II
Kings 6:8-23
English can be a playful language
sometimes. One of those ways shows up in
our collective terms. Here’s a little
game to demonstrate. What do you call a
group of…
Sheep? Flock
Cattle? Herd
Dogs? Pack
Fish? School
Lions? Pride
Crows? Murder
Penguins? Huddle
Snails? Escargotoire
Owls? Parliament
Salamanders? Congress
Continuing
on those lines, I know that a group of angels may be a choir, but I want to
propose that the better term might be “an ambush”.
This morning’s reading presents part
of my reasoning. It comes from the time
when the original kingdom of David and Solomon had split into two
countries. The southern kingdom, Judah,
had Jerusalem for its capital. Samaria
was the capital of the northern kingdom, Israel. When we pick up the story today, we find the
Israelite city of Dothan waking up to find itself surrounded by the armies of
the King of Aram. Inside the walls of
Dothan was the prophet Elisha who had been targeted for capture. One of Elisha’s servants panicked as they
looked out at the hostile army.
“’Alas, master! What shall we do?’ He replied, ‘Do not be afraid, for there are
more with us than there are with them.’
Then Elisha prayed: ‘O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the Lord opened the eyes of the servant,
and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around
Elisha.” [II
Kings 6:15-17]
Thus
began one of the oddest battles recorded in the Bible. The hostile army was struck blind, not
dead. Elisha offered to lead them to
safety, and he took them straight to Samaria, where they regained their sight,
now surrounded by Israelite soldiers and standing in front of the Israelite
king.
The king’s first instinct was what
you would expect, but this was Elisha’s battle, and
“he said, ‘Father, shall
I kill them? Shall I kill them?’ He answered, ‘No! Did you capture with your sword and your bow
those whom you want to kill? Set food
and water before them so that they may eat and drink; and let them go to their
master.’” [II Kings 6:21-22]
If
they were killed, this would have been just another battle, and just another
reason for revenge. Feeding them put
them under obligation as guests who could not lift up a weapon against their
host. Sending them home would let them
tell the story – not just one of them, but the whole group – about how Israel’s
God was fighting for his people and why you don’t want to mess with him. That would be effective defense for at least
a generation or two.
The angels had got the jump on them,
and they never saw it coming.
All too often, we believe that we
have to fight our own fights alone, and don’t realize that God has placed
allies of all sorts at our side. First
and foremost is his own Holy Spirit, who moved across the face of the deep at creation,
and by whose presence in the life of a girl named Mary the Son of God came to
take on human flesh, and who works in and through all who live by faith in the
Son. But there are others who help,
under the Spirit’s guidance.
The word “angel” simply means
“messenger”. An angel is one who brings
us a message from God, whether it’s a word of challenge or comfort or
courage. An angel might be some heavenly
creature, some being sent from God directly.
That’s what John Wesley was thinking when he wrote his sermon “Of Good
Angels”, where he points out that, as was the experience of Elisha’s servant,
God’s help for us is very real and direct but not always visible or simple to
identify unless someone opens our eyes to it.
Of such messengers, he says,
“Is it not their first care to minister to our souls? But we must not expect this will be done with
observation; in such a manner, as that we may clearly distinguish their working
from the workings of our own minds. We have no more reason to look for this,
than for their appearing in a visible shape. Without this, they can, in a
thousand ways, apply to our understanding. They may assist us in our search
after truth, remove many doubts and difficulties, throw light on what was
before dark and obscure, and confirm us in the truth that is after godliness.
They may warn us of evil in disguise; and place what is good, in a clear,
strong light. They may gently move our will to embrace what is good, and fly
from that which is evil. They may, many times, quicken our dull affections,
increase our holy hope or filial fear, and assist us more ardently to love Him
who has first loved us.”[1]
In
this he stresses, as I would also, that what matters is not so much the
messenger, but the message.
There are people who pay way too
much attention to things which are not central to faith. There is such a thing as superstition, and if
someone is surrounding herself or himself with magic medallions or candles or
suchlike, and emphasizing angelic presences or heavenly visions or spirits,
that is probably walking way too close to idolatry. In the book of Revelation, John gets a
message from God in a vision where an angel speaks to him. John bows down at his feet and the angel cuts
that sort of thing off right away.
“You must not do
that! I am a fellow servant with you and
your comrades who hold the testimony of Jesus.
Worship God!” [Revelation
19:10]
A
lot of outright pagan practices disguise themselves by claiming connection to
angels or saints. A real angel, instead,
will call as little possible attention to itself and as much as possible to
God.
That’s why it isn’t just the armies
that confront us that may be ambushed.
We ourselves may be suddenly and unexpectedly shocked by the hidden
grace of God that surrounds our lives at even the least dramatic moments,
although those may turn out to be the ones that wear us down and where we need
backup the most. A poem written by Gail
White is entitled, “Written on the Head of a Pin”.
“The car breaks down with
appalling
regularity. If I have bronchitis,
three credit cards
overdrawn and no love
affair going and the
white cat died,
it breaks down just the
same. The
clutch goes, the linkages
slip,
it blows a gasket, runs a
piston
rod through the engine
block.
Today it’s the brakes, so
I’ve done
the shopping on
foot. And feeling
slightly suicidal, I look
around me for signs of
hope.
Now is the time for a
messenger.
Time for a drink and
sitting
in the backyard; a good
time for any
passing dragonfly,
mockingbird, fieldmouse,
or calico cat to say, ‘I
am Gabriel.
I stand in the presence
of God.’”
I
remember reading that poem in The Christian Century sometime many years
ago and cutting it out, not quite sure why.
I stuck it in a book where I found it this past week and something tells
me … Or maybe I’m just being silly, but
…
“The Lord opened the eyes
of the servant and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots of
fire.” [II
Kings 6:17]
[1]
John Wesley, Sermon 71: “Of Good Angels”, II. 2. http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-71-of-good-angels/
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