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August 8
2010
Pastor Judy Bangsund
"Living
By Faith as Resident Aliens"
Hebrews 11, Genesis 15:1-6
Some of you here today have lived in other countries as "resident
aliens." Of course, this has nothing to do with coming from outer
space, or anything related to science fiction. It simply means you
have left the country of your own citizenship to live and work, for
a period of time, in another country. It means you have a home in
a place that's not home.
You all know that Pastor Jim and I lived for some twenty years as
resident aliens - perhaps as good a term as any for missionaries.
We never did fit in all that well! For starters, our skin was a different
color, and that made us stick out like sore thumbs from the get-go.
In addition, the language wasn't our own, and although we got pretty
good at communicating in Swahili, we never achieved fluency. We acted
differently too, because we had a different world view. To mention
just one trivial example we, as westerners, lived by the clock. Traditionally,
Africans do not. We'd be tapping on our watches but our African friends
would just smile patiently and say, "You westerners have the watches;
we Africans have the time." We looked different, we talked differently,
we thought differently- we were definitely aliens - resident aliens.
One of the churches we attended was an English-speaking, international
congregation. There we found other resident aliens, people from all
over the world who were living in Africa. Everyone there knew what
it meant to live far from home, that as foreigners we would never
really blend in. And so it was, when a Sunday school teacher asked,
"What is heaven like?" the image that immediately came to my mind
was home leave. "Heaven is like the Ultimate Home Leave," I said,
and all the other resident aliens knew exactly what I was talking
about.
Heaven to us was a place where everything worked - good electricity,
good roads, plenty of water. On home leave you could eat all your
favorite foods - like pizza and hot dogs - and you could drink coke
from a can. You got to do all your favorite things, like going to
baseball games. In my mind, that's what heaven is like. Everything
you have missed out on, are yours and life is good. But best of all
- like home leave, Heaven is where you see your family and old friends;
Heaven is where you get to spend time with those you love. You worship
God in your own language; you hear his word clearly. Heaven is the
ultimate home leave.
That's because Heaven is home. And although technically, my citizenship
is in the United States (and I'm glad of that!), even here I'm a resident
alien. So are you, as followers of Christ. Like missionaries and other
sojourners, you are all resident aliens, your citizenship being in
God's country, even as you live out your life here on earth. And because
your citizenship is with God, you live your life here by
faith.
That's what the writer to the Hebrews is talking about in today's
lesson. That's also what Abraham and every other believer has experienced,
before and since. Paul summed it up in Philippians this way: "But
our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there,
the Lord Jesus Christ." When you call Jesus "Lord," you live by faith
in a place you call home, but isn't really home. Christians are resident
aliens on this earth. That means you live a life trusting God, one
step at a time. It means you live by a different set of values, having
a different world view. And it means you live without fear, confident
in his promises.
A resident alien lives by faith, step by step. When you remember Abraham's
call in Genesis 12, you have to admit that - from his point of view,
at least - it was a little vague. Now, God's part in this deal was
pretty clear: God would give Abraham descendants, a land and a blessing.
But what was Abraham's part in the deal? Only the faith part was made
clear. The rest of the details were not. He was told simply to believe
God's word and start walking. Abraham was told to start walking without
being told where to walk. "I'll show you the land," God promised.
Trusting God - even when you can't see the whole picture - is the
essence of faith.
You have probably been in the situation where you have grabbed your
flashlight in the dark, only to turn it on and find that the batteries
are low. Maybe you were camping this weekend and discovered, too late,
that you had forgotten to put in new batteries. The light has not
gone out altogether, but it's dim. You have just enough light to show
you the next step. But not enough to show you the entire path.
That's the situation Abraham was in - he was given just enough light
for the next step. That's the situation of many of the heroes of faith
that are named in Hebrews 11: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Jacob, Joseph and
all the rest. Basically, living by faith is a step-by-step existence.
You simply trust. You don't get to see the whole picture - and that's
often the way God works. He puts you into situations where you have
little choice but to trust him. And so with every step you take, your
faith grows.
Your life, in many ways, is like Abraham's. God may not give you many
details in advance, but he has given you examples to follow.
In the Bible you will find many mentors in the faith. We read their
stories every week: people who heard God's word, believed his promises
and started walking. Even though none had a perfect faith - Abraham
faltered many times - God honored that faith and used it. These mentors
in faith encourage you in your sojourn here on earth; if they held
on, you can too. If they kept going, so can you.
God has given us faith mentors, not only in the Bible, but in our
own lives as well. How many mentors do you have? What kind of difference
has their witness made in your life? I can think of many, not only
in my own personal life, but also in this congregation, who have encouraged
my faith. I think of those who have left behind a legacy, who have
said: "You need to place your trust in God. It's not enough to just
have faith; it makes a difference where you place that faith."
Jesus is the only one who has conquered death; as the son of God he
is the only one who is trustworthy.
As resident aliens you are called to walk by faith, step-by-step.
