09292021 – St. Michael and All Angels…
This day, this night is important in various parts of our world…with a longer and richer cultural history going back even further back in time.
Today, is actually known as being “Michaelmas.”
And “the whole concept” or idea, makes a great deal of sense…when you pause and think about it.
It comes to us just when there is “less sunlight per day.” The harvest is over…the nights “seem longer”…the cold-dark-damp-winter lies ahead…and indeed is coming soon.
Michaelmas, or the “Feast of St. Michael and All Angels,” is celebrated on the 29th of September every year.
As it falls near the equinox, “the day itself” is associated with “the beginning of autumn” and “the shortening of days.”
In England, it is one of the “quarter days.”
The year at one time was divided into four quarters.
From your old English classes, you may remember a play written by William Shakespeare entitled, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
A Midsummer Night’s Dream was a comedy written by William Shakespeare around 1595 or 1596.
Midsummer was ONE of the four quarters of the year.
There are traditionally FOUR “quarter days” in a year “Lady Day” which is (25th March), Midsummer (24th June), Michaelmas (29th September) and Christmas (25th December.)
They are spaced THREE months apart, on religious festivals, usually close to the solstices or equinoxes.
So, March 25 is called “LADY DAY.”
In the Western liturgical year, “Lady Day” is the traditional name in English-speaking countries for “the Feast of the Annunciation,” which is celebrated on 25 of March, and commemorates the visit of the archangel GABRIEL to Mary, during which he informed her that she would be the mother of Jesus, the Son of God.
For those of you that like to count, YEP, its exactly 9 months until Christmas…funny how that works out!
June 24th is always associated with the celebration of ST. JOHN the BAPTIZER…making John, 6 months older than baby Jesus.
Midsummer, St. Michael, Lady Day and of course, December 25th the Nativity of Our Lord, better known as being CHRISTMAS DAY…
And there you have it – the FOUR quarters of any given year.
But then historically and culturally: they were the FOUR DATES on which “SERVANTS” were hired, “RENTS were due” and “LEASES were begun.” They used to be quarterly, NOT MONTHLY or yearly.
It was at one time said, “that harvest HAD TO BE completed by Michaelmas,” almost like marking it the end of “the productive season” and the beginning of the “new cycle of farming.”
It was also the time at which “NEW SERVANTS were hired” or “LAND was exchanged,” and “all DEBTS were supposably paid in full.” It was an important date and time…for the BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
Michaelmas actually became the time for “electing MAGISTRATES” and also signaled “the beginning of LEGAL and UNIVERSITY TERMS.”
So, these dates and these four quarters, were embraced within the wider culture…and in the wider community.
All important stuff…to be sure…and “with religious connection to boot…”
Michaelmas has been called “the HIDDEN FESTIVAL of the church year” because it is so often IGNORED and OVERLOOKED…by various church bodies…and yet it remains, every year ON our church liturgical calendar since the 1200’s.
The celebration itself is much older, the date commemorates the dedication of the Sanctuary of St. Michael Archangel built on Monte Gargano in Italy in 493 C.E. in honor of an apparition of the archangel just a few years before.
“They would NOT be married until Michaelmas,” wrote Jane Austen in 1811 in Sense and Sensibility. So, see, at one time it was a “thing.” This Michaelmas thingy became a literary thing!
Chronologically, the first time that Scripture mentions “an angel” is after Adam and Eve were cast out or expelled from the Garden of Eden, shortly after creation.
That reference presents the CHERUBIM as a mighty warrior with a flaming sword, quite different from cute, HARMLESS BABY cherubs that frequently appear in popular culture.
The last reference to ANGELS is in the Book of Revelation at the end of the world.
Sandwiched in between these references are other instances where angels appear at key moments in Jesus’ life: announcing his BIRTH, ministering to him after Satan’s TEMPTATION and being present both at his RESURRECTION and his ASCENSION into heaven.
In short, the angels were present at the “KEY MOMENTS” when Jesus was saving his people from their sins.
The word ANGEL comes from the Greek word ángelos, which means “messenger” or the Latin angelus which in turn is the romanization of the ancient ángelos.
In the Western church, St. Michael and All Angels has been celebrated since the 1100’s non-stop.
As the days grow shorter, it is good to be mindful of the angelic visitors that watch over us and our loved ones as we sleep.
Keep us safe, through the night, until the mornings new light…that’s not a bad prayer in THIS day or in ANY day!
Amen.