An Angel in Prince Edward County

 

 Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 

Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

                                                           Luke 2: 8-14 NRSVue 

A couple of weeks ago we were meandering through the wonderful outdoor sculpture garden at the Oeno Gallery in Prince Edward County and one piece got me thinking about angels. 

Do you remember the angel craze of the 1990s? Who knows how it got started, but suddenly there were angels everywhere. The craze was part New Age, part evangelical Christian, while the Roman Catholics must have been rolling their eyes because they'd never pushed angels into the background. There was a best-selling book by Sophy Burnham that must have made her a heavenly amount of money with more than a million copies sold. This excitement persisted for a couple of years and then was gone. 

The word “angel” in the Bible is translated from a Hebrew word and a Greek word, both meaning “messenger.”

Of course, in the United Church when we say "angel" we mean "committee" or so it would seem. I do wonder when we decided not to talk about angels in our tradition even though according to the gospels an angel announced Mary's pregnancy with Jesus, multiple angels celebrated his birth, ministered to him after his temptations in the wilderness, comforted him in the Garden of Gethsemane, and declared his resurrection. C'mon, what else do we need? Angels deserve better from Protestants who are high on earnestness and low on mystery. 

The sculpture by P Roch Smith portrays two figures, one with wings. If they are the same person, is one a heavenly messenger to himself, and what is the message? 

Of course, if there was a story or artwork about an angel paddling a canoe or kayak I'd get excited but none exist. There is a French-Canadian legend about a witched canoe that flies but that doesn't come close to being angelic. 

 I'll just have to be content with the bible and the variety of angels we find there, along with the angel in PEC.