As resident aliens your world view will be different from the popular
view. Where most people around you place a high value on wealth, property
and success - resident aliens do not. We read today that Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob (though wealthy) lived in tents - never putting down
roots but moving always towards the city built by God. Did you know
that, although God promised him land, Abraham was never a land-owner?
The only piece of property he bought was a place to bury his wife,
Sarah. So what does that mean for you and me, who buy property and
build houses? That we shouldn't do that? No. But it does mean that
this world is only a tenting place. It means your real home is with
God and your highest priority is to follow Jesus wherever he leads
you. I remember good missionary friends and mentors, Millie and Luverne
Tengbom. They had served in Nepal and in Africa before returning to
the States to teach in the Lutheran Bible School in Southern Calif.
There they bought a beautiful home and filled it with many treasures
from around the world. Then, their children raised and their life
secure, they were called back to the mission field, this time to Singapore.
When they told us, I was shocked. Give up all this? But Millie just
laughed and said, "Did you think that this house would keep us here?
Oh no. This is only a house." And so they sold that beautiful house,
put stuff in storage and headed overseas again.
Only a house. All the values of this world, Paul says, are
counted as a loss for the sake of Christ. All those false values will,
sooner or later, let you down. You and I are citizens of a different
country whose, values are long-lasting; we are therefore challenged
to live with a tenting mentality, a different world view. Wealth,
property, assets - these are only tools for building something far
greater in God's service, in the kingdom of God, whose citizens you
are. Those lasting values in your life are faith, hope and love -
peace and joy accompany these values.
We, as Christians, are resident aliens, living by faith, step by step;
we have a different world view as citizens of God's country. And,
as resident aliens, we depend on God's promises, which are as abundant
and as sure as the stars of the sky. That means you need not fear
what this life may bring, because God keeps his promises. He will
not let you go. Faith is the confident assurance that God is in control.
How many times does Scripture tell us that? In our texts for today
alone, we have heard it twice. "Don't be afraid, Abraham;" God says,
" I am your shield, your very great reward." God often says, "Don't
be afraid" when the situation around looks bad, but he has something
bigger in mind. So God set their fears to rest as Abraham set out
on a journey, as Jacob moved his family to Egypt to join his son Joseph,
as Moses faced Pharaoh, as Joshua went to conquer Canaan. God says
it again and again to you and me as well, "Don't be afraid. You see
only what your vision allows, but I see so much more, and my plans
and purposes for you are so much bigger."
In the same way, in Luke 12, Jesus told the people, "Do not be afraid,
little flock; it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom."
Think of those other New Testament promises: "Do not be afraid; I
bring you good news of great joy, for today is born to you a savior,
Christ the Lord." Again: "Do not be afraid of those who can kill the
body but not the soul." Or again: "Do not be afraid, nor let your
hearts be troubled. I am going away, but I will come back again."
And finally: "Do not be afraid; he is not here; he is risen, as he
said." Seems like God's people do a lot of fearing, and so he has
given us great promises: his presence, his protection, his provision,
his promise of life through Jesus. And what is our response to such
great promises? Faith. Confidence. Hebrews later sums it
up: "So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not
be afraid. What can man do to me?"
My friends, God's promises are real. They set the foundation for your
life. Like the stars in the sky, they are many and they are sure.
Just as ship captains across the ages have set their course by the
stars, so we can set our sights on God's promises, all of which are
fulfilled in Jesus.
Faith is ultimately grounded in Jesus. He was not only the prototype
for resident aliens, he is also one in whom we find salvation and
are made right with God. Jesus went the whole nine yards. You know,
as much as we may have done as missionaries, we never did that. We
went overseas, but we never gave up our American citizenship. Yes,
we lived in Tanzanian housing, but not on a Tanzanian salary. We knew
that, come what may, our children would get good schooling; that if
necessary, we could hop on a plane to find medical help. We lived
among the people, but we did not share all their limitations.
But Jesus gave up the rights of his heavenly citizenship to take on
all our human limitations - including mortality. He not only made
sacrifices in his life, giving up home and titles and honors - he
became the sacrifice that offers the world eternal life. Jesus had
utter integrity - all he said, he did. All he promised, he fulfilled.
In his love for you and me, he did go the whole nine yards, dying
on a cross, buried in a tomb until the Father raised him up to life
again. So place your trust in Jesus, because only faith in him will
give you life. Like Abraham, your faith will finally be counted as
righteousness. It is not the perfection of your faith that saves you,
but his grace - which can only be received by trusting him. Trusting
Jesus is not only the way you live out your life on earth; it is also
your passport to God's country.
You are resident aliens if you believe in Jesus. So, as citizens of
God's country, live your life by faith, step by step. As servants
of Christ, you are called to live out a different life, with a different
world view. Unlike those around you in this world, you can live without
fear, because God keeps his promises, through Jesus, who conquered
death and opened the way to your true home in God's country. Believing
in him, you can await his coming with confidence, because one day,
he will surely call you home - to that ultimate home leave. Amen.
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St.
Timothy's Lutheran
