¿De dónde eres? It is often a harmless question, one that invites conversation, and signals interest. Yet, depending on the context, it can also be a question that is emotionally charged, a question that brings sadness, insecurity, fear, or hurt. Take, for example, this conversation: “¿De dónde eres?” “I’m from Houston.” (confusion)… “No, but where are you really from? Like, what country are you from?” (sigh…) Maybe it is an accent; perhaps it is skin tone, or facial features; the implication hurts: “It doesn’t matter what you answered [‘I am from Houston, Houston Texas!’]; you don’t fit in; you don’t belong.” Depending on who is asking, the question can feel unsafe: “can I trust this person with my information, con mi historia?” with a story that is filled with giving up, leaving behind, or inability to return? Sometimes, even without a question, the assumption that “you don’t fit in” is obvious. Women clutch their purses a little tighter as you enter the elevator; a store clerk addresses you in Spanish, regardless of the fact you are second-generation, and conversing in perfect English with your spouse.
En una nación fundada por inmigrantes (in a nation founded by immigrants), the ironic reality for so many immigrants, along with their children and even grandchildren, is that it is hard to feel accepted. Perhaps this is particularly true in the rapidly-growing Latino population, where being Latino means belonging to a rich, cultural heritage, but can also come along with assumptions about legal status, education, economic standing, etc. In the face of such dissension, where is the hope? How can the church respond?
A FAILED SENSE OF BELONGING
It should come as no shock that the Latino influence in los Estados Unidos has increased significantly in the past decades. As of September 2023, the United States population includes nearly 64 million Latinos, contributing to the US population growth more than any other racial or ethnic group in the past twelve years.[1] Of these numbers, around 82% are US citizens,[2] with numbers increasing more through birth than immigration.[3] Yet, as the nation prepares to celebrate nearly 250 years of standing as a haven of liberty and freedom, for many Latinos (and other immigrant populations), these celebrations can be painful reminders of not belonging, or of perhaps belonging, but still not being aceptados (accepted). For many familias Latinas, cultural and religious backgrounds can contribute to feelings of failure and depression as they seek to find acceptance in a new (or not as new) nation.
Of course, many Hispanics continue to identify as Catholic, at least nominally, coming from the strong Roman-Catholic influence in Latin-America. It was Latin-American Catholicism (specifically, the Bishop’s Conference in Medellín, Colombia, 1968) that birthed the idea of Liberation Theology, which then took root not only in the churches, but throughout the continents as well, playing to the cause of the poor and oppressed. The ideology teaches that God indeed will liberate the oppressed, as they work and fight for their rights. Many Hispanics have come to the United States seeking a better life, but when the reality of not earning sufficient wages and again suffering as los de abajo (underdogs) sets in, the question is: what have we done wrong? Are we not working hard enough, or is God failing?
On the other hand, many Hispanics either come from or gravitate towards Pentecostalism, and with Pentecostalism in the United States comes a propensity towards prosperity gospel. “Perhaps God has brought us to los Estados Unidos to prosper la familia;” but again, when the realities of life as a Spanish-speaking immigrant kick in, when job turnover happens almost on a weekly basis, depression and doubts understandably arise. The implication is that I must not be working hard enough, or God would be prospering me; so work and seeking work becomes consuming, and never sufficient.
In light of these struggles, at least in part, many second and third-generation Hispanics have lost the religion of their parents altogether. They see that it does not help. For those who succeed in making a name for themselves, the temptation is to distance themselves from family and culture who have not yet “arrived.” And for those who do not, the temptation is to become hardened to life. “Vanity of vanities…All is vanity!”, as the preacher of Ecclesiastes cries (Eccl 1:1).
HOPE FOR A GREATER BELONGING
Yet it is here, in the struggle of belonging, in the depression of feeling God has failed, in struggle against the vanity of trying and failing to fit in, that the truth of the Gospel message is so desperately needed. As the church seeks to care for and welcome Hispanic brothers and sisters, amigos y vecinos (friends and neighbors), she must bring the timely reminder that it is the Gospel alone that truly welcomes the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free,[4] as citizens not of any one earthly kingdom or nation, but (as Hebrews says) as ciudadanos de una patria major (citizens of a better country), of a heavenly Kingdom (cf. Heb 11:16).
The desire for ciudadanía (citizenship) and belonging are right desires, and, explained in light of Biblical history, make sense as innate to the human soul. When God created Adam and Eve, He put them into the place where they belonged, created specifically for them: the Garden of Eden. It was their home, their patria as it were, governed perfectly and wondrously by God Himself, with Adam and Eve as His chosen regents. Yet seeking their own interests above those of their King and Creator fractured that relationship; it meant Adam and Eve were displaced from their perfect home, never again with the perfect sense of belonging. Perfect ciudadanía, soul-satisfying pertenecia (belonging) were lost in the fall; true citizenship and belonging can only be satisfied completely in God’s Kingdom.
