Angels (but not in my hair)

When we were first looking for houses in Limerick we noticed something that we thought was telling.  In an older house there was a feature built into the kitchen wall that was designed for holding holy water.  That represented the passing religion of Ireland.  In another house we saw a picture referring to angels.  That represented a very modern religion in Ireland.  

One day in a local café I noticed an advertisement for a  meeting with a famous 'angel expert'.  My waiter friend told me that these events are packed out.  There is at least one angel shop in the city.  When I look through the book sections in charity shops I regularly come across the best-seller 'Angels in my Hair'.

In Ireland we have thrown off a religion we associated with control and fear, and bought into one that seems affirming but lacking in substance.  People are attracted to angels because we are created with a sense of the divine.  They are also attracted to a modern form of angel-adoration because these angels apparently demand nothing of us, but assure us that we are special.

Angels are very real, but in a very different manner than is portrayed in our culture.  They are awesome, and they bring a message.  They point not to themselves, but to the God of the universe.  Those who see them are filled with reverence.  They ministered to Jesus while he walked among us (Mark 1:13), and yes, amazingly, they minister to those who put their trust in Jesus (Hebrews 1:14).  

In his book on angles, Billy Graham tells a story from the life of .he Reverend John G. Paton, who was a pioneer missionary working in the New Hebrides Islands.  One night hostile natives surrounded the mission headquarters intent on burning his family out and killing them.  John and his wife prayed all during that terrifying night that God would deliver them.  When daylight came they were amazed to see that, unaccountably, the attackers had left.  They thanked God for delivering them.

A year later the chief of the tribe became a Christian.  Rev. Patton, remembering what had happened, asked the chief what had kept him and his men from burning down the house that night and killing them.  The chief replied in surprise, “Who were all those men you had with you there?”
The missionary answered, “There were no men there; just my wife and I.”
The chief argued that they had seen men standing guard—hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords in their hands.  They seemed to circle the mission station so that the natives were afraid to attack.  Only then did Paton realise that God had sent his angels to protect them.  The chief agreed there was no other explanation.

I her book, 'The Night the Angels Came', Chrissie Chapman tells of an experience involving angels.  A friend laid his hands on her eyes and prayed that God would open her eyes to see what he was seeing.  'As I opened my eyes, I saw dozens of angels standing shoulder to shoulder on top of the six-foot high wall that surrounded the perimeter of her healing centre ... They looked so huge and strong.  I was filled with so much awe that every bit of fear drained out of my body and could no longer touch me.

From that moment, and for the next twelve years during which the war [in Burundi] continued, I never felt fear for my life.  That experience and that sense of awe have remained with me over twenty years now ...'  

Psalm 91:11 reads, ‘For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all his ways.