Ministering Spirits sent to serve

The Bodyguards / Y Gwarchodlu

Author: Geraint Wyn Jones

Publisher: The Author, 2023

ISBN: 9798866121649

Price: Hardback £13.99, Paperback £8.99, Kindle £2.99

Members of an elite military special forces unit lie concealed on an escarpment overlooking a lonely stretch of road. They are tasked with the protection of a businessman who is carrying something that will play a part in a vastly important operation. Hostile eyes are also on the road; an enemy unit will have to be taken out, and is dealt with in a violent skirmish worthy of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher. The road now clear, the businessman will pass safely on his journey, and the costly frankincense he carries will find its way into the hands of a certain wise man in the east. He in his turn will take it to a small town in Judah as a precious gift for the infant Jesus. The warrior angels move on to secure other aspects of the operation.

So begins Geraint Wyn Jones’ retelling of the Christmas story from the angels’ point of view. At every turn, the renegade angels of Satan seek to overturn God’s plan for the birth of his Son as Saviour, and the warrior angels of the heavenly hosts are on hand to ensure its success.

Not only are we made aware of the spiritual warfare unfolding behind the familiar story, but have also privileged access to the courts of Heaven itself. We see Michael, commander of the hosts of Heaven, ensuring that God’s orders are put into effect. The angelic choir rehearsing for the big event in the skies above Bethlehem will remind many readers of church choirs they have known or been part of, and Axa the fussy choirmaster and Dylan who cannot sing in tune provide a rich vein of comedy. On earth the angels, ever-present but only occasionally visible, are a useful narrative device, giving the reader intimate access to Mary and Joseph and the other actors in the story.

This is a good Christmas read, both entertaining and thought-provoking.

The Bodyguards is also published in Welsh as Y Gwarchodlu. Both versions are available on Amazon.

Peter Bement