SERMON: ALIENS AMONG US

Preached by Gregory W. Lee
2 April 2006

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Mt 25:31-40

31. "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.
32. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34. "Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
35. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37. "Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38. When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39. When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40. "The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

A. The Meaning of the Cross
-- we just finished up our short-term Disciple Bible study -- An Invitation to the New Testament -- and the authors put forth a profound statement in the last lesson concerning the cross of Jesus
-- when we look at the cross of Jesus -- when we think about the cross of Jesus -- we see redemption -- we think of the forgiveness of our sins -- of our God dying on the cross for us -- paying the penalty for our sins and fulfilling the law through His death -- we think of atonement and victory over sin and death -- in other words, when we look at the cross, we think of the spiritual meaning -- the theological meaning -- for why Christ had to die
-- but, while we look at the cross from a theological perspective, the truth is that on that Friday that Christ died -- no one -- not a single human in Jerusalem outside of Christ Himself -- fully understood that purpose -- no one knew why Jesus was really dying
-- in their eyes, Jesus was put on the cross for sociopolitical reasons -- He was dying because He was a threat to the religious establishment -- because His teachings threatened the traditional meaning of the law -- and because He was a potential revolutionary whose very presence could lead to increased Roman persecution
-- true, the High Priest and the Sanhedrin trumped up a charge of blasphemy on which to condemn Him, but that is not the real reason they wanted Him dead -- they feared His message and His influence and the potential for political and social upheaval if the people followed Him
-- so, in a very real sense, Jesus suffered and died because of His stand for justice and righteousness and mercy and grace in a world dominated by law and tradition at the sake of all else

-- this was the hallmark of Jesus' message to the religious establishment of His day -- when confronted by the legalism of the Pharisees and Saduccees, He responded with teachings that underscored the real reason for the law -- a relationship with God and compassion and mercy to others
-- for instance, in John 8, when the adulterous woman was brought before Jesus' feet and the crowd demanded a response from Jesus, He did not respond as they anticipated -- the law said the woman should be stoned -- but Jesus' responded with mercy and grace and forgiveness over and above what the law called for
-- Jesus' ministry on earth was characterized by His reaching out to the poor and the oppressed of His day -- He ministered to those the church forgot -- the poor -- the sick -- the lepers -- the tax collectors and prostitutes and other social outcasts -- and that ministry ended up costing Him His life on the cross

-- Jesus' ministry reflected God's call in scripture to take care of the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the aliens -- in James 1:27, James tells us that "religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
-- Deut 10:17-19 says, "For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. -- He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. -- And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt."

-- according to Jesus' teaching -- according to His life and death -- true faith in God is demonstrated when we show God's love by taking care of the poor and oppressed in His name
-- in other words, as Christians, we are not only called to believe in Him for salvation and to tell others about Him, but we are to demonstrate our love for Him through our good works done for others in His name -- taking care of the poor and oppressed -- of the hungry and the thirsty and those without clothes -- those who are sick or strangers or who are in prison -- regardless of the cost -- regardless of the price that we might have to pay
-- this is what Jesus was talking about when He told us in Matthew 16:24 to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him -- He meant for us to imitate Him -- to take a stand against injustice and oppression and to reach out and minister to those who were being oppressed around us -- even if it would lead to suffering -- even if it led to death itself

B. Reward for Doing Good
-- this passage in Matthew 25 underscores God's call to do just that -- to take care of the poor and the oppressed
-- this passage comes at the end of a lengthy teaching by Jesus about the coming of the kingdom of heaven -- one day Jesus was asked by His disciples when the kingdom would come and what signs would precede the coming of the kingdom -- Jesus responded by telling them that the day and hour were unknown, but that they should be prepared for His coming at any time
-- He then told them the parable of the wicked servant, who wasn't ready when his master returned, and the parable of the ten virgins -- five of whom were ready when the bridegroom came and five who didn't have oil in their lamps and were left out because they weren't ready -- through these parables Jesus was trying to encourage them to be alert and to be watchful and to expect the coming of the Lord at any time
-- then to make sure they knew what they were supposed to be doing while they were waiting for the coming kingdom, Jesus told them the parable of the talents, to remind them of their calling and mission while they were waiting -- in this parable, He taught us that we are called to take what God has given us and share it with others -- to multiply the kingdom of God through our actions and through our faithful ministry to others
-- finally, Jesus ends His teaching on the coming kingdom by telling this story of the final judgement -- a time when the kingdom will come and when He will return and separate out the sheep from the goats -- the believers from the unbelievers

