Your commentary on angels is much like something I would write. One of my children became very angry with me when I said I did not think I know what an angel is. He thought I was saying I did not believe angels exist. That was not at all what I meant. I meant what you are saying, that in my now fairly long life, filled with miracles of timing, of rescue, of fulfillment after long waiting, of extraordinary healings and discoveries, of visions and prophetic dreams, and incredible blessings through people of many kinds, I still am not sure from all of those biblical accounts that I know what an angel is. Have I "entertained an angel unawares?" I had a dream vision about a man who had an unusual conversation with me about wealth. (Not a guarantee that I was going to become wealthy!) After a few months, I met a man working temporarily as a limo driver, who took my son Alex and me to a location in Toronto to see a doctor, as part of his lawsuit. That man was exceptionally kind and drew Alex into the conversation so delightfully that I was deeply touched. Then, he made a point of finding us again where he'd dropped us off, in order to be the driver who would bring us home. Before he left, he told us that he had never said this sort of thing to one of his clients before, but that he had found our conversation exceptional. Alex and I felt the same way about his story-telling, and told him so. In fact, some of the conversation had touched on the subject of my dream. A few weeks later, he showed up again at Alex's house because the Crown had forgotten to cancel another trip to Toronto to see a different doctor. So, Alex saw him again and got from him the knitted cap, a memento of my late sister, that I'd left in the limo. I was disappointed not to have seen him again because the email address he'd given me had not connected. I was unable to trace him. Since then, Alex has had a second, dreadful stroke. His interaction with that driver was a peak, demonstrating Alex's pre-stroke-II cognition and empathy. The doctor's appointment had revealed his strength and health in great detail. If Brian was an "angel," it may have been to show me something about Alex I still need to know. Or that other thing we discussed about top-flight golfers he knows and the echelon of wealth he has contact with? I certainly still am unaware if that sort of encounter is what the biblical stories would deem "an angel," even if I'd had a prophetic dream about him.
Thank you Laurna. I think you have put your finger on exactly what I was trying to get at.
Many people hear "I don't know what angels are" as scepticism, when often it is the opposite. It is taking the biblical accounts seriously enough to admit they don't fit neatly into our categories. Sometimes angels seem almost human. At other times, they appear as messengers, visions, protectors, or something else entirely.
Your story about Brian is fascinating. Whether he was an angel in the biblical sense or simply a remarkable person who appeared at exactly the right moment, the encounter clearly carried significance. I find those moments deeply intriguing. Sometimes the gift is not certainty about what happened, but the way the experience continues to illuminate something important years later.
I suspect Hebrews' phrase about entertaining angels unawares remains powerful precisely because we are left wondering.
Perhaps the closest I have been to an angel was when I was talking to my mother, who was a marvel of prescience and who was recovering from a massive heart attack, and she started to describe "multicolored, shining beings beside and behind" me. Three figures "arrayed" in something like the northern lights. She was very surprised that I could not sense or see them. I was deeply into "new" spiritual experiences in those days. She was sure my prayers for her that included anointing with oil contributed to her survival. The little pottery jars in which I placed the oil before blessing them were souvenirs of my trip to England. She kept them in her refrigerator for years and would help herself to a bit more blessing whenever she felt like it. Oddly, since I knew next to nothing about the RC church I later would join, I had followed the traditional anointing of the sick with a series of crosses marked upon her. At the time she described the angels, I thought she was being given a special vision or blessing for her continued healing. Now, I wonder if she was seeing something I needed to know for my own journey. I have not sought angels. When Dan was first hospitalized for psychosis, I was very impressed by the powerful prayers of one friend for the presence of the Archangel Michael and all kinds of protection. She had known such hospitalization and Dan certainly was in grave danger, from the doctors, from other patients, and from what lay outside the hospital when he was allowed out of doors. Perhaps you and I would know more about angels if we asked for them?
Your commentary on angels is much like something I would write. One of my children became very angry with me when I said I did not think I know what an angel is. He thought I was saying I did not believe angels exist. That was not at all what I meant. I meant what you are saying, that in my now fairly long life, filled with miracles of timing, of rescue, of fulfillment after long waiting, of extraordinary healings and discoveries, of visions and prophetic dreams, and incredible blessings through people of many kinds, I still am not sure from all of those biblical accounts that I know what an angel is. Have I "entertained an angel unawares?" I had a dream vision about a man who had an unusual conversation with me about wealth. (Not a guarantee that I was going to become wealthy!) After a few months, I met a man working temporarily as a limo driver, who took my son Alex and me to a location in Toronto to see a doctor, as part of his lawsuit. That man was exceptionally kind and drew Alex into the conversation so delightfully that I was deeply touched. Then, he made a point of finding us again where he'd dropped us off, in order to be the driver who would bring us home. Before he left, he told us that he had never said this sort of thing to one of his clients before, but that he had found our conversation exceptional. Alex and I felt the same way about his story-telling, and told him so. In fact, some of the conversation had touched on the subject of my dream. A few weeks later, he showed up again at Alex's house because the Crown had forgotten to cancel another trip to Toronto to see a different doctor. So, Alex saw him again and got from him the knitted cap, a memento of my late sister, that I'd left in the limo. I was disappointed not to have seen him again because the email address he'd given me had not connected. I was unable to trace him. Since then, Alex has had a second, dreadful stroke. His interaction with that driver was a peak, demonstrating Alex's pre-stroke-II cognition and empathy. The doctor's appointment had revealed his strength and health in great detail. If Brian was an "angel," it may have been to show me something about Alex I still need to know. Or that other thing we discussed about top-flight golfers he knows and the echelon of wealth he has contact with? I certainly still am unaware if that sort of encounter is what the biblical stories would deem "an angel," even if I'd had a prophetic dream about him.
Thank you Laurna. I think you have put your finger on exactly what I was trying to get at.
Many people hear "I don't know what angels are" as scepticism, when often it is the opposite. It is taking the biblical accounts seriously enough to admit they don't fit neatly into our categories. Sometimes angels seem almost human. At other times, they appear as messengers, visions, protectors, or something else entirely.
Your story about Brian is fascinating. Whether he was an angel in the biblical sense or simply a remarkable person who appeared at exactly the right moment, the encounter clearly carried significance. I find those moments deeply intriguing. Sometimes the gift is not certainty about what happened, but the way the experience continues to illuminate something important years later.
I suspect Hebrews' phrase about entertaining angels unawares remains powerful precisely because we are left wondering.
Perhaps the closest I have been to an angel was when I was talking to my mother, who was a marvel of prescience and who was recovering from a massive heart attack, and she started to describe "multicolored, shining beings beside and behind" me. Three figures "arrayed" in something like the northern lights. She was very surprised that I could not sense or see them. I was deeply into "new" spiritual experiences in those days. She was sure my prayers for her that included anointing with oil contributed to her survival. The little pottery jars in which I placed the oil before blessing them were souvenirs of my trip to England. She kept them in her refrigerator for years and would help herself to a bit more blessing whenever she felt like it. Oddly, since I knew next to nothing about the RC church I later would join, I had followed the traditional anointing of the sick with a series of crosses marked upon her. At the time she described the angels, I thought she was being given a special vision or blessing for her continued healing. Now, I wonder if she was seeing something I needed to know for my own journey. I have not sought angels. When Dan was first hospitalized for psychosis, I was very impressed by the powerful prayers of one friend for the presence of the Archangel Michael and all kinds of protection. She had known such hospitalization and Dan certainly was in grave danger, from the doctors, from other patients, and from what lay outside the hospital when he was allowed out of doors. Perhaps you and I would know more about angels if we asked for them?