This year, the official feast day of St Michael and All Angels fell on 29 September. It was the Tuesday
which preceded the feast of St. Francis last Sunday; we did not get to celebrate God’s angels and talk about them.
There are about six hundred references to angels in the Bible, but we seldom talk about them.
Last Sunday, I spoke about the “parallel universe or the divine life that overlaps, if not present to us in the
immediate. In short, angels are God’s servants who are the go-betweens for us and Heaven. Today, I want
to tell you more about angels.
First, let me share a very beautiful story with you. This story encouraged me to take the theme of St
I will mention Michael and all angels for today's message and tell you about angels. I heard the story on 30 September at a study group meeting (via Zoom) based in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. This study group is dedicated to studying personages in the Bible who are mentioned only once or twice, which has left us wondering who they were and what had happened to them.
For example, we explore questions such as: who was Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most
High, who blessed Abraham? (Genesis 14; Ps.110:4 & Hebrews 7:1-1); what happened to Dinah, the
daughter of Jacob’s second wife and Joseph’s step-sister? (Genesis 46:7); what was the future of the
Ethiopian woman, Moses married early in his life. (Numbers 12:1); who were the wise men from the
East? (Matthew 2:1-12), and so on. One person in the group extensively searches for characters like
these and shares them with the group.
At our previous meeting in June, it was decided that Ella (a professor in Biblical Studies and a group member) would talk to us about the three angels named in the Bible. They are Gabriel, Raphael,
and Michael. Although these angels are known to be archangels and are present in much Christian
literature, they only get mentioned a few times in the Bible. Since the feast day of the angels falls on 29
September, our meeting was arranged for the 29th evening (the 30th morning for me in Melbourne)
Unfortunately, Ella was called out on a family emergency over the weekend, and the group convener
had to have a substitute speaker to talk about angels.
Tricia, the lady who stepped in for Ella, was not a scholar but a volunteer at a Food Bank named Angel
Network Charities (Hawaii). The Food Bank was started in 1989 by Ivy Higgins Olson.
Tricia told us the most beautiful story of Ivy. It is the story that inspired Ivy to start the Angel
Network Charities and made Tricia volunteer at the Charity since 1999. Ivy’s story is incredible and
true, which, I believe, will help us celebrate God’s angels. I recorded the story as Tricia narrated
the story.
Ivy was the daughter of Seventh-day Adventist missionaries, and shortly after graduation in 1960 married
Michael is also a Seventh-day Adventist. The Adventist sect, as it is today, was strict then, too. No dancing, no movies, no parties, and so on. Although the young couple obeyed all the rules, Ivy became restless after their second son's birth. Her life was rigid and restricted; all she did was work in a doctor’s office and then go home. She longed for friends, for new experiences, for laughter and fun. Ivy couldn’t imagine a God so harsh that he would prohibit the pleasure of music. Michael was furious when she began bringing home library books that presented worldviews different from their own.
Nothing worked out despite every effort Ivy made to keep up the marriage. Eventually, the relationship
between Ivy and Michael fell apart. One day, she packed up the boys and some possessions in her car and left. Ivy and the boys found a one-bedroom apartment with no furniture, and all three slept on the floor together. Divorced ensured. Neither Michael nor her parents, who were away in the mission field and upset over her decision, offered help.
Ivy only had her job at the doctor’s surgery. But her financial struggle was exhausting. By the time she
had paid for daycare and all the bills, the only thing left to skimp on was food. Iv applied for food stamps,
but the clerk said she earned two dollars above the cut-off point and wasn’t eligible. She fled the
welfare office, tears streaming down her cheeks.
As Thanksgiving neared that year, life got even more challenging. No one was going to invite her, and the
boys for a holiday dinner because they had no friends, and no one knew about their situation.
On Thanksgiving morning, Ivy woke up knowing she had only three hot dogs and three buns in the
refrigerator. There was no money, and payday wasn’t until next week. It was the lowest Ivy had felt. She
put on a brave face -- the same face she’d been wearing all that time -- packed up the boys and the food, and went to the park. There they cooked the hot dogs on a grill. But as the trio walked home, one of the boys looked up at Ivy. “I’m still hungry, Mom,” he announced. “Me too,” his brother echoed. “Do we have
anything else to eat?” Ivy’s heart sank.
They were approaching the stairs to their apartment; the door to basement apartment number 3 opened,
and an elderly lady came out. “Oh, I’m glad I caught you, Ivy,” she said, beaming. “I was going to ask you
and the children to Thanksgiving dinner, but you were out when I knocked on your door earlier.”
“Thanksgiving dinner?” Ivy’s older son asked, hopefully. “Turkey and dressing and pumpkin pie.” The lady
smiled at him. “Mom! Can we?” Ivy was staring at the little woman. Who was she? Ivy had never seen her
before. True, her days were long and difficult, but shouldn’t she recognise a neighbour who lived below
her, especially since the woman knew her name? Ivy’s natural shyness rose. “I thank you, but-” She began
to turn away. “Oh, Mommy, please, can’t we have dinner here?” the younger boy begged.