-- in this story, we read of the rewards that await those who have believed in the name of Christ and who have denied themselves, taken up their cross, and followed Him by ministering to those in need around them
-- look again at verse 34

34. "Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
35. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37. "Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38. When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39. When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40. "The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

-- so we see in this passage, we see again the call to reach out to the poor and the oppressed among us -- especially to those who are hungry and thirsty -- who are strangers -- who are in need of clothing -- who are sick -- and who are in prison
-- and Jesus tells us that whatever we do for the least of these brothers of His, then we did it for Him

II. Aliens Among Us
-- now I bring all this up for a reason -- we are being faced with a situation in our country that is demanding a biblical response from the church -- a situation that is requiring us to deny ourselves, to pick up our cross, and to follow Christ in ministering to the poor and oppressed regardless of the consequences
-- as I'm sure most of you know, our country is embroiled right now in a controversy over immigration rights -- it started back in December, when the House of Representatives in Congress passed the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act
-- this bill tried to address the problem of illegal immigration in this country, but in doing so, expanded the definition of smuggling so broadly that anyone who aids undocumented immigrants -- even in providing basis services -- such as giving someone in need food and water and clothing and medicine -- things that Christ clearly commanded us to do in this passage -- could be legally prosecuted
-- in verse 35, when Christ said that He was a stranger and we invited Him in -- the word "stranger" there is the Greek word "xenos" -- it literally means a foreigner -- an alien -- an immigrant

-- now, tying everything together that we've talked about this morning -- based on my study of various Bible passages and lots and lots of reading this week -- I have come to the conclusion that God is calling for His church to take a stand on this issue -- to minister to the immigrants in our midst -- to show them God's love by sharing with them the message of the cross, both the message of salvation and the message of sharing with those in need -- regardless of the cost
-- in Leviticus 19:33-34, we read, "When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. -- The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God." -- granted, this was a command to the Israelites, but I think this principle is reflected in the life and ministry of Jesus and is clearly dictated to us in this passage from Matthew 25
-- God's command seems clear to me -- we are called to minister to poor and the oppressed -- the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the needy, those in prison, and also the immigrants -- the aliens in our land -- even if doing so is in conflict with man's law

-- so, in light of the bills currently before our Congress and before our lawmakers in this state -- and the massive protests that we saw in all the major cities in our country -- including Atlanta -- this week -- the church should be asking itself two questions:
1) What should we do about the immigrants in our lands?
2) What are our responsibilities as Christians?

-- I spent some time this week researching these and other questions this week, and I want to close by sharing with you my thoughts on this issue, based on my study of the Bible and reading commentaries and thoughts from both sides on this issue:

1. What do we do about the illegal immigrants?
-- passing a law that declares illegal aliens to be whole-sale felons and unable to receive aid from American citizens is unAmerican and unChristian -- as the church, we need to take a stand and petition our lawmakers to defeat bills that are unjust
-- we need to recognize that these people are individuals -- with individual stories and life histories and reasons for immigration that may include political, religious, and economic asylum -- to simply export such people as criminals would be tatamount to sending them to their deaths
-- we need to develop a way to identify those illegals who wish to become American citizens and create a way for them to become citizens
-- those who are identified as criminals in their country of origin or who are criminals because they broke a law of our land should be tried in a court of law and extradited back to their country
-- those who don't want to become American citizens but who wish to work here for a limited time should be given the opportunity to do so through a guest worker program for a limited number of years -- then, once their time is up, they should be given the option of becoming a citizen or going back to their country
-- bottom-line: in the midst of the immigration crisis, the Christian response should be to offer hospitality to these foreigners, aliens, and strangers first and foremost -- this means that we should treat them as Christ called us to treat them -- treat them with love and mercy and grace -- we have a responsibility as Christians to care for them

