Tag Archives: citizenship

Pirates & Passports

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I’m looking forward to this evening. Carolina, Andrea and I are going to see “Pirates of Penzance” at ACU tonight. I really enjoy listening to Gilbert and Sullivan, and I’ve never seen the entire show of “Pirates.” I’m already laughing at the jokes, and the show is still 12 hours away!

Getting into the mood, I was humming a little Gilbert and Sullivan this morning, albeit from “H.M.S. Pinafore.” It was the song “He Is An Englishman” The part I was remembering was:

For he might have been a Roosian,
A French, or Turk, or Proosian,
Or perhaps Itali-an!

But in spite of all temptations
To belong to other nations,
He remains an Englishman!

Maybe I’m remembering that because I was at a citizenship ceremony on Tuesday. Carolina was naturalized as a citizen of the United States. We went to Dallas (OK, Irving) for the 8:30 a.m. ceremony, which is a lovely time to be facing the traffic in the Metroplex.

If you’ve read much on this blog, you can imagine that I had mixed feelings about the whole thing (If not, you can read some of the articles in the “Citizens of Heaven” category). Basically, Carolina was looking to simplify her passport situation. Her Argentine passport has her maiden name on it, while all of her documentation from here has her married name. There was just too much explaining to do with all of it.

As the time for the ceremony drew near, I realized that I was thinking of my mixed feelings, but hadn’t really talked to Carolina about hers. So the night before, I asked her how she felt about the upcoming ceremony. “A bit sad,” was her reply. I hadn’t thought about that aspect, the feeling of being called on to “renounce” your prior citizenship. I reminded her that this was just a technicality, that as far as Argentina was concerned, she would remain Argentine.

So naturally, one of the first things they did at the ceremony was ask people to stand at the naming of their “former nationality.” [insert face plant] Then there was the oath, which begins by declaring that the person is renouncing all allegiance “to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty.” [I couldn’t help thinking that maybe we should include that when we baptize someone!] The oath also calls for a willingness to aid in warfare, though it seemed to leave the door open for noncombatant and conscientious objector status.

When we came out of the ceremony, Carolina said to me, “Now I’m like you.” I said, “No, now you’re like the kids. I’m the only one in the family who only has one passport.” [Maybe someday they’ll come up with a better system, maybe a universal passport of some sort.]

I know that there is a big part of Carolina that will remain an Argentine, just as there is a part of me that retains loyalty to nations of this world even as I claim my true citizenship, my heavenly one.

Why understanding our citizenship matters

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I shouldn’t be surprised any more at what people write in the comments section on my blog. It’s probably because I don’t get a lot of comments that the few I receive get noticed. I’ve got a few older posts that attract comments now and then, like the ones on bilingual ministry. (A Google search for “bilingual ministry” puts some of my posts near the top, so when people go looking for that, they often arrive on my blog)

One comment yesterday on one of those old posts left me with my mouth open. All of the things I’ve written about the dangers of nationalism were personified in this one person’s writings. (I’m still not sure that it wasn’t just somebody “yanking my chain,” as they say.)

The opening sentence to the comment gives you a clue as to the point of view: “I don’t understand why Americans living in America should assist immigrants to America in NOT assimilating to U.S. culture.” That’s right… four references to this country in the first 19 words of the comment. The gist of the comment was: there is an intentional plan by Hispanics to take over this country; allowing people to worship in Spanish is contributing to the downfall of the United States.

Do you get it now? Do you see why I insist that we need to help our people understand where our true loyalties lie? This person doesn’t necessarily representative of any large group of people. But the danger is real. The Pew Center research showing that Christians in the U.S. tend to identify themselves as Americans first and Christians second reflects a problem in our churches.

I wrote a short reply to this person:

____,

Well spoken as a promoter of the Kingdom of America. I promote the Kingdom of Heaven, so your view is totally foreign to me.

I can only serve one Master.

Grace and peace,
Tim Archer

One commenter has complained that I spend too much time talking about the subject of nationalism and being citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. Comments like that one yesterday convince me that none of us talk about it enough.

Hugo Chavez and Jesus

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During my trip to Cuba two weeks ago, one sister gave me a poem. Here are a few translated lines to give you an idea of the flavor:

Long live my Venezuela
That was saved from the empire.
Long live Hugo Chávez
And the countries of Alba.*
My dear Venezuela
That is today the light of the world
Along with my beloved Cuba
and our beloved Jesus.

When she gave it to me, I glanced over it and expected the worst. After all, I’m from “the empire.” I was ready for her to chastise me for things that the United States has done in Latin America.

However, she merely wanted to give me this poem (given to her by the Holy Spirit, she said) so that I could share it with others. It was so obvious to her that any Christian would agree with the ideas she was expressing that she never stopped to think that I might see things differently.

Nationalism and Christianity don’t mix. Not in Cuba. Not in the United States. It’s no more wrong for her to write what she did as a Christian poem than it is for people to salute the American flag during a church service. But neither one is right either.

Nationalism and Christianity don’t mix. I was told that this sister has some issues mentally. What excuses do we give?

Nationalism and Christianity don’t mix.

*Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América — Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America. “Alba” in Spanish means dawn. This alliance is meant as an alternative to the U.S.-sponsored Free Trade Area of the Americas.

Photo by Victor Soares

Christian tribalism

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I’ve been waiting for someone to call my hand on something. Laymond kind of touched on it the other day. What about the Christian nation as our “tribe”; can we treat non-Christians differently than we do Christians?

I’d say no, not in the sense of being willing to harm non-Christians or cheat them in any way? But I do think it means something to be part of the same family, to be brothers and sisters. Paul wrote, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:10) We do good to all, but especially to other Christians.

It calls for a balancing act, being fair to others while showing preference to our brothers. Our tribe transcends borders and barriers, but it is our tribe, our people, our nation. We are first and foremost citizens of heaven.

The church: God’s answer to tribalism

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I don’t think it’s easy for us to understand the barrier that existed between Jew and Gentile in the first century. Not so much in terms of social interaction (although that definitely existed), but especially in terms of religion. It would have been extremely difficult for a Jew to look on a Gentile as an equal, spiritually speaking. This was still true even in the early church.

Because of this, it was a stunning message that Paul and others preached, a message of equality in the gospel: “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:14-18) Christ had torn down the wall of division. He had brought Jew and Gentile into one body.

To Paul, this was one of the great truths of Christianity, a mystery that God had kept hidden in the past: “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 3:6)

At the heart of all of this was the church, God’s masterpiece which he had to show off to all creation: “Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ephesians 3:8-11)

The rulers and authorities which would divide people, placing them in rival clans, tribes and nations, these powers would be shown God’s power to reconcile, to bring people together. Where is that power seen? In that church. Because of this, the Lord’s church must be an agent of reconciliation, a force for bringing all people together, regardless of nationality, language, race or other human division.

Tribalism is an enemy of the church, a tool of the powers and authorities that set themselves up against God’s authority. God’s truth is that all men are made in his image and all men can be brought into the body of Christ, the holy Christian nation. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:28-29)

Because of this, Christians must work at bringing people together. We must learn to ignore nationalities and other aspects of tribalism that would separate us from others. We have to come to an awareness of the length, depth, width and height of our kingdom, spanning borders, time zones and continents. The church is God’s answer to man’s tribalism.