The aroma of roasting turkey wafted out the apartment door. Ivy looked at her sons. How could she say no to them? “I have your favourite potato salad too, honey,” the elderly lady said, smiling again at Ivy. Her
favourite- it seemed like it had been years since she had tasted it.
The scents and the warmth, especially the neighbours’ friendliness, touched her heart. “Thank you,”
Ivy said quietly and followed her eager children into the apartment. It was nicely furnished, with soft
welcoming light and a table set beautifully for four. The lady had planned on their company. How odd.
Dinner was ready, and almost in a daze, Ivy sat down to the most wonderful meal she had eaten in years,
perhaps ever. There was turkey and stuffing, vegetables, soft rolls, and that special potato salad. But most
of all, love. The apartment seemed to be filled with it.
It was as if they had dropped into a story, like the ones she often read to the boys, a make-believe scene full of joy and wonder, with their grandmother in charge of everything. “This is marvellous,” Ivy
said, sighing contentedly. “But I’m surprised I haven’t seen you around, Miss ... ?” “Oh, I pop in and out.”
Their hostess beamed again. “How are you and the doctor getting along?” “Very well,” Ivy answered. “I
like my job, but I do get lonely sometimes. Well, you live alone you probably understand what it’s like
when no one’s there.” She could hardly believe she was talking this freely about things that had hurt her so
deeply for so long. “Oh, honey,” the woman said, leaning closer. “I’m never alone, and neither are you.”
“I’m not?” Ivy blinked. f course not. And don’t be afraid to ask for help- everyone needs it now and then. They left the basement apartment weighted down with extra food containers, yet Ivy almost floated up the stairs. She was filled with vigour, a completely different person from the forlorn woman of a few hours ago. She could do it; she knew. She could hold her little family together, no matter how difficult it might be.
The following morning, Ivy bounced down the stairs and headed for number 3. She had emptied and
washed the plastic containers that had held all those wonderful leftovers and wanted to return them. She
knocked on the door. No one answered. Ivy knocked again. Strange. It was so early. Where had the lady
gone?
What if she was ill? Ivy stood on tiptoe and peeked through the window. What she saw sent tingles down
her spine. The apartment was vacant -- no nice furniture, no lamps or rugs or even curtains, nothing but
dust, looking as if it hadn’t been disturbed in months. Stunned, Ivy wondered what had happened to the dishes, food, and wonderful lady.
The apartment manager lived on the same level, just around the corner. Ivy knocked on his door.
“Apartment number 3,” she said when he came to the door, “do you know the woman who lives there?”
The manager frowned. “Nobody lives there.” “But my children and I had Thanksgiving dinner there
yesterday.” He shook his head. “Couldn’t have. It’s been empty for months.” Impossible. And yet, hadn’t
there been clues? Her “favourite” potato salad, the questions about her employer -- little things she should
have noticed if she had wanted to question them.
Ivy headed up the stairs, her mind racing. She and the boys had lived through a true miracle. For a few
hours, she had been graced with love so intense, so wholesome and unconditional, that it could only
have come from God. She realised that the old lady was an angel from God. Ivy never forgot what
happened on Thanksgiving Day.
After Francie had shared this true story with us, we spent the remainder of the time using this true story
of Ivy as a shortcut, for a better word, to talk about God’s angels.
The angels are real. They are spirit beings created by God before humans and the world was created.
They were the “children of God” or “all the heavenly beings” and “morning stars” that sang for joy when
God laid the earth's foundations (Job 38:1-7. See also Rev. 1:20; 12:4). They are the closest creations
we can think about to God.
From the accounts in the Bible, the number of angels is vast (1 Kings 22:19; Daniel 7:9-10; Matthew 26:53;
Hebrews 12:22 & Revelation 5:11). Their appearance changes according to varying circumstances and
tasks given by God, but are often brilliant and dazzling (Matthew 28:2-7; Rev. 10:1-2)
As go-betweens our physical world and Heaven, angels interact on both a spiritual and physical level with
great power. What do angels do? According to the Bible, as go-betweens our world and Heaven, they have many tasks.
I sometimes think of angels as the public servants or civil servants of God’s Kingdom, of Heaven. In this
sense, angels primarily carry out functions for our good and well-being on behalf of the central
administration, God.
One thing you will be delighted to know about angels is that, as servants of the central administration,
according to the Bible, angels minister to our physical and emotional needs. Therefore, when angels
appear to us, they usually appear as human beings. Because of this, we miss out on recognising
them.
As in the stories of angels visiting Abraham and then moving on to bring judgment on the depraved city of
Sodom and meeting Abraham’s righteous nephew Lot, the angels were not first recognised. Neither did
they recognise the purpose of the visit of the divine visitors.
Another beautiful example of physical service is an angel who provided the prophet Elijah with food and water and encouraged him to eat. (1 Kings 19:5-8). The angel provided for Elijah’s physical needs.
