Preparing us for the future

Some years ago I mentioned in this blog that this is the time of the year (September 15-October 15) to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Indeed, this month has many reasons for us to be thankful about it. This month also give us many reasons to ponder on monumental events like Columbus Day – with all its implications for the human race (both positive and negative), United Nations Day – an achievement of the great possibilities humanity has by working together to solve problems, and Halloween – a reminder not to take things too seriously.

Yes, there are many things that we can write about. Last year I mentioned some statistics and facts about Latinos in the United States, how they have impacted our lives, our culture, and how we see ourselves. Clearly we are a different people than we were 50 or even 30 years ago. In the last 10 years we have seen how the Latino population in the U.S. has grown to become the largest ethnic minority in the country. In the next 30 years we will see even more changes as we experience how the so called racial/ethnic minority groups in the U.S. will become the largest segment of the population. By then we will also see that many of our sons and daughters-in-law might be from a country in Latin America, or some-other-place in the world. We might see that many of our grandchildren and great grandchildren might have as their surnames Rivera, Rodriguez, and Santos instead of Smith and Jones.

As a Puerto Rican pastor (“born and bread” on the island of Puerto Rico) working in English speaking churches, ministering to an American population so different from the reality I grew up in, I represent the reality of coming changes. Indeed, I am only the beginning of a trend that will continue to grow and alter the way we see ourselves and the world around us. This time we know what is coming, and it is not a bad thing, and we can prepare for it by opening our hearts, our church doors, and our communities. This time we can be prepared to make our churches and our communities more welcoming and more hospitable to the people God is sending to be in our midst.

Indeed, I truly believe that we are at the verge of one of the greatest opportunities for our church and for the nation. Certainly the demographic changes taking place now will impact our lives in the U.S. but also the lives of people all over the world. We are at the verge of a renewal of our values and our ideals as a people, especially as God’s people.

This is a time to be bold with our faith, this is a time to be courageous about our commitment to Christ and to the proclamation of the good news of the Kingdom of God about which Jesus preached: “The kingdom of God has come near to you” [is here] (Luke 10:9).

My brothers and sisters, when we announce that the Kingdom of God is at hand or near to us, it is not a figure of speech. You see, in Hebrew, the words "to come near" mean: "To be at." Many people are confused about what the Kingdom of God, or of Heaven really means because of the poor Greek and English translations of the Hebrew word “Karav.”

When Jesus says that “The Kingdom of God has come near you” we need to hear it in his Hebraic context. Instead we hear it in its Greek context with the use of the word “engiken,” which translated means “has come near.” If we turned this word back into Hebrew we get an entirely different meaning and understanding because the Hebrew will tell us that the Kingdom of God is here: with the arrival of Jesus the Kingdom of God has been inaugurated (John 1:14). God has pitched his tent with us, with the entire human race. We are not alone!

The Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God is always -- present tense -- it is now, according to the Hebrew usage and the understanding of the Jews at the time of Jesus and also within rabbinic usage even today. So the opportunities are before us to open our lives, our churches, our communities, and our nation to these great things that God is doing in our midst, to the people who have come to be in our midst. God is certainly presenting us with the opportunity to join him in making his Kingdom invitation a reality for all the people around us.  Come, let us join him!

Hispanic Heritage Month: A Month to Celebrate the Future

The month of October has plenty of things to celebrate or to observe: Columbus Day, World Communion Sunday, Protestant Heritage Sunday, Halloween, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Clergy Appreciation Month, Cookie Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Lupus Awareness Month, National Diabetes Month, etc. But as we move forward in our ministry to the community, I
would like to highlight Hispanic Heritage Month, which as many of you know is a celebration that spans from September 15^th to October 15^th. 