2. Does this mean that we should not try to assimilate them into our culture?
-- no, America has always been a country welcoming to those from other places -- our American culture is distinct and should be maintained as such -- we include as part of our culture facets from those who melted into us
-- when I was a kid, the key term we learned in social studies was that America was a melting pot -- I always envisioned this as a soup -- you put into the pot all these different ingredients and they form a single dish -- a single country -- but, somewhere along the way, we quit melting and started dividing into parts -- rather than becoming a soup comprised of many parts, we became a pizza -- with individual parts that could be separated out by themselves
-- I feel that those coming to this country should conform to us to the maximum extent possible, including accepting the predominant language, culture, and religion -- does that mean that we don't have freedom of religion here? -- no, it doesn't -- but it does mean they should respect our religion and we should have the right to try to convert them to our religion as well

3. What about the borders?
-- I have no problem with us trying to make the borders more solid -- especially given the age of terrorism that we currently live in -- but, we do need to make an effort to allow legal immigration because our country has been built on the principle of being a haven of freedom and opportunity for the oppressed from other lands -- do you remember what the last line on the plaque at the bottom of the Statue of Liberty says?
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!!

4. What about immigration laws?
-- as Christians, we should fight for fairness in all laws that are passed and not allow laws to unfairly punish certain groups of people for political gain
-- we should evaluate them in light of our Christian responsibility and petition our lawmakers to craft bills that are fair and just to all

5. Should the taxpayers be responsible for taking care of the needs of illegal immigrants?
-- no, this is the responsibility of the church -- just because the church has abdicated its call to take care of the poor and the widows and the orphans and the aliens to the Government does not mean that we can't -- and shouldn't -- take that roll back
-- if all the born-again Christians -- not everyone who calls themselves a Christian but those who profess a belief that they have been born-again -- if only that percentage of Christians was to tithe, we would eliminate the need for social security, medicare, medicaid, welfare, and all the other social programs of the Government and still have more money in our coffers than ever before
-- but, we all know this isn't going to happen, don't we? -- so, what is the impact to taxpayers from illegal immigrants? -- would it surprise you to find out that illegal immigrants aren't clogging up the social-services system? -- Forbes Magazine notes that only 5% of illegal aliens receive food stamps or unemployment assistance and only 10% send their kids to public schools

6. What do we do when God's law conflicts with man's law?
-- at the end of it all, we must remember that, ultimately, we are not citizens of this world or any nation of this world -- we are, ourselves, strangers and aliens in a foreign land -- ambassadors of reconciliation for our King put into this place to speak on His behalf -- our first and foremost loyalty should be to the Kingdom of Heaven above that of any kingdom on earth
-- when man's law conflicts with God's law, then we must make a stand for justice and righteousness by doing what God commands and not what the law demands -- in John 8, when the law demanded death for the woman caught in adultery, Christ asked for mercy and grace and the woman was ultimately freed, despite what the law demanded

III. Closing
-- I know I've gone long, but let me close with this one story -- let me put a face on this issue of illegal immigration
-- when Kim and I were at Morven, there was a family in our church comprised of illegal aliens -- they had come to this country to find a better life -- to give their kids a better life -- they worked hard at low-paying jobs to take care of their three kids -- they were not on welfare -- they did not use food stamps -- they were not on unemployment
-- they did enroll their kids in school to make sure they had an education -- and, even though the parents could barely speak or understand English, they brought those three boys to church every single Sunday so they could learn about Jesus -- their kids were in our youth program -- their kids were in our Vacation Bible School -- their family was a vital part of our church
-- the church helped out as best it could -- giving them food and helping them from time to time with money when they needed it -- doing whatever we could to show them the love of Jesus in a real and tangible way
-- we didn't worry whether what we were doing was legal or not -- we did it because Christ commanded it -- we did it because we loved them
-- and because of that, this entire family of illegal aliens are now believers in Christ
-- based on our experiences in Morven, it's easy to think about illegal immigrants as a generic, faceless mass of people -- but it means something else to look in the eyes of an 8-year old boy and tell him that he's a criminal because his parents brought him to this country to give him a better life

-- I don't know where you stand on this issue of immigration -- but I do know two things --
1) God calls us to reach out to the poor and the oppressed and the alien among us and to minister to them in His name; and,
2) when we get to Heaven and stand before the throne of Christ, He is going to ask us how we did

-- the answer to that question is up to you
-- let us pray