Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels
Today’s scriptures mention sins that are extremely easy to commit. For instance, it is altogether too easy to disregard “the little ones” that Jesus speaks of in today’s gospel reading (Matthew 18:1-5, 10). There is the visceral reaction people give toward children: many get frustrated with having to travel next to young children on airplanes, or see them in restaurants, or anywhere other than a playground. I am also very conscious now, both as a parent and as a catechist of little ones, how much people dismiss that two year olds or three year olds might say anything important about what we think is important, including God, money or politics. And yet, it is the three year olds who are capable oftentimes of naming mysteries about God in very deep ways (and actually, I think they often have wise words about money and politics, too!).
In catechesis, the children say: “Jesus is there in the bread,” they say, not getting caught up in the doubts adults have. It is something they know in their hearts and that you can see on their faces. “I know Jesus will never let me go,” another says, responding to the parable about Jesus as the Good Shepherd who knows each of his sheep by name.
The other easy sins are to “serve other gods” as we read in the Old Testament. We sometimes think of “other gods” in the ways that we imagine people must have worshiped other gods “back then” – as wood, or stone idols, or strange pagan festivals. And then we think we are home free, for who of us have those kinds of things nowadays? But think more about the “other gods” of long ago. Often they had names and had specific offices – Mars, the god of war; Venus, the goddess of love; Poseidon, the god of the dead, and lesser ones like Geras, god of the aging, and Eros, god of lust.
When I think of those specific kinds of gods and offices, I think that indeed, we still worship those gods today even if we don’t name them in that way. Do we love the idea of falling in love with other people more than God? Or perhaps we believe that the idea that war could ever end is a fairy tale, despite that God promises a world of peace someday. Or perhaps we worship the dead by living in the past, seeking the aims of previous generations without thinking of the new things God might be doing now. And so on. Perhaps if Greek and Roman mythology were around today, there would also be gods for the iphone and video games, things that hold our attention, sometimes without regard either for God or for other people.
On this Memorial day of the Guardian Angels, perhaps the remedy is to remember that the “little ones” and we too, have angels whom Jesus says “always look upon the face of my Father.” We may think of guardian angels as beings who can grant us requests just as God does in prayer – but I think Jesus’ statement here goes further and deeper. Guardian angels who look on the face of God serve also as a reminder that we, and the “little ones” are all people who are created in the image of that same God. We are all capable of sins, and can very easily sin against others or God, but at the same time, guardian angels remind us that we are meant to be God-like. They remind us of what our future is. Someday, we too, will be looking at God face-to-face. Until then, can we develop habits in our own lives that help us see all the other people - especially the little ones - as ones who, too, will see God face-to-face?
-Jana M. Bennett