Yet the Lord’s incredible promise was for restoration. God promised, through Abraham, to make His people into a new nation, and to give them a new land. While in the material sense that land was Israel, as the author of Hebrews explains, all of this was but shadows of a Heavenly reality to come, a Heavenly Kingdom, with ciudadanía and perfect pertenencia secured by nothing less than the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 11 lays out the lives of Old Testament men and women who lived por la fe (by faith) in the promises of the Lord God for a better life, a better future, a better land. Only through trusting God’s promises were they able to live “as strangers and exiles on the earth,” not seeking the land from which God had called them, but rather “seeking a homeland” (see Heb 11:13-14, & chapter). Though promised a land, these men and women understood por la fe that their ultimate joy and treasure would come not through any earthly fulfilment, but through the desire for “una patria major, es decir, la celestial” (“a better country, that is, a heavenly one”) (Heb 11:16). The Promised Land of Israel, though rich in milk and honey, though rich in blessing, fell short of the full promises of God for perfected ciudadanía y pertenencia, since, in a people in need of redemption, it could only point towards the perfect promise of a Heavenly Zion, where King Jesus would be interceding for His redeemed citizens.
CIUDADANÍA PERFECTED
As the Biblical narrative shows, the desire for ciudadanía y pertenecia is truly a right desire; yet no amount of wealth, status, papers and passports, or human acceptance can ever perfectly fulfill it. A green card, successful English-speaking children, even citizenship and relative security in life, though perhaps providing temporary joy and comfort, is not enough. But incredibly, the Gospel message is not a promise for gringos; the promise is that for those who desire “una patria major…la celestial,” regardless of language, citizenship, success, or wealth, “God is not ashamed to be called their God” (Heb 11:16). God is not ashamed to call such as these HIS precious, chosen, beloved ciudadanos because He “has prepared for them a city;” their ciudadanía is in Heaven.
It is through seeing the citizenship and belonging purchased through the blood of Jesucristo that allows immigrants, social outsiders, to find joy in the daily trials, hoping in a ciudadanía that runs far deeper than any earthly nationalism. It is through seeing la patria major as the lasting inheritance that permits those who do belong, who do fit in, to come alongside their brothers and sisters who do not, and celebrate with them that they together are ciudadanos of the heavenly country. This patria is ruled by the God who is unashamed to be called the God of broken, hurting, rejected people, and who rejoices to call them HIS citizens because HE Himself has redeemed them; He Himself has made them worthy to belong.
May we learn to look in faith towards la patria major, and may we celebrate and encourage our brothers and sisters in faith that the greatest sense of ciudadanía y pertenecia comes through the blood of Jesus Christ, shed for His beloved from every tribe, nation, people, and language. May we learn to see that all our deepest hopes and longings are met not in any earthly citizenship or acceptance, but by the God who is unashamed to call us HIS ciudadanos.
¡A Dios sea la gloria!
JOIN US IN PRAYER:
Pray for the Hispanic Church in the United States, dealing with the realities that come along with questions of citizenship, belonging, and identity. Pray that the Gospel message will speak more strongly and more clearly than any person, nation, or experience can.
Pray for the leaders of Hispanic and immigrant congregations to be able to find their identity and courage for speaking truth into their contexts from a God who is unashamed to be called their God!
Pray for those struggling with questions and not fitting in to find comfort, hope, and belonging in the truth that Jesus offers more than any job, status, or papers ever will.
Pray for majority-culture leaders and believers to also see heavenly citizenship as the ultimate treasure, and that the church in the United States would find unity in serving and encouraging one another, regardless of background, as God's beloved children.
Please consider giving to HLI so that we can continue supporting, encouraging, and caring for Hispanic pastors and their congregations throughout the United States, and that through doing so, we can help multiply and grow new leaders to reach more people with the message of the Gospel.
ENDNOTES:
[1] Jens Manuel Krogsted, et al., "Key Facts about US Latinos for National Hispanic Heritage Month," Pew Research Center, September 22, 2023, accessed June 21, 2024: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/09/22/key-facts-about-us-latinos-for-national-hispanic-heritage-month/#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20Hispanic%20population%20reached,increase%20in%20the%20Asian%20population.
[2] Jie Zong, "A Mosaic, not a Monolith: A Profile of the US-Latino Population, 200-2020," UCLA Latino Policty & Politics Institute, October 26, 2022; accessed June 20, 2024: https://latino.ucla.edu/research/latino-population-2000-2020/.
[3] Krogsted et al., "Key Facts."
[4] Cf. the Statue of Liberty inscription
The concept that Christians are heavenly citizens is based on several Bible passages that describe the believers' relationship with the kingdom of God. Here are some key points that explain this idea:
1. Citizenship in Heaven: In Philippians 3:20, Paul writes, "But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." This verse suggests that believers, though living on earth, belong to the heavenly kingdom.
2. Strangers and Exiles: Hebrews 11:13-16 describes the faithful as "strangers and exiles on the earth" who seek a better country, that is, a heavenly one. This reinforces the idea that the true homeland of Christians is not of this world.
3. New Creation: In 2 Corinthians…