You might probably be thinking, why is this something to talk about in this month's blog, others might be asking: What is this Hispanic Heritage Month? Why are we U.S. Citizens asked to celebrate Hispanic Heritage? These are very good questions, which I proposed to answer the best I can. You see Hispanic Heritage month was enacted by Congress by Public Law 100-402 in 1968, in order to honor the achievements of Hispanics/Latinos in America. This law has authorized and requested the President of the U.S. to annually issue a proclamation designating September 15 through October 15 as “National Hispanic Heritage Month.” What this means is that as a country we celebrate the culture and traditions of those who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico, and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America and the Caribbean. The days for the celebration were picked as a way to celebrate the anniversaries for independence of 5 Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El

Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on Sept. 16^th and Sept. 18th, respectively.
This population is not only in our midst, this population is an integral component of what it is to be American in the 21^st Century. This is also a growing population. As of April 2010 the Hispanic (Latino) population has reached 50.5 million, making this population the largest racial/ethnic
minority in the U.S. (surpassing the African America population). This is without counting the 3.7 million residents of Puerto Rico, which is a U.S. territory (and, of course, the place where your pastor comes from). This population is not only the largest racial-ethnic minority in the U.S.A. it is also the fastest growing racial-ethnic minority population in the country. The Hispanic population in the U.S.
constitutes the second largest in the world, and thus making Spanish the second language spoken in the U.S. We are already a bilingual country.
You can see, hear, and taste the contributions of this population in American culture. The influence of Spanish language, flavors, and cultures has already left its indelible mark in all of us. We cannot think of having a party without tortilla chips and Salsa, guacamole, burritos, tacos, pastels, etc. Even our language has benefited from the exchange. As it is, there are many words in the English language that we assume are simply English when they actually come from Spanish: Alligator (el lagarto, the lizard), Booby (bobo, silly or selfish, from the Latin for stammering, balbus), Bronco (for horses

that are wild or rough), Cafeteria (cafetería, a coffee shop), Cargo (cargar, to load), Cigar, Cigarette (cigarro), Comrade (camarada, old Spanish for barracks company or roommate), Guerrilla (a small raiding party or fighting force), Renegade (renegado, deserter or outlaw), Tornado (tornar, to turn, tronada, thunderstorm), and many more. There are other words from Spanish that have retained their meaning also in English such as: aficionado, armada, barracuda, mosquito, tobacco, and vanilla. Some of our States continue to reflect this heritage in their names: Colorado, Nevada, California, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, Arizona, and Montana. There are 20
cities with Spanish names and many other towns. 

The fact of the matter is that our country is becoming more multi-cultural and more diverse every year. Not only because of foods and languages but also because the number of people marrying across racial/ethnic lines has continued to grow: a record 14.6% of all new marriages in the United
States in 2008 were between spouses of a different race or ethnicity; 2008 showed a spike of interracial marriages (9% of white newlyweds, 16% of blacks, 26% of Hispanics and 31% of Asians married someone whose race or ethnicity was different from their own).

As a matter of fact Hispanics/Latinos are so much a part of this country that there are over 1.1 million Hispanic/Latinos who are veterans of the U.S. Armed forces, and millions more are currently serving. We have been so much a part of this country that we are part of the great American family, an integral part of this country’s landscape. This is a reality that some of us experience in our own families and inside our congregations; it is a reality in our communities; it is an inescapable reality that we are living. As it is, we are your sons and daughters in law, we are your children, we are your grand children, and your great grand children, we are your husbands and wives, and are also the grandparents.
Our last two Presidents have made clear the significance of celebrating Hispanic Heritage month. President George W. Bush stated in 2006: “Through hard work, faith in God, and a deep love of

family, Hispanic Americans have pursued their dreams and contributed to the strength and vitality of our Nation. They have enriched the American experience and excelled in business, law, politics, education, community service, the arts, science, and many other fields. […]We continue to benefit from a rich Hispanic culture and we are a stronger country because of the talent and creativity of the many Hispanic Americans who have shaped our society.” 

Thus, President Obama reminds us: “[f]rom those who trace their roots to America's earliest days to those who recently came to the United States carrying nothing but hope for a better life, Hispanics have always been integral to our national story. As an American family more than 300 million strong, we constitute one people, sharing sacrifice and prosperity because we know we rise and fall together” (from President Obama’s 2011 Proclamation). Certainly, America is a richer and more vibrant country because of the contributions of Hispanics/Latinos. This is also where the future of the United Methodist Church lies. 

We, Latinos, might not be the future of the protestant Church, but we are, indeed, the future that lies ahead for the the Christian church in America, as well as the future of our country. As Paul keeps reminding the church in Ephesus: “For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made [everyone] into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of [many], thus making peace, and might reconcile [everyone] to God in one body.” (Eph. 2:14-16). Indeed, we are one people, as the body of Christ, and as a country; whether people like it or not, whether people are willing to accept it or not.