Bible
Study: Exodus 23, 20 to 23. And Matthew 18, 1 to 5.
10.
The deepest
truth about us humans is that we are more than a mere combination of flesh and
blood. There is more to the human person than what meets the eye. We are not
just flesh with souls, we are Spirits with flesh. The difference between us and
the Angels is that they are pure spirits who do not have flesh like us and
therefore, they are not subject to death, decay or other bodily passions that
we have.
Today, we
celebrate the fact that God having made us flesh and Spirit also created
Spirits to be by our side ALL-THE-TIME. As we sing in Psalm 91, verses 11 to 12.
“For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in ALL your ways. On
their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” This
means that even when we think we are all by ourselves, we are never ever alone.
The fact that you cannot see an object 5 kilometres from you does not mean the
object does not exist because with a pair of binoculars you can even see things
beyond that distance. Just as the eye needs the assistance of binoculars to see
things far away so also our Spirits need Faith to sense the presence of Angels
always by our side.
What does
your Guardian Angel do? Our first reading today provides a perfect answer: “Behold,
I send an angel before you, to GUARD you on the way and to bring you to the
place which I have prepared.” (Exodus 23, 20). First and foremost, they offer
us divine protection. I guess you may have heard people surviving ghastly
accidents escaping completely unhurt mysteriously. That is the work of the
Guardian Angel, he will not allow you die before your time.
The Guardian
Angel fights on your behalf thereby preventing other evils spirits and demons
from attacking you. However, the efficacy of the Guardian Angel in fighting for
you DEPENDS ON YOU. How? Do you sometimes hear voices? Well, not in terms of ‘hallucination’.
For instance, you plan to go somewhere and when you are set to go, you suddenly
develop butterflies in your stomach, you really want to go but deep down within
you, there is a strong feeling of aversion; a voice saying: “DON’T GO.!” That is
the voice of your Guardian Angel. If you are used to deliberately listening and
obeying him, your life becomes a lot easier. It is like you are able to read
the future.
Many persons
will say “Follow your heart.” But basically, it is not your heart speaking but
your Guardian Angel. A lot of times, things happen to us and we just reflect over
it and say: “It was as if I knew this would happen.” How we got to know so and
so is a testimony to our spiritual nature and the fact that there is more to
what we hear than what passes through our ears.
In moments
of temptation, your Guardian Angel comes around. He wrestles with you, he tells
you to remember to do the right thing and avoid sin. Each time you ask him to
shut up, you fall into sin and by so doing, you rebel against him. God himself
says to us in today’s first reading: “Give heed to him and hearken to his
voice, DO NOT REBEL AGAINST HIM, FOR HE WILL NOT PARDON YOUR TRANSGRESSION; for
my name is in him. If you hearken attentively to his voice and do all that I
say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your
adversaries.” Exodus 23, 21 to 22. Some of us have so much rebelled and
insulted our Guardian Angels that they no longer feel welcome around us. What a
pity?
When we go
and join a cult or secret society, the first thing the devil does is to take away
this spiritual faculty in us because this is what connects us to a flow of God’s
power in our lives. It is funny how
people go to the devil for protection looking for something that God himself
has already provided? What a shame! Why go about with charms when God has
already assigned legions of Angels to protect you? You have driven away your Guardian
Angel and repulsed him because of your sinful lifestyle, you disregard God’s
commandments and indulge in immorality. Now you feel insecure because your
natural God-given protection is gone!
When we
talk about Guardian Angels, people tend to assume that they only operate around
children. Even Jesus asserts in our Gospel passage: “See that you do not
despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels
always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 18, 10. Before
God, we all are little ones. No wonder Jesus kept telling us that we must be like
children in other to enter the kingdom of God.
Yes,
children enjoy the presence of Guardian Angels because their hearts are pure
and their lives are simple. But we who allow all kinds of evil dwell inside our
hearts in the name of ADULTS-ONLY-STUFF, we who have become so pre-occupied
with making money are in fact cheating ourselves. To be like a child as Jesus
demands, is for instance, to refuse to watch a movie labelled 18+ because you
consider it not good for your spirituality even though you are more than
eighteen years of age.
Have you
asked your Guardian Angel to pack out of your life? Did you quarrel with him
when you clocked sixteen and wanted the world to know you are now a big girl or
big boy? Today, God is saying, go back and put the pieces of your life
together. You need to allow your Angel come back, you need to start being a
child once again.
Let us
pray:
Angel of
God, my guardian dear, to whom God commits me here. Ever this day be at my side
to lead and guide me, to light and guard me. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.
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