The Ministry of Gabriel

Preached on 11-25-01

THE MINISTRY OF GABRIEL

A Sermon by the Rev. Patrick A. Rose

"Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, . . . " (Lk. 1:26)

WE CONSIDER TODAY, exactly one month before Christmas Day, the ministry of the angel Gabriel. Gabriel announced the coming Advent of the Lord. As we enter upon a season that is, sadly, so often far too frenetic, far too busy, for our spiritual good, it is well to pause and consider the real purpose of this celebration.

In the Gospel of Luke, the story of Christmas begins with the appearance of this angel called Gabriel. Gabriel first appeared to Zacharias, while Zacharias was burning incense in the Temple. He told Zacharias that his wife Elisabeth would have a son, a son who would prepare people for the coming of the Lord. Six months later Gabriel then appeared to Mary, and told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her, and she would conceive and bear a child, a child who would be the Son of God Himself.

The angel Gabriel is the one who first announces that the Lord is about to be born. And yet, very little is said about Gabriel in the Old and New Testaments. Indeed, Gabriel is mentioned only four times throughout the entire Old and New Testaments. He is referred to by name only twice in the New Testament -- when he appears to Zacharias and when he later appears to Mary. He is also referred to twice in the Old Testament. Hundreds of years earlier, the prophet Daniel twice saw a man in a vision -- a man who was an angel. Both times, the man's name was said to be Gabriel (Dan. 8:16, 9:21). And this is all that Scripture tells us about Gabriel.

Some have thought that Gabriel, and other angels mentioned by name in the Word, must have been very important angels. Gabriel and Michael, the two angels named in the Word, and Raphael -- an angel mentioned in ancient books called the Apocrypha (Tob. 12:15, et al.), were thought to be archangels. This, though, is pure speculation. Indeed, it is revealed in the Writings that there are no such things as archangels. Gabriel, Michael and Raphael are, in fact, not the names of individual angels at all, but are the names of angelic ministries, angelic functions (AR 548).

"Gabriel," then, is not really the name of one particular angel at all. It is the name of an angelic ministry. It refers, we are told, to the ministry of "those who teach from the Word, that Jehovah came into the world, and that the Human He there assumed is the Son of God, and Divine" (ibid.). The angel who appeared to Mary was called Gabriel because he was serving in this function. He had been sent to tell her that her infant would be the Son of God. The angel who was sent to Zacharias -- and it may well have been some other angel (cf. SD 4332) -- was also called "Gabriel" because he told Zacharias that the Lord Himself was coming into the world. For the same reason, Daniel, when he had visions concerning the future coming of the Messiah, also saw someone who was called Gabriel.

When an angel teaches that the Lord is coming into the world, when he teaches that the Lord's Human is the Son of God, then this angel is called "Gabriel." And if an entire society of angels is involved in this, then the society itself then takes on the name of "Gabriel" (AE 302, HH 52).

The name "Gabriel," then, refers not so much to an angel, but to a teaching, to a truth, which was proclaimed by certain angels, who were then given the name of this truth. Gabriel is that truth which was proclaimed to Zacharias and Mary, the truth with which the Christmas story begins. The Lord Himself, Jehovah Himself, was coming into the world. He was going to assume a human body. And the baby that was to be born would, therefore, be none other than the Son of God Himself.

This is the central truth of the story of Christmas. Indeed, it is the central truth of the Gospels. And this truth is fundamental -- it is the very basis for all that we believe, and all that we love.

It is a truth we take for granted. We worship Jesus Christ. We worship Him not only as the Son of God, but as God Himself in human form. But still our worship of Him rests upon, it depends upon, what the angel said to Mary. The truth was that the baby that was to be born to her would be the Son of God. And Mary herself believed the angel. But for most people at that time it was by no means an obvious truth. Those who later would come to follow the Lord would only gradually come to see who He really was.

When the Lord later began His ministry, most people assumed that Jesus of Nazareth was the son of Joseph and Mary -- just an ordinary man. Indeed, when He later returned to visit His hometown of Nazareth, and preached there, many there were upset. What was so special about Jesus, they asked? How would he have any special wisdom? To them Jesus was just an ordinary carpenter. They knew His father and mother. And they knew his younger brothers and sisters (Mk. 6:1-3). The people of Nazareth certainly didn't think of the Lord as Divine. What is more, even the Lord's disciples at first thought that He was the son of Joseph. Philip, for example, refers to Him as "Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" (Jn. 1:45). As time went on, though, and as more and more people were amazed by His miracles, and astonished at His teachings, they began to wonder who He really was. Some thought He was the reincarnation of John the Baptist, or Elijah, or Jeremiah (Matt. 16:14).

It was Peter who first realized who the Lord really was. "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:16). This truth, this acknowledgement, was the foundation, the very rock, upon which the Lord would build His church (Matt. 16:18).

The fact was that no matter how greatly people might marvel at the Lord's miracles and teachings, if they continued to think of Him as the son of Joseph, then He would still be just an ordinary man. They would not think of Him as Divine. His teachings would lack Divine authority. And they themselves would be unable to worship Him. People would not have been able to be conjoined with the Divine (AE 328:6).

This is why, throughout the Lord's ministry, the Lord did miracles. And the miracles He did were, generally, done for those who expressed faith in His power. The Lord through His miracles, led people to believe in His omnipotence, to believe in His Divinity (ibid.).

And this is also why the Lord's very birth on earth was itself preceded by an angelic proclamation of His Divinity. People were to come to know that Jehovah Himself had descended to earth. They were to come to know that this baby was not the son of Joseph. This baby was the Son of God. This baby was Divine. "That Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Lk. 1:35). This was the message of Gabriel. It was the proclamation of a fundamental truth, an essential truth, a truth of great power.

