Jared and the Angel.
I’m not sure, why I’ve got this thing about angels at the moment. It is becoming addictive; but even more “spooky,” (if that’s the appropriate word) is linking it up with the US president’s son in law.
I had been doing a bit of research on Archangel Michael for inclusion in the religious section of Lit Net Forums, when it struck me that both had rather large portfolios of responsibilities.
We are all no doubt familiar with how Jared has been tasked with: resolving the decades-long conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians in the Middle East / Government reform / Opioid crisis management / Developing ideas for the US on infrastructure / Criminal justice reform / Liaison with Mexico / Likewise China / Likewise the Muslim community / and putting in his sixpence worth on North Korea initiatives.
Then on Tuesday!!!
Mind you, if this seems daunting, just consider St Michaels heavenly inbox.
Unless the Almighty has had a reshuffle, he is currently tasked as: the Guardian of the Catholic Church / the guardian angel of the Pope / the chief opponent of Satan / the Christian angel of death who descends and gives each soul the chance to redeem itself before passing / and patron saint of military personnel and grocers.
Future projections for Judgment Day include; the weighing of souls based on their deeds during their life on earth and defeating the Antichrist.
How have both individuals done so far?
Well St Michael has an impressive track record, as in Revelation 12:7–9, we are told that "Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, 9 who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it."
There is also an identification of St Michael with the gift of healing. Gregory the Great leading a devotional procession in 590 when the city of Rome was afflicted with a plague that killed his predecessor, reportedly saw a vision of Saint Michael atop the Mausoleum of Hadrian. The archangel sheathed his sword, suggesting to the pope that the peril was ended. The Mausoleum was subsequently renamed “Castel Sant'Angelo” (Castle of the Holy Angel) in honour of St. Michael.
As for Jared the jury is still out, though I understand that he has proposals formulated for peace in the Middle East. Though a practicing orthodox Jew, he should perhaps remember that traditionally St Michael was considered the prince-protector of the Jewish people, and thus he would lose nothing in invoking the Archangel as an ally in the traditional prayer:
O Michael of the Angels
and the righteousness in heaven,
Shield thou my soul
With the shade of thy sword.
Shield thou my soul
On earth and in heaven. From foes upon earth,
From foes beneath earth,
From foes in concealment,
Protect and encircle
My soul 'neath thy wing,
O my soul with the shade of thy wing.
