The gospel reading for the Feast of the Archangels is taken from the response of Jesus to Nathanael after this latter has professed belief in him as "Son of God, King of Israel." In his response to this profession of faith, Jesus tells Nathanael that he is going to see a greater sign, that of angels descending and ascending upon him.
And he saith to him: Amen, amen, I say to you, you shall see the heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
The sign is an allussion to a vision that Jacob saw in Bethel (Genesis 28:11-19). In that vision, Jacob saw a ladder standing on the earth and stretching towards heaven. It is on that ladder that angels ascended and descended. The ladder in Jacob's vision is the Stairway of God's Revelation upon which heavenly messengers passed on their way to earth and back again. That vision of the ladder was followed by God's voice telling Jacob that a great nation will arise from him and that he shall be given land to inherit (The promise previously given to Abraham his father, Gen. 12). In the morning, Jacob realized that the place where he saw the ladder should be called the House of God (Bethel).
What Jesus tells Nathanael - a guileless son of Jacob -- is that He is the Ladder of God's Revelation, and that he is the true "Bethel," the House of God that will be built in three days (cf. Jn. 2:13-22).
That the reading should be proferred on the Feast of the Archangels is purely didactic on the Church's part. Even the belief in Angels is to be understood within the whole of Revelation, the Word of God who is Christ. The Archangels are the generals of God's army of "messengers" sent out to carry the designs of His Providence. If God is Light, then the angels are the rays of light that radiate from his heart and touch our world, bringing every corner of it under His brightness. Michael, Raphael and Gabriel are powers that extend to earth the goodness of Divine Providence. Michael, the prince of angels, is the conqueror of Satan and his hordes. Raphael is the one who brings healing. Gabriel is he who brings consolation, encouragement and hope.
