ANGELS STANDING IN THE ROAD: A HOMILY FOR THE 21ST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Balaam and His Donkey, Confronted by an Angel on the Road, from a Medieval Latin Old Testament Manuscript

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West)

INTRODUCTION

As we draw near to the end of Trinitytide, the Church invites us to pause and behold the tapestry of sanctity that surrounds us and those faithful men and women whom the Holy Ghost has raised up in every age to guard, to teach, and to illuminate the faithful. This past week has been a particularly blessed one for our communion, for we have commemorated a radiant company of saints across East and West. We gave thanks for St. Leo the Great, that indomitable pontiff who defended the mystery of the Incarnation with Apostolic clarity, whose Tome still resounds across the ages as the Church’s shield against error. We honored St. Martin of Tours, soldier-turned-shepherd, whose cloak warmed the body of Christ in the beggar, and whose charity remains a living exhortation to us all. We rejoiced in the memory of Patriarch Markos Yahballaha III and his beloved spiritual father Monk Bar Sauma, lights of the Church of the East who bore witness to Christ across deserts and kingdoms, from China to Persia to the courts of Medieval Europe, teaching us that the Gospel knows no boundaries, and that the Church’s heart beats in many tongues.

We likewise remembered the Blessed Gregory Palamas, champion of the uncreated light, whose controversial brilliance reminds us of the Church’s continual wrestling with the mystery of divine grace, even as we, in our Western Orthodox synthesis, receive his life as a historical witness of holiness, rather than as the infallible and ecumenical norm of the Early Church. And we rejoiced in St. Hilda of Whitby, mother of the English Church, whose monastery nurtured saints, kings, and poets, and whose wise leadership calls us to cultivate communities of learning, beauty, and holiness. These saints, gathered like constellations overhead, are not remote luminaries but present intercessors, are praying for our parish, shaping our imagination, and urging us to walk worthily of our vocation. Their collects this week have taught us humility, courage, and steadfast confession of the Apostolic Faith; they stand as fathers and mothers to this flock of the Ancient Church of the West.

And as if heaven had not already blessed us beyond measure, we celebrated the joyful baptism of our brother Aaron Chong, who entered the waters with reverence and rose with radiant joy, sealed with the chrism of the Spirit and woven into the mystical Body of Christ. His baptism reminds us that the saints we honor were once catechumens like he was for over twenty years, beginners in grace, now perfected in glory by the power of the Holy Ghost. And now, beloved in Christ, our eyes turn toward the approaching Advent Fast: that gentle yet solemn season of quiet repentance, holy expectation, and contemplation of the great mystery that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” Advent calls us to silence in a noisy world, to inward stillness amid outer restlessness, to prayerful preparation for the Nativity of the Lord. And before we enter that sacred fast, we prepare for our parish’s Feast of Thanksgiving, offered at this month’s end as an act of charity and hospitality to our whole community: a table where the love of Christ is made manifest in gratitude, fellowship, and the breaking of bread. May the prayers of the saints, the faith of the newly baptized, and the hope of Advent guide our hearts into the peace and joy of Christ.

COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS

Old Testament: Numbers 22:20–35

The Fathers often saw in Balaam’s encounter a revelation of the invisible world. St. John Chrysostom teaches that God opens eyes “according to the heart’s readiness to behold the truth,” and here Balaam’s donkey sees what Balaam cannot: the angelic presence standing against a crooked path. The episode reminds us that spiritual warfare is real, unseen, and constantly surrounding the believer; and it reminds us that even when we resist, the mercy of God stands in our way to turn us away from destruction.

First New Testament Lesson: Philippians 3:7–21

St. Gregory the Great sees in St. Paul’s words the “holy ambition of the saints,” who consider all earthly gain as loss compared to the knowledge of Christ. St. Augustine says that Paul’s cry “that I may know Him” refers not to intellectual knowledge but to an experiential participation in Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection. This passage sets the tone of spiritual striving: rejecting earthly vanity, embracing heavenly citizenship, awaiting the transformation wrought by Christ.

Second New Testament Lesson: Ephesians 6:10–20

St. Maximos the Confessor interprets the armour of God as the interior virtues: truth as the girding of the mind, righteousness as the guarding of the heart, peace as the readiness of the will, and faith as the shield that extinguishes the demonic passions. St. Basil teaches that the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, cuts away deceit and stands as the weapon of the saints. This passage directly complements Balaam’s angel and Paul’s holy striving.

