March 2, 2025 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | Mark 8:27-30 In this pivotal moment in Mark 8, Jesus begins to make his way to Jerusalem and to the cross by asking 2 questions: Who do people say that I am? Who do you say that I am? Jesus asks 309 questions in the gospels and is […]
January 26, 2025 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | Acts 16:11-15 and Phil 1:1-9 As we do a soft launch into the book of Philippians, we dig into the origin story of the Philippian church. Lydia and a group of women found the river church, outside of the city gates, as there is no synagogue in Philippi. […]
January 5, 2025 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde Epiphany means revelation and the wise magi that followed the stars found revelation in the dark night sky. Their rhythms were simple: waking, watching, and walking. God spoke in a language that anyone could understand.
December 8, 2024 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | 1 Sam 2:1-10 Luke 1:46-55 Mother Hannah in 1 Samuel has a melody of hope that is harmonized by Mary’s Magnificat. Both matriarchs of the faith point to an ancient present hope as we are rooted in the promised Messiah to arrive. They give us the gift of […]
November 24, 2024 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | Hebrews 12:1-3 The liturgy of the leaves teaches us something about letting go as a spiritual practice that nourishes our understanding of Hebrews 12 v1-3. In the fall, toxic waste is secreted in the leaves that fall. If the trees don’t let go of this waste, the leaves […]
November 10, 2024 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | Psalm 31, Matthew 5 The gift of lament in Psalm 31 is a reminder that we can openly call out and say that things aren’t as they should be. It reorients us towards the sermon on the mount where Jesus speaks to a community marginalized by both […]
November 3, 2024 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | 1 John 1:1-5, 1 Thess 4:13-18, Heb. 12:1-3 Abuelito John writes to a diverse community of churches in 1 John in the latter part of his life. He writes as an old man to churches that had not been eyewitnesses of Jesus, thus highlighting that they had […]
October 6, 2024 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | Psalm 139 v1-16 Belonging begins IN our bodies and belonging is cultivated in community. The beginning of our belonging begins in the womb of God’s imagination and in the womb of our mothers who carried us. In Psalm 139 we see that Creator God who gave us […]
September 8, 2024 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | Gen 16:7-16 Mother Hagar is the first human and first foreign woman to name God, the God who sees. This is in response to God naming her son, Ishmael, which means, God hears. She finds herself in a difficult predicament after being taken advantage of. Yet, God […]