The angel, Gabriel is very well known now, as far as angels go. However, I think it’s interesting that this is not how he is initially presented in Luke’s gospel. In fact, he doesn’t even have a name.

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 

See that? The angel is a no name.

Well, at first he is… then he reveals his true identity when pushed.

Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.  And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

Gabriel also seems to be very connected to Jesus’ entry into our world:

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee…

Gabriel appears to Mary also. It may be that the angel who appears to Joseph in his dreams and the initial angel to the shepherds, is also Gabriel, although it’s not made explicit.

I think there’s a few points to draw out from Gabriel’s escapades, however far and wide they might be.

Gabriel is aware of what is going on spiritually because he stands in the presence of God.

There are plenty of people out there who say they can predict the future or read your palms and assess your spiritual energy with their crystals but you have to ask yourself, ‘Can they really?’

Gabriel knew what was happening because God told him.

This leads to a second thought, which is that Gabriel was God’s messenger.

Again, there are plenty of people out there who will say they have a message from God for you. But have they been given the message from God or is it a figment of their own imagination?

If it’s God’s word, it’ll match God’s other words. And, ultimately, it’ll come to pass. That’s the test.

Finally, Gabriel is sent by God. The Bible says it clearly.

I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you… In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth…

Angels don’t just do as they please. They are the couriers with parcels that are only sent when the company bids them to do it.

It’s very easy to make up ideas about angels and write songs about them too. Annie Lennox’s There must be an angel dropped into my head whilst writing this post. Whilst musically brilliant (it is Lennox), we can easily unintentionally start using pop culture to form our ideas about these celestial beings, which then quickly leads us far away from the information The Bible gives us.

In fact, we can do that with pretty much anyone or anything in the nativity, can’t we?

This is why it’s always best to just read The Bible’s account and not make up narratives in our own minds.

Why not read the opening of Matthew’s gospel tonight? Or listen to someone read it online while you wrap your presents.

Yours going back to the source,

Alison