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Can the church, with its unique reach into nearly every "tribe and language and people and nation" represented in the United States, become a model of this kind of partnership? What might our song, nuestro himno, contribute to vexed questions about ethnicity in America?

In the case of the national anthem, Christians could begin by observing that Pentecost affirms the value of every culture and language. So when Latino citizens sing the national anthem in Spanish, we understand that they are embracing their bicultural and bilingual American Latino identity. They are singing about the nation they love in the language that resonates in their soul.

At the same time, Latino Christians understand that the national anthem is an important cultural icon in its original language—a key part of white American culture. No translation of our treasured anthem should be a replacement for it. So we could well agree with President Bush that every citizen, including Latino citizens, should also be able to sing the national anthem in English.

Finally, we might recognize that the national anthem is translated into myriad tongues every day. It is impossible for someone dominant in a language other than English not to translate a song like the national anthem in his or her head. Furthermore, the national anthem has already been translated into Spanish a number of times during the past hundred years, and until recently, this was not politically controversial. The question for our time might become who should do an official translation that would do justice to the original text but also free an important group of citizens to hear and sing the text's original meaning in their own language.

Whatever happens with the national anthem, my hope is that the church in America will embrace its ethnic diversity as a vital part of humanity that can be redeemed for the purposes of God. If we do, we can offer something special to the wider world.

We are beginning to understand that racial healing is one purpose of the church, tearing down the walls that still separate us as brothers and sisters in Christ. May Jesus' prayer to the Father for us be answered in our generation: "I pray … that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe … that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me" (John 17:20-23). That, indeed, is nuestro himno.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Previous Christianity Today articles from the Christian Vision Project include:

A New Kind of Urban Christian | As the city goes, so goes the culture. (June 9, 2006)

The Conservative Humanist | Those who are pro-life and pro-family should have no problem being pro-human. (April 21, 2006)

Loving the Storm-Drenched | We can no more change the culture than we can the weather. Fortunately, we've got more important things to do. By Frederica Mathewes-Green (March 3, 2006)

Habits of Highly Effective Justice Workers | Should we protest the system or invest in a life? Yes. By Rodolpho Carrasco (Feb. 3, 2006)

How the Kingdom Comes | The church becomes countercultural by sinking its roots ever deeper into God's heavenly gifts. By Michael S. Horton (Jan. 13, 2006)

Inside CT
Better Than a Cigar | Introducing the Christian Vision Project. By David Neff (Jan. 13, 2006)

More CVP articles from our sister publications are available on ChristianVisionProject.com.

Christianity Today's April 2005 cover story declared All Churches Should Be Multiracial.

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August 2006, Vol. 50, No. 8