Similarly, angels looking like men appeared at Jesus Christ’s tomb to explain his disappearance. But Mary Magdalene stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. She did not recognise who they were (John 20:11-14). The angels were there to bring good news to mental distress and sorrow for having lost Jesus.
In Mark’s Gospel, the women who came to anoint Jesus’ body saw a young man clothed in a long white
robe sitting on the right side. It was an angel, but the women did not recognise him (Mark 16:5-6). In
Luke’s Gospel says that two men stood by the women in “shining garments” (Luke 24:4). The women
were frightened.
Ivy’s experience was similar. She was not frightened to meet the friendly neighbour. Until the morning
following the Thanksgiving dinner, Ivy didn’t know who the generous neighbour was and why she
had entertained her and the two boys so lavishly that evening. An angel visited her in the form of a sweet
and warm elderly lady to supply Ivy’s and her children’s physical needs. The angel fulfilled their emotional
needs, too. Ivy was assured in a unique way that help was always available.
In the stories of Abraham and Ivy, the angels were soon recognised for what they were. But in the case of
the women who came to Jesus’ tomb, the angels were not recognised.
Perhaps you, too, have met angels and don’t even know it—maybe strangers who helped you somehow—especially since they can appear normal-looking. Think about this for a moment.
While the angels can appear as ordinary people, they are far from “normal,” as we understand the word.
Angels are powerful and glorious beings. Notice what the apostle John saw in his vision: “I saw still
another mighty angel coming down from Heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire . . . And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and cried loudly, as when a lion roars” (Revelation 10:1-3). This is very similar to a
vision of the prophet Daniel (Daniel 10:5-6; 15-19).
As glorious and powerful agents of God, angels are here to protect us from physical harm. In acting this
The angels are like the ADF (Australian Defence Force). Psalm 34:7 is written: “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them”. Remember the physical protection that angels afforded Daniel? They closed the mouths of lions (Daniel 6:22). An angel broke Peter out of jail in Acts 12:7-8 and ensured that Peter got himself dressed and put his shoes on properly! Once again, we see angels making sure to meet the physical needs of God’s children and giving them needed assistance.
As God’s public servants, while the angels serve us and care for our physical needs, they also observe
what God is doing through humanity. From this, they learn more about God’s plan for our salvation. In
In Hebrews 1: 5-6 & 14, the writer asks, "Are they (the angels) not all ministering spirits sent
forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?”
In the Book of Revelation, we see angels playing an active role in highlighting the necessity to preach the
everlasting gospel to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (14:6). The
angel then tells everyone to “fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come”
(verse 7).
As God’s servants, we find angels extolling God the Father and Jesus Christ in ceaseless praise (Psalm
148:2; Luke 2:13-15; Revelation 5:11-12). We also see God’s angels having great joy over a person who
repents of sin (Luke 15:10). Therefore, we can assume they are thoughtful, feeling beings.
Back to Ivy’s story.
Seven years after being physically and emotionally helped by the angel on the night of the Thanksgiving,
Ivy went to Hawaii to visit a friend, met the pastor of a Lutheran church, fell in love, and married him.
There, she got involved in a variety of church ministries. In 1989, there was a building boom in Honolulu,
and many families in the congregation, unable to pay their skyrocketing rents, suddenly became homeless. At that point, having seen the plight of the people, Ivy saw the confusion and sense of hopelessness she had experienced a few years ago.
She founded and directed the Angel Network, a self-help group for people in need in Honolulu
. The Angel Network gave people practical help and resources to become self-sufficient.
The Angel Network received an award from President George H. W. Bush. President Bush also
proclaimed 16 August 1992 as “Angel Network Day.” Ivy was also chosen as one of Bush’s “Thousand
Points of Light.” and was also recognised with the “Thousand Points of Light” award, which was presented to Ivy by President Bill Clinton.
After a long battle with intestinal cancer, Ivy Olson died in 2002 at the age of 60. However, Ivy’s legacy of
love, which began after an angel helped her, remains. The Angel Network continues to operate to
this day as a private, non-profit organisation serving Oahu’s (one island of Hawaii) homeless and at-risk
families as a food bank.
There is much more to be said about angels and about other angels who are designated as Archangels,
Cherubim and Seraphim. They are the “senior” civil servants in God’s central administration. The
archangels in God’s central administration are colloquially known as “the heavies” or “the big guns”.
If the angels could be compared to the ADF, the archangels could be compared to commandos and special task forces in service to God.
Beautiful and true stories of angels calling for backup and reinforcements from archangels to physically
help us and protect us abound. I will share them with you when I get another opportunity to talk about
angels.
As a teaser, I may say this much: If you recall and think of those who may have already been involved in your lives, protecting or physically helping you in humanly impossible or unthinkable ways, they are likely to have been archangels.
If the person or persons who have helped this way was/is a human being you have known for a
considerable time, it is likely that he or she had the cover of the archangels.
If the person or persons who had helped you had intervened in your life momentarily and then gone, he or
she is probably an archangel, in human form, sent by God to support you in an hour of great need.
Amen.
