I know I'll always be blessed with love...

 I read a story once (S. I. McMillen, in his book None of These Diseases) of a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application form that asked, "Are you a leader?" Being honest, she wrote, "No," and sent back the application, expecting the worst. 

 

To her surprise, she received this letter back: "Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new leaders. We are accepting you because we feel it is imperative that they have at least one follower."

 

In today’s readings we receive an invitation again to be followers of Jesus and to consider what that really means… And we do it with the help of the day in the church calendar on which we celebrate Michael and All Angels… 

 

It is particularly important in this church as we reflect on the history of this place dedicated to St Michael and All Angels and where there has been a place of worship for many hundreds of years. Today on this Feast Day, we think about and give thanks for the past, for the generations before us who have worshipped here; we pray for us as saints of today seeking to live out the gospel in words and actions and we look to the future, faithful and trusting in God and assured of his continued presence with us… 

 

And I’d like to think about the readings this morning. Firstly, we had the reading from Revelation (12:7-12) – this is often a confusing book to read and this morning we heard of the battle between Michael and his Angels fighting against the Dragon – we are told that eventually Michael won and the devil was thrown down and defeated. A loud voice from heaven proclaimed, ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God…’

 

As Christians we celebrate that through the resurrection of Jesus God has revealed that victory again, God has triumphed over every kind of darkness. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like that – life can be a struggle. Sometimes our own experiences are tough, and all too often we can look at the struggles for so many others for so many reasons locally and throughout the world…. But God has triumphed, victory has been won and we are invited to trust. To recognise and to acknowledge God’s love and faithfulness as well as his power, the power so incredibly displayed on the cross and through the resurrection of Jesus. 

 

And then there is the passage from Hebrews (1:5-14) where we are reminded of the primary importance of Jesus, worshipped by angels, sitting on a heavenly throne, filled with grace and love. And it’s easy to miss that in our churches and in our own lives – as we struggle on sometimes, or as we get engrossed in enjoying ourselves, or bogged down by busyness or anxiety, we sometimes forget the victory of Jesus – his love, not just for a world of unnamed people, but for us, for you and me… 

 

And then we have the gospel reading (John 1:47-51). It’s a funny little passage because it leaves out some important parts that come before this about Philip who had decided to follow Jesus and who had told Nathanael about him. Nathanael then says a pretty famous line when he hears about Jesus from Nazareth, he says, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth ?’

 

Philip says, ‘Come and see’… 

 

Those are crucial parts of this passage, ‘come and see Jesus’…

 

And we then move on a bit to what we had in our reading this morning with Jesus being approached by Nathanael but it’s Jesus who speaks first – ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit !’ Jesus is basically saying that he knows all about him and what he’s been saying, and knows him to be a man who speaks his mind openly…  But Jesus certainly isn’t offended or hurt and Nathanael is impressed when Jesus says he’s been watching him sitting under the fig tree – and Jesus says that Nathanael will be even more impressed if he keeps watching ! 

 

Jesus is drawing Nathanael into a closer relationship with him, inviting him to be part of his family… It’s an incredible invitation – Jesus, who knew all about Nathanael wanted Nathanael to get to know him better and that’s the invitation he continues to make to us every moment of every day – to trust him more, to receive his love more confidently and certainly, to seek his strength, wisdom and power… 

 

Jesus, who knows our innermost thoughts… Jesus, who knows why we’re here today… Jesus, who knows what we think of our neighbour that he tells us we should love… Jesus, who knows every little bit about us and still wants to get closer to us…

 

As Jesus speaks to Nathanael, he is almost replicating the words spoken by Philip, ‘Come and see’ and they’re crucial words to us as we are drawn closer into a relationship, a life changing relationship, with him. 

 

At the end of the passage we heard from the gospel Jesus says to Nathanael ‘‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’

 

People are attracted to angels – people seem comforted, strengthened by the little pendants that are often sold and that’s fine, but the reminder they should offer is that God does provide angels to help us day by day. It may be in the people around us, it may be through our dreams as God speaks to us, it may be in circumstances, but God is there and God knows us and understands us… 

 

Angels are often mentioned in hymns but perhaps a reminder of how they even touch popular culture is when they’re mentioned in pop songs and one of the most famous is by Robbie Williams and it’s the song called ‘Angels’ which some of you will know I’m sure… 

 

There’s been lots of attempts to interpret the song and even a few different official interpretations but there is one part that I want to think about which says, 

‘When I’m feeling weak

And my pain walks down a one-way street, 

I look above, 

And I know I’ll always be blessed with love’

 

I don’t think we need to explain the words but just to reflect upon them and to reflect how perfectly, deliberately or not, they speak to us of God who knows us, walks with us and loves us always… ‘I know I’ll always be blessed with love…’ 

 

Philip’s life was changed as he was invited to follow Jesus and he was excited. He told Nathanael and no doubt told others as well… 

 

The invitation in all of our readings today is to draw closer to God.

For the Celtic Christians they believed that there was a special place where heaven touched earth. They usually saw this as a thin line between the sky and the sea. In fact when they wanted to preach about Jesus they would often get in a boat and as soon as the boat stopped they would say that is where God wanted them to be.

 

This is why there were so many monasteries and abbeys by the sea. They believed that the view of sky and sea was a thin line between heaven and earth.

 

I love the sea and I can see that idea. It can be a heavenly experience to look at the sea and feel close to God. We will probably all have our own places where we feel that sense of being close to God but whilst we may recognise him more in some places than others, he is there always inviting us to come closer…

 

Today as we think about Michael and All Angels we give thanks for those who help to bring us closer to God and we think about what it means to be a follower of Jesus today. And as we give thanks for this church, we celebrate the lives that have been changed here, the experiences of God that people have enjoyed and the presence in this community that stands very publicly as an invitation to draw closer to God today. AMEN