Gabrielthe Archangel

Gabriel is, above all, the messenger of glad tidings. He bore good news to the prophets of the Old Covenant and to the righteous of the New, and wherever he appeared he brought comfort, beginning with the words, "Fear not." He himself declared his dignity when he spoke to Zacharias the priest in the temple, saying, "I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings (Luke 1:19)." This agrees with the word of the Archangel Raphael to Tobias, "I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints," and with the seven Spirits which are before the throne of God, mentioned by St. John the Beloved in his Revelation.

The name of Gabriel is first heard in the book of Daniel the prophet. While Daniel sought the meaning of the vision he had seen by the river of Ulai, he heard a man's voice that called and said, "Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision (Daniel 8:16)." Then Gabriel came near where Daniel stood, and being afraid Daniel fell upon his face; but the angel touched him, set him upright, and made known to him the things that should come to pass.

A second time, while Daniel was praying and confessing his sin and the sin of his people Israel, "the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation (Daniel 9:21)," and he opened to him the great prophecy of the Seventy Weeks, foretelling the coming of the Messiah, the finishing of transgression, and the bringing in of everlasting righteousness (Daniel 9:23-27), and the desolation of the temple and the holy city.

And yet again Gabriel came to Daniel by the great river Tigris to announce that his prayers and fastings were heard, and to reveal what should be in the latter days. In all these the archangel carried tidings of comfort and understanding to the beloved prophet.

What Gabriel did in the Old Covenant he fulfilled more gloriously in the New. He it was who came to Zacharias the priest while he ministered at the altar of incense, announcing the answer to his prayer: "Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John (Luke 1:13)," the forerunner St. John the Baptist, at whose birth many should rejoice.

And six months later this same archangel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, to the Virgin St. Mary, and saluting her he said, "Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women (Luke 1:28)." He announced to her the conception of the only-begotten Son of God, saying, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35)." Thus Gabriel was worthy to proclaim the birth of the Saviour to the Theotokos, and through this annunciation the salvation of the world drew near.

According to the tradition of the apostolic Churches of the East and the West, Gabriel is also the angel who proclaimed glad tidings to the shepherds at the Nativity. As they kept watch over their flocks by night, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid;

but he said, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11)." And it is held that Gabriel guided the wise men of the East by the star to Bethlehem, and afterward warned them in a dream not to return to Herod, so that they departed into their own country another way. The Coptic Church praises him in her doxologies, calling him "this truly mighty one, the archangel Gabriel, who brought good tidings to the shepherds."

For all that God has wrought for us through this honored archangel, his announcing of the Saviour, his comforting of the prophets, his standing before the throne, and his presenting of the prayers of the saints, it is meet for us to honor and venerate him, and to ask his intercession. May his intercession be with us. Amen.