Wednesday, October 20, 2004
The Great Martyr Artemios at Antioch
Kellia: Judges 6:2, 7, 11-24 Epistle: Colossians 1:18-23 Gospel: St. Luke 8:22-25
Judges 6:2, 7, 11-24 RSV, especially vss. 22, 23: "Then Gideon perceived that he
was the angel of the Lord; and Gideon said, 'Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel
of the Lord face to face.' But the Lord said to him, 'Peace be to you; do not fear, you shall not
die.'" In both of the original languages of the Bible, the word translated in our English versions
as "angel" is simply the common Hebrew or Greek word for "courier" or "messenger." In the
present passage, the angel who appeared to Gideon is specifically identified to the reader as "a
messenger of the Lord" (vss. 11,12). He came to Gideon who was threshing wheat down inside a
wine press and gave a friendly greeting, "The Lord is with you...."(vs. 12). He did not
communicate that he was one of the bodiless Powers. In fact, since the greeting was coupled
with the address, "you mighty man of valor," it led Gideon to express his discomfort that "the
hand of Midian"(vs. 2) was heavy upon him, even complicating his harvesting efforts. He could
not thresh out in the open, but had to hide inside the walls of a wine press, so as not to be seen by
marauding Midianites. So, we have, in his retort: "Pray, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has
all this befallen us?" (vs. 13) - a poignant expression of a continuous discomfort.
Gideon had to thresh in hiding. His neighbors had to hide in caves to avoid pillaging. It is
difficult for Gideon to see how the Lord could be "with him," yet an angel of the Lord had in fact
come with a message for him. It was the present complications of life caused by the Midianite
raiders that made Gideon acutely aware of the absence of the Lord in his life. Can you guess how
this applies to us? Much of the time, getting our attention and focusing it must be the chief
struggles for the bodiless Powers. As God's messengers to man, they have a difficult task.
First and foremost, angels are sent as messengers to deliver the word of God to each of us. In
Gideon's case, the angel laid a foundation for the man's acceptance of the message. Notice the
angel's first declaration, "the Lord is with you," and his calling Gideon a "mighty man of valor"
(vs. 12). Consider the messages our guardian angels bring to each of us: warnings, calls to
worship and prayer, helps in sorting among available options, and pointers toward those decisions
that represent God's highest and best for our lives. We are so dull spiritually that the angels have
a multitude of barriers to cross in order just to deliver God's word to our hearts.
Always, the angels face the problem of assuring men that they are truly hearing a bidding or a
message from God. Gideon is told to "go... and deliver Israel from...Midian" (vs. 14), but like so
many who hear the word of the Lord, he can do little else than question its relevance, not trusting
his own capacity to carry out the message. Moses asked, "Who am I?' (Ex. 3:11). Isaiah could
only see his sins (Is. 6:5), and the Forerunner John rightly perceived that he was the one who
needed Baptism, not the Lord (Mt. 3:14). So angels as God's messengers also have to encourage
us that God will enable us to carry out what He asks of us (Jdgs. 6:16). Think what the Lord
Jesus tells us - that not even a hair of our head shall perish (Lk. 21:18).
Finally, when an angel has quieted our minds and hearts and we have received and accepted the
message he brings from God, then agitation and fear often well up in us. Notice that the Lord
Himself spoke to Gideon (Jdg. 6:23) but only after the man had perceived that he was dealing
with an angel from the Lord and was not deluded by some demon or fantasy of his own making
(vs. 22). God speaks peace and dispels fear, enabling us to act. Thus He prepares us to worship
Him and to offer ourselves in His service (vs. 24).
Through the intercession of Thy holy angels and the power of Thy Spirit, lift us to Thy presence,
O Lord, that we may be still, honor Thee as God, and serve Thee with quiet hearts.