Holy Gospel: John 4:46–54

Christ heals the nobleman’s son not by touch but by His word spoken at a distance. St. Cyril of Alexandria calls this “the miracle of faith before vision,” and St. Ambrose teaches that this miracle shows Christ’s divinity: even His spoken promise is life. The Gospel unites the themes of trust, healing, and divine authority found throughout today’s propers.

SERMON

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scriptures bring us into the thick of a world we often prefer to forget... a world where angels stand with swords drawn, where unseen powers oppose the righteous, where faith is tested, and where the spoken Word of Christ heals what no earthly power can touch. We moderns, with our smartphones and our constant distractions, tend to imagine that reality is mostly what we can see, touch, or scroll past. But today, God tears back the veil of our fallen eyes and shows us something terrifying. 

Consider Balaam: He was a renowned prophet who could hear God’s voice, yet who was spiritually blind while his donkey saw everything around him clearly. It’s almost comedic and one of those divine jokes that makes us chuckle at first and then weep when we realize we are also Balaam. How many times has God tried to warn us through unexpected voices (children, spouses, strangers, or the humbling creatures around us), and we have angrily resisted?

St. Gregory the Great says, “The beast of burden carried the one who carried wisdom in name only.” There is a psychological truth here: pride blinds the intellect; humility opens the eyes. Pastoral work reveals it every day as we see those who believe they “see everything clearly” are often the most spiritually blind, while those who confess their ignorance begin to perceive the workings of grace.

And then St. Paul takes us deeper. If Balaam shows us the blindness of pride, the Apostle Paul shows us the clarity of humility. He counts all things as loss, in his status, accomplishments, even religious achievements, and press on toward Christ. The Fathers call this spiritual momentum, a constant pressing toward the Light, refusing to linger in regret or drown in the past. From a psychological angle, St. Paul demonstrates resilience: refusing rumination, practicing detachment from unhealthy identities, anchoring his worth in Christ alone.

Now enter St. Paul’s armor of God. Here the apostle shifts from interior transformation to spiritual warfare. Put on truth like a belt. Put on righteousness like a breastplate. Use faith as a shield. These are not mere spiritual metaphors; they are strategies for sanity in a chaotic world. Truth protects the mind from lies. Righteousness guards the heart against shame. Faith absorbs the fiery darts of fear, anxiety, comparison, and despair.

And finally, the Gospel brings the sermon to its crescendo. Jesus heals the nobleman’s son with a single sentence. He speaks, and reality obeys. The nobleman believes without seeing. St. John Chrysostom says: “The miracle began the moment the man believed.” His faith traveled faster than his footsteps home. God actualized his weak faith and shows Himself to be God, faithful and true. 

Here the philosophical and pastoral insight is profound. Faith is not a warm feeling, or a fancy, or a warm fuzzy; it is an act of obedience that steps forward before the evidence arrives. The nobleman’s walk home is a picture of every Christian life, trusting in the Word while making the long walk from Cana to Capernaum, trusting that God's Will will be done.

And now, beloved, how do these four Scriptures converge?

They teach us that we live in a world of unseen angels and unseen dangers; that humility opens our eyes; that the Christian must press toward Christ with holy ambition; that spiritual armor is necessary in a culture drowning in noise; and that the Word of Christ still heals, restores, and gives life.

The modern world tries to flatten everything. It reduces spiritual warfare to psychology, faith to optimism, and the sacraments to symbols. But the Church stands with Balaam’s donkey, with St. Paul’s striving spirit, with the nobleman’s faith, and with the bright and shining armor of God, and declaring that reality is far more mysterious, far more alive, far more God-filled than our age admits.

Let me give you a poem from our English patrimony that captures today’s truths. George Herbert writes in The Elixir:

“A man that looks on glass,

On it may stay his eye;

Or if he pleaseth, through it pass,

And then the heav’n espy.”

Herbert reminds us: reality is a window, not a wall. Look through it, and heaven shines.

So as we prepare for Advent, for the mystery of the Incarnation, let us emulate the nobleman’s simple, trusting obedience; Paul’s relentless pursuit; and the donkey’s humble sight. Let us put on the armor of God, resist evil, embrace virtue, and walk with confidence toward the One who still says to us today:

“Go thy way; thy son liveth.”

In other words:

“Go thy way; My word is enough.”

COLLECT

O God, whose blessed Son came down from heaven to heal, to restore, and to give life unto the world: Grant us grace that we, trusting in His holy Word, may press ever toward the heavenly prize, resist the assaults of the enemy, and walk in humility after Thy commandments. Open our eyes to behold Thy angels round about us, strengthen our hearts with the armor of righteousness, and guide our steps in the way of peace; that, being defended by Thy mighty power, we may rise in the last day conformed to the image of Thy dear Son; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.