THE WORD AND THE FEAST
October 2, 2021: Celebrating the Guardian AngelBaruch 4: 5-12,27-29; Matthew 18: 1-5,10
The readings today speak to us of the experience of the people who walked away from God, who rejected God and when they were down in the drudge, they repented of their choices. They felt and were convinced that it was because they went against God that they faced all those bitter experiences that they had to face. They express their conviction and beseech God for mercy! God made them realise that inspite of all their unfaithfulness and imprudent choices, God has always been with them and God wants to be with them! This was another powerful experience that the people of Israel had.
When they were in the desert, they felt God walking with them, being with them, leading them to the new land... these experiences of God that people had, became the watershed of their history / a God who was present, who inspired and who accompanied them. This is the experience that is consolidated in the belief in the Guardian Angels: God's incessant presence and unfailing guidance. Jesus refers to that phenomenon in the Gospel and invites us to believe, accept and respect the presence of God through the Angels with us in our daily life.
When we stand by the little ones, guide the confused, redirect the faltering, strengthen the tired, hold firm the drooping, uplift the downtrodden, encourage the heart broken, we would be playing Angels to these because we would be doing exactly what the Lord wants to do to them, we would be representing God's presence to them. This is what the Lord wants us to do - to feel the presence of the Lord when we are on a down trip, and to be the presence of the Lord when we notice someone on a losing ground.
Let us believe in the Guardian Angels, experience the guardian angels and play guardian angels to whomever we can!