The Festival of St. Michael and All Angels -- September 29

Lutheran worship is liturgical.  While that often refers to an order of worship, it can also refer to the calendar of the Church Year.  The Church Year includes major festivals, such as Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Pentecost, etc...  On Sunday, September 29 we recognize a minor festival, the Festival of St. Michael and All Angels.

At this festival, we praise God for his servants, the angels.  God employs angels to watch over his people (Psalm 91:9-12; Hebrews 1:14).  When we survey the Scriptures, we see that angels do much more.  They proclaim God’s praise and they point us to Christ as the Savior of all mankind.  At this festival, we will heed the angel’s words, giving our attention to the grace God has poured out on all the world through Christ.

We will join our voices with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven to laud and magnify our Lord in song of heaven ("Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty"), even as they will join with us to sing the song of saints on earth ("Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord").

NOTE:  The Hymn of the Day is a fairly new hymn, entitled "Christ, the Lord of Hosts, Unshaken." (726, Christian Worship Supplement)  It sings like a fight song; and indeed, it is.  Spend a few minutes before the service to read through the lyrics to appreciate how it vividly depicts the overthrow of Satan by our Victor, Jesus Christ, who wins the battle for us and who wins us for eternal salvation.