The Angel's Light

18“How can I be sure of this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.”

19“I am Gabriel,” replied the angel. “I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20And now you will be silent and unable to speak until the day this comes to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.” (Luke 1:19)

26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings,b you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.c ” (Luke 1:26)

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  (Luke 2:9)

Thoughts: Gabriel was an archangel found in Daniel 8 & 9 (apocalyptic literature).  Michael is called an archangel (Jude 1:9);  Deutero-canonical literature mention Raphael, Uriel, and Metatron.  1 Thessalonians 4:16 speaks of the Lord coming back at the voice of the archangel.  Angels are not dead human beings but separate kinds of beings.  While the Bible seems to indicate that each person has an angel (Acts 12:15 et al) each person is not an angel in themselves.  Angels are servants sent to minister or serve others.  The halo idea around an angels head- is sometimes just a way to say they are special.  But others who have said they have seen angels, point out that there can be a glow as they reflect the literal glory of God.  In Luke 2:9 it was when the angel came that there was a glow of the glory of God not only around the angel but around the shepherds- indicating something special was happening.  

     The second advent candle lights the angel or light candle.    God sends angels to deliver messages or encourage the discouraged.  

Prayer: Lord, thank you for angels .  I join my coive with thiers to you as worship.  

12-1-13- The Angel Gabriel

19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
(Luke 1:19,20)

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. (Luke 1:26-31)

Thoughts: While advent really begins in the mind of God, and shows in the prophecy of scripture, but it is the angels who give the message of the coming.
    It is the angel Gabriel that we want to examine as the first character of advent.  Gabriel appeared by name to Daniel (8:15-17; 9:21).  Some scholars consider Gabriel's message of seventy-sevens as a message of 490 years between the time of the exile and the time of Christ around 30 AD.
     Gabriel spoke to believers.  He is called an "Archangel" by some- one who "stands in the presence of God." In Enoch (an apocryphal book- non-canonical in the Protestant Bible), Gabriel is joined with Raphael and Michael as named archangels.  In later (post-biblical) Christian tradition, Gabriel blows the horn for the end of the world. Never in the Bible is anyone encouraged to pray to angels.  In fact three times angels tell people not to worship them.  

If Gabriel could speak, perhaps he might say something like:
"Often when I appear to humans they are afraid.  But part of my job is to calm them down so they can hear the message that I have to deliver to them from God.  It is my joy to bring good news.  I told Daniel the meaning of his vision and the hope of a Messiah coming.  I told Zechariah, an old man, that he was to have a child- John.  It was my joy to tell Mary that she was highly favored to bring the Messiah into the world. I think I have one of the best callings in the world- to tell the important and good news.  But what I have to say from God is not trivia and it is not to be trifled with.  It is to be believed.  in fact, if God sends you a message whether through an angel or through His Son or through His servants the prophets or apostles- it is not to be trifled with but listened to.
    Zechariah was a believer, but he did not believe me and became mute.  Mary was a believer who humbled herself to listen and believe.  Humans often just expect the usual and the normal.  I exist to disrupt that expectation.  The fact that I exist means that there is more to life than simply what we see on earth.  

Prayer: Lord, give me ears to hear your message you have already made known to me.  Help me to believe in more than I can see.