conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

the angel gabriel from heaven came

Holy cow. This falls into the “truth is stranger than fiction” category.

So, yesterday I needed to be at work early. Trish had an audition and needed the car, so I took the train. Some days I wear a collar to work…the availability of clean laundry and my mood both dictate this choice…and yesterday was one of those days. So, I got dressed for work, kissed my wife goodbye and left the apartment.

I did not wait long for the train. It was 5:45 in the morning. No one seemed to notice my collar. In fact, I quickly forgot I was even wearing the thing. That didn’t last long. When I got on the train, I was greeted with “Hey! Are you a priest?” The voice was angry. “Yes, of a sort. What do you need?” I was trying to be pastoral, you know. It is so important to be pastoral when riding the red line in Chicago.

Then the yelling started. “You’re a priest? No. You’re an idiot! Do you know that I’m smarter than you are? I am. I am smarter than you will ever be.” He had all kinds of theological questions for me. He asked me if I knew where God was at the beginning of time. He asked me if I knew where Jesus was when that happened. How does one explain “co-eternal” to a wild man? Well, that would prove an unnecessary concern.

“Do you know who I am? Do you know me?”
“No.” I replied.
“I am Gabriel. Do you know how I can prove it?”
“No.”
“You are going to Hell! I know these things. You are. So when you get there, you will know that I am the angel Gabriel. I am the angel Gabriel. I am not some little pansy angel. I have a sword and I kill people.”

With this, he stood above me in his seat. In my fear, all I could think was “Gabe, it’s six o’clock in the morning. Can we talk about this at another time?” It seemed unwise to me however, to address an archangel in such a cavalier manner, so I kept my mouth shut.

All of you need to know that the LORD is pissed at all of us “little monkeys.” He has sent Gabriel to take care of things, but Gabe got a little lost on the way and is generally pissed off as well. Oh, right, and when the world was being formed, Gabriel and Michael used to take Jesus out back of God’s house and beat him up. This probably explains much about the way that Jesus ministered to people. Jesus was a coward. He never fought Lucifer. He never watched his friends being killed. Angels die, you see. And they don’t come back.

That last piece of cosmic information broke my heart. Still, I sat there, gave my one-word answers, and wondered if this crazy man would relax enough to let me read in peace. Perhaps I should have been more concerned, but I gave up my savior complex on my second on-call at the hospital. Now, I just try not to get in the way when the Spirit moves. That seemed to work well in this situation as well.

You see, across from the aisle was an older Mexican man who did not like to see “The Reverend” get his theological arse handed to him on a platter. So, he came to my rescue. He engaged in the theological debate, diving in the co-eternal thing with all of his sleepy might. And when Gabriel spoke of how he and Michael took Jesus out back and kicked his celestial arse, my Mexican hero popped off. “Who are you? You are an angel? Well, Jesus made you. You are not greater than Jesus!” The tone was a little like “Oh yeah? Well King Kong can beat up Samson any day of the week, you dweeb!” But the response caught Gabe off guard. He then shouted at the man. “Well, you are going to Hell, too!” And this is where it got good.

“No I am not!” exclaimed my hero. And with this, he pulled a scapular from under his shirt. “Do you know who this is? Do you?” He pointed at an image on the scapular.
“No.” said the angel.
“This is the Virgin Mary. She protects me. So you need to sit down, shut up and leave the Reverend alone. He is doing God’s work.”

And the angel did. He walked up the car and sat down mumbling to himself. I, like any good minister of God, got out of there as fast as I could. I got off at the next stop and waited for another train. As I left, I thanked my Mexican savior and prayed to the Virgin in gratitude.

The rest of the trip was much less dramatic. I got on the train and was greeted by a homeless man who had been sleeping. "Oh good. A pastor.” He smiled. It seemed sincere. I hope it was. “Now I know it will be a good day. Peace to you pastor.”

“And to you.”

So, pray for the angels today. Pray especially for Gabriel. He is broken and lost. His rage overcomes him and he has lost his love for humanity. Give thanks to the Virgin who protects us all. Be good to the Mexicans you meet. I know I will be forever grateful.

For my part, I will try not to wear my collar on the train again…maybe.

This hymn has been running through my head every since my encounter.

The angel Gabriel from heaven came,
his wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame;
"All hail," said he, "thou lowly maiden Mary,
most highly favored lady," Gloria!

"For know a blessed Mother thou shalt be,
all generations laud and honor thee,
thy Son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold,
most highly favored lady," Gloria!

Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head,
"To me be as it pleaseth God," she said,
"my soul shall laud and magnify his holy Name."
Most highly favored lady, Gloria!

Of her, Emmanuel, the Christ, was born
in Bethlehem, all on a Christmas morn,
and Christian folk throughout the world will ever say--
"Most highly favored lady," Gloria!

Posted by tripp at May 27, 2005 08:36 AM