathanael that indeed we will see far greater things that these.  In a world where we are told that science has the monopoly of all the answers, Jesus is telling us as he told Nathanael that there is more to this world than the eyes can see.  In a world that is becoming more and more dependent on its own capabilities, in a world that is becoming too reliant on its own resources and abilities, Jesus is telling us that there are things greater than ourselves.

This is not just about angels, this is not just about belief in these creatures of God.  It is about our neediness as man, it is about our poverty and destitution.  We cannot remain dependent merely on our own capabilities.  We need God.  We are in need of a higher power.  We may not understand, we may fall short in our logic and evidence in proving its existence, but the fact remains that on our own we cannot even hope for greater things. We need the help of angels.