Then the Angel Said

Then the angel said to her,

"Do not be afraid, Mary,

for you have found favor with God."

Luke 1:30

I find it interesting that angelic appearances are often accompanied by the phrase, "Do not be afraid." Why do you think that is?

In our culture, largely influenced I'm sure by representations from the Renaissance, we seem to have some benign mental image of tall blond men in robes of white with pale features and enormous feathery wings. But we don't get that picture from the Bible. For the most part, the Bible describes angels as "men", although there are times that other descriptions are made. Elijah and Elisha both saw the hosts of heaven as horses and chariots of fire. Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John all saw the cherubim and seraphim which minister around the throne of God--multi-winged, multi-faced creatures. But what Gabriel looked like on the day he appeared to Mary, we are not told.

We are not even told how she recognized him as an angel; perhaps they had wings after all. Perhaps there was a flash of light and the harmony of angelic voices lifted in song when he showed up. Perhaps there was something distinguishable about him that the Bible doesn't mention. But Mary knew what he was, and she was troubled, perhaps even fearful. What would an angel of the Lord want with her?

And it is a recurring them with angels appearing, that some of the first words out of their mouth are usually, "Fear not!" or in this case, "Don't be afraid." That's one of the things that concerns me with all these common, modern-day apparitions of supposedly heavenly beings. There's no sense of awe or reverence from those who've seen them. I've heard some speak of seeing angels as if it were some kind of game they were playing with God, competing against others to determine who had more spiritual sight. They look for angels in movements out of the corners of their eyes. They look to the clouds and the shadows for the appearance of angels. They look for angels as an every-day occurrence. And then all they want to do is brag--I saw an angel! I saw an angel! Where is the fear of the Lord?

Angels never showed up at random in the Bible, and they never revealed themselves to just anybody. In fact, I cannot find one instance in Scripture where someone was looking for an angel when they found one. Sometimes people were simply seeking the Lord in prayer or worship when the angel showed up. Like old Zechariah, or like Isaiah, both in the temple of the Lord. Alot of the time, people were just minding their own business, going about their everyday lives, when the angel showed up. Like Abraham, or Gideon, or Manoah's wife. Or like Mary.

And angels never showed up just to be showing up. It wasn't a game for them...let's see if the little humans can catch a glimpse of my coattail if I move really fast. They were on assignment from God, and their ministry is not about themselves. I think we give too much glory to the angels, who while worthy of our awe are not worthy of our worship. They are not what we should be seeking. They are not what we should be looking for. And when we see them, that sighting alone should not be worthy of our excitement, "I saw one! I saw one!" That's just foolishness.

If an angel shows up on your doorstep or at your foot board, you better know something serious is going on. Because God never sends his messengers without a message from the throne. If one ever shows up in my presence, I can only hope that their message would be like the one given here: "Do not be afraid, for you have found favor in God's sight."