One of the old spiritual songs we sometimes sing in worship is "This World is Not My Home", or as it is alternatively titled "I Can't Feel At Home Anymore". I was asked to fill in worship leading this morning, and the person I was replacing had chosen this as their opening song.
I am a firm believer in meaning what we sing in our collective worship. If for some reason I could not agree with the song (and there are a couple that the editors chose to place in the the hymnal we use), I would not sing it. But I do agree with the message of this particular song.
It starts with the following verse and chorus:
This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue;
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door,
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.Chorus:
O Lord, you know I have no friend like you,
If heaven's not my home, then Lord what will I do?
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door,
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.
This song is not alone in this theme, however. There are many hymns that I think would at least be recognizable across some denominational boundaries, just to name a few old ones:
- There's a wonderful place we call home... (Wonderful City of God, 1907)
- While we walk the pilgrim pathway... (When we all Get to Heaven, 1959)
- There is a habitation, built by the living God, for all of ev'ry nation, who seek that grand abode. (There is a Habitation, 1800's)
- Here we are but straying pilgrims... Here our shadowed homes are transient... (Here we are but Straying Pilgrims, 1855)
- Just a few more years with their toil and tears, and the journey will be ended… (Where the Gates Swing Outward Never, 1920)
And just a few that are more contemporary:
- May this journey bring a blessing, may I rise on wings of faith; and at the end of my heart's testing, with Your likeness let me wake. (Jesus Draw Me Ever Nearer)
- All I know is I'm not home yet, This is not where I belong. Take this world and give me Jesus, This is not where I belong (Where I Belong)
- This world is not what it was meant to be, All this pain, all this suffering There's a better place waiting for me In Heaven (Home, Chris Tomlin)
And, one that is much more recent, written by someone I am 2 degrees of separation from through friends, "When I Go Home":
In the moment He appears and the light from heaven shines, I’ll forget ev’ry fear, ev’ry pain I’ll leave behind. Then I’ll see Him as He is and I’ll know Him as I’m known. Ev’ry tear wiped away when I go home.
Ever present is the tho’t that a moment waits for me when unworthy as I am, His glory I will see. I will empty all my praise before my Father’s throne. Ev’ry tear wiped away when I go home.
If the trial I endure and your presence I can’t find, be near me, Lord, I pray, bring back unto my mind That your promises are firm and I’m never on my own. Ev’ry tear wiped away when I go home.
What is common in all of these songs is that our time on Earth is temporary, and we are visitors, sojourner, temporary residents just passing through on our way to our real home. This is a theme that is echoed throughout the Bible, but might be most concisely stated in Hebrews 11 (the "hall of fame of faith" chapter):
13 These all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised. But they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. 14 Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. 16 But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
My body might happen to reside currently within the man-made borders in the state Texas, in the country of the United States. And I have identifying documents that from a legal perspective say I am a citizen of that nation for now, but that is not where my true citizenship lies.
So, I am reminded of all of this as I see what I am encountering more and more these days - the anti-immigrant rhetoric. I see large copy-pastas shared by friends, distant family, and others who carry the label "Christian", with messages that can be distilled down to "If you don't want to assimilate into the language and culture of America, go home."
That message hurts because I used to feel that way. I heard messages like that from a variety of people in my life growing up in Houston, especially towards people of a Hispanic heritage. I heard messages like that all the time when I used to be glued to conservative talk radio. I heard it from (thankfully only a handful) of coworkers when I worked for Dave Ramsey, a company that wanted us to present an image of "traditional Judeo-Chrisitian values".
But I no longer feel that way. If I am just passing through, and there is a permanent home after this life is over, that is true for everyone I encounter. That's true for the H1-B people I work with who live in America but are not citizens. It was true for the foreign exchange students who were at my university.
It's true for the large Laotian population in the DFW metroplex who relocated here in the 1970's to flee war (aside: Kahn S. might have been a random inclusion into King of the Hill, unless you know just how true to Texas that show is. There are several Laotian churches within a couple miles of my house, one that meets at a sister congregation to the one we worship at). It's true for the Spanish speaking congregation that used to meet in smaller assembly room in the building we worship at (they have since moved to their own place closer to downtown Ft Worth).
If we are looking forward for our permanent home, why are we so focused on making sure people who step foot in this nation learn a specific language, or adopt all of the customs of a specific culture? Why do those things matter in the grand scheme of things?
Why is the message to our neighbor "go back to where you came from" instead of "Welcome to America, but let me tell you about this place I am going to..."?