There must always remain in every person’s life
Some place for the singing of angels,
Some place for that which in itself is breathlessly beautiful and,
By an inherent prerogative,
Throws all the rest of life into a new and creative relatedness,
Something that gathers up in itself all the freshets of experience
From drab and commonplace areas of living and glows in
One bright white light of penetrating beauty and meaning . . . then passes.
The commonplace is shot through with new glory;
Old burdens become lighter;
Deep and ancient wounds lose much of their old, old hurting.
A crown is placed over our heads that for the rest of our lives
We are trying to grow tall enough to wear.
Despite all the crassness of life, despite all the hardness of life,
Despite all the harsh discords of life,
Life is saved by the singing of angels.
The opening music was going through my head this past week. I felt a sense of hope…a faint hope, but a hope nonetheless. So, I was led back to the writings of Howard Thurman on angels. He says that we must reserve a place for angels in our life. This is a beautiful representation of the moments I am privileged to experience with people that I encounter…the new and creative relatedness that lead to an experience of a bright white light of penetrating beauty and meaning. Yet, as Thurman acknowledges, this moment is fleeting…it passes. It is this new glory that we are seeking…every day, with each new experience…the glory that says we are, in the words of Meister Eckhart, royal people. Thurman takes up this imagery when he speaks of the crown that is placed over our heads that…we are trying to grow tall enough to wear.
This is an awesome phenomenon…one that seems indeed rare and difficult to access. How do we access it? Is it really there, or is it an illusion…the stuff of fairy tales?
Hildegard of Bingen had a lot to say about angels and created this powerful mandala, with its center of cosmic fire…
“All Beings Celebrate Creation,” from Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard is saying that the flames surrounding God are praising God…that the entire world is praising God. About angels, she said, the angels surround God in their glowing fire, for they are living light. Is this the light that Thurman spoke of in our opening reading? She calls them illuminated beings through whom the love of God burns. Hildegard wrote extensively about angels and was joined by Thurman in their musical aspects…their singing.
I noticed that this song is called Responsory to the Angels and it brought me back to the recording with which we began. It is a response to the angels…another form of call and response…a participatory form of music said to have originated in Sub-Saharan Africa. This form of music took on an especially important role in the experience of the enslaved Africans in this country. Of course, this is a natural form of music in so many cultures…a way for all to be included…a mirror of our own communication style and that of other species as well.
Thomas Aquinas said that there is a relationship of angels not only to the natural world, but to the cosmos or ‘the heavens.’ Matthew Fox states that this is important for humans to hear since we are so human-centric, especially in traditional spiritual contexts. Pope Francis calls this our ‘narcissism as a species’. And angels were often trivialized as babies and thought to merely help humans as individuals. Aquinas instead, places angels in a cosmic context, as does Hildegard. She wrote:
Just as sunshine shows the sun, so also angels announce God
through their praise, and just as the sun cannot exist without its light,
so also the Godhead is nothing without the angels’ praise.
The entire cosmos sang the song of the angels.
In indescribable jubilation the blessed spirits through God’s power
exalt the wonders which God works.
The song of joy and blessedness rules throughout the heavens.
Hildegard stresses the broader significance of angels…perhaps the prophetic, as well as cosmic nature of them…the hope of their singing echoing…resonating in the universe at this critical time.
That, of course, is the hope that Thurman spoke of…the hope that life will be saved by the singing of the angels.
In Islam, angels are much more prominent and active than in the Christian tradition. They were, it is believed, created before humans and communicate with us, bringing messages from the divine. Called creatures of light, their existence seems to resonate with Hildegard’s cosmic vision. About angels, Rumi said:
The angels are our friends, they are always there to help us,
we can pray to them for guidance, protection, and healing…
Yet, I think Rumi had more to say about angels…rather than being only outside ourselves, ready to help us when needed, they are actually a part of our inner being. Rumi may be saying that the angels are representatives of God…representations of the divine love that is capable of guiding us and loving us, if only we reserve a space for them…a place for them to sing.
If we are able to do this, then we may be able to experience a new and creative relatedness…a life that is shot through with new glory.
This is the hope. That we will experience ourselves…our human self as capable of the universe…as being connected and able to respond to our current reality in a way that the angels have communicated we must. We must respond, despite the harsh discords of life with the dedication and passion needed right now. May the angels herald a new era…one filled with the resonance of their song within each of our hearts. May we listen to the new song and respond! outube.com/
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