“A Blessing for the Road”

Winding path through the Chicago Botanic Garden in spring.

By Magdalena I. García

It’s not the end, nor a detour;
it’s merely a bend on your journey’s path.
So follow the road, and let the earth carry you.
May rocks become stepping stones.
May pebbles dislodge any false sense comfort.
May dust announce the coming rains.
May puddles beg you to pause and play.
May mud remind you of the need to be flexible.
May tracks make you aware of your power to guide.
And may you travel with the certainty
that when you follow your heart
God walks with you and there are no missteps.

Written for my dear friend and colleague Frank Alton on his last Sunday in the pulpit as Pastor of Immanuel Presbyterian Church, in Los Angeles.

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“Una bendición para el camino”

Por Magdalena I. García

No es el final, ni tampoco un desvío;
es tan sólo una curva en la senda de tu peregrinaje.
Así que sigue el camino, y deja que la tierra te lleve.
Qué las piedras se conviertan en pasaderas.
Qué los guijarros desplacen todo falso sentido de comodidad.
Qué el polvo anuncie las lluvias venideras.
Qué los charcos te imploren una pausa para jugar.
Qué el fango te recuerde la necesidad de ser flexible.
Qué las huellas te conciencien sobre tu poder para guiar.
Y qué viajes con la certidumbre
de que cuando sigues tu corazón
Dios camina contigo y no hay pasos en falso.

Escrita para mi querido amigo y colega Frank Alton en el último domingo en que éste ocupó el púlpito como pastor de la Iglesia Presbiteriana Immanuel, en Los Ángeles.

“Live Out Your True Identity”

Image from churchpowerpoint.com.

A Fourth of July Reflection based on Matthew 5:38-48

By Magdalena I. García

Prepositions.
When was the last time you thought about them?
Probably not since elementary school.
There are about 150 prepositions in English.
Yet it’s a small number
when you think of the thousands of other words,
like nouns and verbs, that make up the language.

Prepositions are important linking words:
they indicate direction, location, purpose, and relationship.
Here is a list of 70 of the more common one-word prepositions:
aboard
about
above
across
after
against
along
amid
among
anti
around
as
at
before
behind
below
beneath
beside
besides
between
beyond
but
by
concerning
considering
despite
down
during
except
excepting
excluding
following
for
from
in
inside
into
like
minus
near
of
off
on
onto
opposite
outside
over
past
per
plus
regarding
round
save
since
than
through
to
toward
towards
under
underneath
unlike
until
up
upon
versus
via
with
within
without

That’s amazing!
The Spanish language has only about 20 prepositions.

Many of these prepositions have more than one meaning.
And such is the case with the preposition in question today.
It’s Independence Day, so we find doing patriotic things,
like repeating the Pledge of Allegiance,
which includes the prepositional phrase:
“One nation under God...”
What does that mean?

Most commonly we assume that “under” here
means protected by God.
In fact, the standard Spanish translation
for the Pledge of Allegiance
interprets it that way,
and renders the phrase as “under the shelter of God”.

The Psalms describe this protection—and God’s identity—
using images such as…Shepherd, Rock, Shelter, Refuge, Light…
And Independence Day is a good day to remember
that more than any security force or powerful weapon,
God is the protector of our lives and our country.

And so we sing patriotic songs like “God Bless America.”
“God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America,
My home sweet home...”

But please note that the psalmist and the Scriptures declare
that God shepherds, protects, shelters, and gives refuge and light
to ALL of creation!
God cares for ALL nations,
and not just for one particular nation!

How does this Scriptural truth make you feel?
How does it affirm—or challenge—your understanding of God?
How does it affirm—or challenge—your vision for ministry?

Think about that for a few moments...

But the phrase “one nation under God...”
can also have another meaning.
“Under” can also mean governed by God.
The Scriptures are full of references to God
as Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of the world,
and to us humans as extraordinary creatures,
made in the image of God.
Again, the Psalms speak boldly of God’s identity and ours.
Listen, for example, to the words of Psalm 8.

Psalm 8
1 O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established;
4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?
5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet,
7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

We are indeed wondrously made,
a little lower than God,
crowned with glory and honor.
But we are still creatures under God,
who is the Creator and Sovereign.

So what does it mean to be “one nation under God?”

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary,
the preposition “under” can mean:
“in or into a position below or beneath something.”
But it can also mean:
“in or into a condition of subjection or subordination.”

So clearly, for us to be “one nation under God”
means more—much more—than to be protected by God.
Yes, it means that we are
“below or beneath God,”
such as under the protection of God’s wings.
But it also means that we are
“in a condition of subjection or subordination,”
such as under the authority of God’s rule.

This not-so-small clarification
entirely changes our reading and interpretation
of the phrase “one nation under God.”
Or at least it should!

So let me ask you again…
How does this Scriptural truth make you feel?
How does it affirm—or challenge—your understanding of God?
How does it affirm—or challenge—your vision for ministry?

My friends, it is only when we are able to live as both:
a people protected by God
and a people subjected to God’s authority,
that we can honor the great commandments
that Jesus gave us.
And it is only then that we can honor
the toughest commandment that he gave us:
“love your enemy...
return no one evil for evil...
do good to everyone...
forgive as you have been forgiven...”

Living out of our true identity as a people of faith
requires that we do this:
(take a red, clerical stole with a white dove
as a symbol of the Holy Spirit
and place it over my very Americana-looking shirt
with red, white, and blue stripes and stars).

And living out of our true identity as a people of faith
requires that we do this:
(walk over to the communion table
and point at the US flag wrapped at the feet of the cross).

Allegiance to God must supersede all other allegiances,
such as devotion to a particular country,
no matter how noble that might be.
Unless and until we are able to do that,
our faithfulness is compromised.

May God grant us the courage and the grace
to live this day and everyday of our lives
as “one nation under God.”

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“The Missing Preposition”

By Magdalena I. García

“H2O: Deepening our faith, Widening our culture.”
It was the theme of the 11th National Multicultural Conference,
held in Chicago this past Memorial Day weekend,
and sponsored by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

It was a colorful conference.
It always is.
It was a joyful conference.
It always is.
It was an energizing conference.
It always is.
It was a challenging conference.
It always is.

Everyone has gone home
and now, barely a month later,
all eyes are on Minneapolis/ St. Paul
for the bi-annual meeting of the General Assembly,
where a different watery theme
has called Presbyterians together.

And yet, as I continue journeying
with that H2O theme floating in my head,
I find new waves splashing
on the shores of my consciousness.
Like the one that keeps murmuring:
“Where is the missing preposition?”

Deepening our faith by widening our culture.
It seems to me that is exactly what Jesus himself did
when he talked with the Samaritan woman at the well,
or when he had dinner with Zacchaeus the tax collector,
or when he accepted the challenge from the Syrophoenician woman,
or when he had healed the centurion’s servant…

Maybe it’s time we put that missing preposition
back into our church talk and faith walk.
Deepening our faith by widening our culture.
You could say it’s the original evangelism program.

When we dare do just that
we will need no other campaign.
Our tired denominational legs
will get a respite from treading water.
Our rigid denominational arms
will get relief from clinging to a lifesaver.
Our sinking denominational bodies
will get a breather from holding their heads above water.
And we will find ourselves splashing
in the midst of a growing company
of colorful, joyful, energizing, and challenging people.

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