The name "Gabriel" can be translated a number of ways. It can mean "man of God," "strength of God," or "my strong God." Whichever way it is translated, though, it is a name which emphasizes the power of God, for it is formed from two Hebrew words, both of which have the root meaning of "strength."

There cannot be a more powerful truth, a stronger truth, than the proclamation of Gabriel. The acknowledgement that the Lord is the Son of God is said, in True Christian Religion, to be the very "first principle of faith in Jesus Christ" (TCR 342). It is said to be "faith in its origin" (ibid.). And true faith, faith in the Divinity of the Lord is the source of the greatest power, the greatest strength. It is a power we so desperately need.

All too often, when people seek the truth, they seek the truth from themselves and from one another. We live in an age where mere human opinion carries great weight. There is said to be no such thing as absolute truth because each person sees the truth in a different way. Who can say for certain what is true, and what is not true? Who can say for certain what is right and what is wrong? Mankind, left to itself, does not arrive at the truth. All it comes up with are opinions, opinions which vary from person to person. And what real authority, what real power can there be, in varying human opinions?

It is a weakness that we all share. All too often, as we go about the business of living, we allow ourselves to be guided by whatever ideas, whatever opinions, happen to make us feel the most comfortable. All too often we make our decisions on the basis of what we ourselves want, what we ourselves think. And such decisions are almost always an expression of weakness. Left to ourselves we almost always follow the path of least resistance. We may do things that are wrong, things that are not good, but we do them because it seems easier that way.

This is why we need the Lord. This is why we need the power of the Lord. We turn to Him because only in Him can we find the strength we so desperately need.

The Lord did not come into the world as just another man, another prophet. He was born into this world as the Son of God. God Himself had descended to earth in human form. He came down so that He might be with us, so that He could teach and lead us.

When Mary asked the angel how it was possible for her to have a child, since she was a virgin, she was told that "with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37). The angel is not simply saying that nothing is impossible for God. He is also saying that "with God," with the presence of God, nothing is impossible. God Himself was to come down to earth in order that He might be with us. He was to be called Immanuel (Isa. 7:14), "which, being interpreted, means God with us" (Mt. 1:23). He had come so that He might be with us, and we might be with God. And with the presence of God, nothing is impossible for us. With the presence of God, we can be saved.

When we turn to the New Testament to read what the Lord Himself taught, when we turn to what He later taught in the Heavenly Doctrines, or when we turn to the Old Testament, which has been expounded by the Lord Himself in both the New Testament and in the Writings -- when we turn to the Lord's Word we are not turning to mere weak human opinion. We are turning to Divine truth itself. We are reading the words of the Lord God Jesus Christ Himself. And there is the greatest power in this. There is the power, the authority of truth. Instead of saying that this might be right, and this might be wrong, we can turn to the Lord in His Word and say, this is right, and this is wrong, because the Lord Himself says so.

This is the power of faith in the Lord. And such faith has far greater power than we might imagine. Some might argue that when people believe in the Word they only believe because it is their opinion that the Word is true. Faith in the Lord, and faith in His Word, though, transcend human opinion. Because the Lord was born on earth, because He came down to be with us, He can be present with us in a very real and a very powerful way. When we turn to His Word, He is present with us, and from His presence He enlightens us and gives us faith. It is from the Lord Himself, not from our own opinions, that we are given to see the truth of His Word. This was something seen very early in the Christian Church. The early Christians spoke not only about faith in Jesus Christ, but also about the faith of Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:16). It was a faith which came from the Lord (TCR 338).

To believe in the Lord is, of course, not simply a matter of just thinking the truth. It also must involve living the truth. And once again, this comes about from the power of the Lord, the power of His presence. By ourselves we are weak. By ourselves we cannot know the truth. And by ourselves we do not have the power to live the truth. But the Lord is present with us, and He gives us the power not only to see but also to live His truth. And when we live what the Lord teaches, when we obey His words, then truly the Lord gives us to have faith in Him. As we read in Apocalypse Explained: "the Lord so often said that they should do His words . . . the Lord is in His words, that is, in His truths, and by them He gives faith to man" (AE 328:7).

The Lord's birth into the world marked the beginning of a fundamental change in the relationship between God and mankind. He descended to earth, and was born as a tiny baby, so that He could be with the people He loved. He was born as Immanuel -- as God-with-us.

At the time very few people here on earth knew who He really was. There were Zacharias and Elizabeth, and Joseph and Mary. There were the shepherds and the wise men. There were Anna and Simeon. But even these people could hardly begin to really grasp what the Lord's birth involved. Later others would come to learn about the Lord. They would come to realize that He was not simply the son of Joseph. They would come to see Him first as a prophet, and then as the Son of God. It would be later still before men would realize that the Lord, following His resurrection, was no longer even the Son of Mary. He was fully God Himself, in Human Form. He had power over heaven and earth. He was one with the Father He was Jehovah Himself in His Divine Human. Indeed, it was not until the Lord made His Second Coming in the Heavenly Doctrines, that people could be led to fully understand the relationship between the Lord and His Father, come to understand how they are one Person.

It would be many years indeed before people could fully understand and therefore fully approach the Lord in His Divine Human. But still, with the proclamation of the angel Gabriel, the most fundamental truth of all had been revealed on earth. Jesus Christ was the Son of the living God and He was therefore Divine. And this truth is said to be "like the morning star to all who enter His church" (TCR 379:5). It is a star, a knowledge, a truth, which can lead people away from themselves, away from their own weaknesses, into the presence and the strength of the living God Himself. It is none other than the star of Bethlehem, a star which can bring peace and goodwill, a star which can bring salvation itself, to the human race.

Amen.

Lessons: Isa. 7:10-14; Dan. 8:15-19; Lk. 1:26-38; TCR 379 heading, TCR 379:4-5.