Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The text on which this morning's message is based comes from our Epistle lesson (Hebrews 11) read earlier.

Have you ever had a "temp" job? You know, a "temp." Have you ever worked as a "temp" worker, one who is in a job that from the beginning is known to be temporary? "Temp" agencies have sprung up across the country, providing ways to connect temporary workers with short-term positions. My wife worked for a "temp" agency for a few months when she was pregnant with Brittany. I worked for a year at KSU, in a full-time job that I knew was only a one-year temporary position. Maybe your "temp" job was a 2-4 year stint in the Army or Navy. Perhaps it was a series of 2-week stints as a secretary or accountant. Perhaps you had a temporary summer job while in high school or college. Perhaps you made the summer sojourn with a wheat harvest crew, traveling from Texas to the Dakotas, never staying in one place more than a week, and working harder and longer hours than you ever thought possible.

Whatever your "temp" job might have been, by definition it was short-term, probably looking forward to a long-term position or role as a worker, or stay-at-home mom. Whatever it was, you were not seeing this two-week or two-year position as permanent. While you were in the "temp" position you probably saw yourself as a stranger there, as an outsider looking in. You were looking forward to a more permanent position.

Our TEXT from Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for….

13 All these people (like Abraham and Noah) were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth….   16 Instead, they were longing for a better country-- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Abraham and Noah understood their "temp" status here on earth. They knew they were aliens and strangers on earth. They were longing for a better, heavenly country. The author of Hebrews reminds his readers, then and now, that we are all aliens and strangers here, "temps" if you will, longing for the permanency of our real positions, our true heavenly land. Frank Morrison was an overseas missionary for 40 years about a century ago. Because of failing health, he was coming home to the U.S. on an ocean liner. Another passenger was Teddy Roosevelt, returning home from an African safari. When they docked, there was a huge throng waiting and cheering for Roosevelt. Morrison watched it all, a little envious. He said to the LORD, "God, I've given my life to serve you as a missionary and now not a soul welcomes me home." Then God, through words in the Bible like our text, reminded Morrison, "You're not home yet." (B. Blain, from the Internet, printed in Concordia Pulpit Resource, 2001).

The letter to the Hebrews is written to Christians who are spiritually weary, weary because they were being persecuted. They were in danger of losing hope in God's promises (3: 6) and even of falling away from God (3: 12). To revive their faith, the writer of Hebrews (we don't know his name) proclaims Christ as God's final Word (1: 2). He proclaims how Christ is fulfilling all the promises and predictions of the Old Testament, how He is making the temporary permanent. The author proclaims how Christ is greater than the angels, greater than Moses, greater than the high priests, greater than Melchizedek. He exhorts his hearers to trust in this Jesus, the Son of God, above all else. He issues strong warnings against falling away, and the seriousness of neglecting God's Word, neglecting His church (10: 25), neglecting our need for a savior (10: 22-31). It is only through this Jesus that we have heaven as our home. It is only through Jesus and his cross that we can stand before the Holy Place of God, stand in His presence in our heavenly home. It is only through Jesus that we receive the promises of God, promises we can hold onto in faith, promises we can be sure and certain of. The life we are living in now is only a "temp" job. Like any temp job, we should work at it with gusto, pleasing both our earthly bosses and our heavenly father. "Temp" jobs should not be an excuse for making only half-hearted efforts. Even though Abraham was a sinful man, he trusted God and stepped out in faith to follow where God was leading him, even though he did not know where that would be. Temp jobs should not be spent simply daydreaming about the permanent job that is to come. We should not spend our time here on earth only daydreaming about our heavenly life to come. But, at the same time, we should never lose sight of the fact that we are in a temporary position.

We are short-timers, working faithfully at the tasks we are assigned, but waiting faithfully for the promises to be fulfilled, looking forward for the better country that is our own. We are servants, watching faithfully for the return of our master, being ready for the Son of Man to come (Luke 12).

Sometimes we Christians are accused of being so heavenly focused that we are no earthly good. Being a Christian, reading and trusting in the Word of God is considered a crutch. But I submit to you that the Word of God is not a crutch, but a telescope. With this telescope, distant and unseen things are brought into focus. When astronomers use regular, earthly telescopes, they marvel when they discover something new, when they see things that the naked eye could not have seen. In a similar way, God's Word of promise and hope creates and nurtures faith in Christ, a faith that is given to see what otherwise our sinful, earthly eyes could not have seen. What faith sees through God's Word is a realization of the reality that the surrounding world cannot see. With panoramic vision stretched from creation to cross to the Second Coming, faith's eye sees the otherwise unseen. Too many in this world see only the meaninglessness of everyday existence, the depressing greys and blacks of a temporary, fleeting life. But we who are Christians can use the great telescope of God's Word to see the colors and beauties he has formed at His command. We who are Christians can use the telescope of God's Word to see Christ's glorious, loving perspective both now and when He comes again on that great and glorious morning.

A boy came home from school with a high fever. His parents assumed it was a typical influenza or childhood disease. But the fever got worse and a doctor was called. The boy had a virulent form of meningitis. Eventually the doctor had to forewarn the family; there was nothing he could do. The child would die. The father loved his son very much and stayed by his bedside in a death vigil. It was midday. The boy was losing strength, and his brain was getting cloudy. He said: "Daddy, it's getting dark, very dark." A few moments later he said: Daddy, I guess it's time to go to sleep, isn't it?" The father responded, "Yes, son, it's time for you to go to sleep." The father fixed his pillow, tucked him in, and laid his hand on his head. "Good night Daddy," the boy said, "I'll see you in the morning." And he closed his eyes and stepped into heaven. The father said "I can hardly wait until morning." (B. Blain, from the Internet, printed in Concordia Pulpit Resource, 2001).

Jesus, grant us the grace through faith to earnestly wait for that morning when you come again. Amen.