December 17, 2023 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | Ruth 4:11-12 → Luke 1:46-55 Mother Ruth secures the steps and seeds of the Messiah and we hear echoes of her hope in Mary’s Magnificat. Our very own Nicola Patton re-writes Mary’s Magnificat in Ruth’s voice. We linger in Mary’s words. She speaks from her soul. She […]
December 3, 2023 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | Ruth 2:8-12 NRSV In Ruth 2, we observe that the steps of Ruth plant the seeds of the Messiah and prepare the way for the Messiah. Mother Ruth, a foreign Moabite woman steps into the field of prophetic promise where God has been cultivating a path of shalom […]
November 5, 2023 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | Ruth 1:16-18 Migration is a means of God’s love and God’s company. In the story of Comadre Ruth and Naomi, we see the embodied hesed love of God in the friendship vows that Ruth makes to Naomi in times of crisis and duress. Comadre Ruth did not know […]
August 6, 2023 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | 1 Cor. 12:4-14 (NRSV) Paul reminds the Corinthian believers that God has dispensed power from above for them to live the resurrected life. This same Spirit grants individual spiritual gifts that are meant for the common good and to edify the body. Lastly, this power is power […]
July 23, 2023 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | 2 Cor. 2:14-17 Christ is sufficient and the Spirit is supreme to make us competent to fulfill our calling. In Christ, we are empowered to be the aroma of Christ and sometimes, well, Jesus smells like a mango empanada.
July 16, 2023 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | 2 Cor. 3:1-6 The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthian church a letter of encouragement about their witness. They are letters. Letters of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the ink. Letters that give life and liberation. We can be confident that God is competent to write our […]
June 11, 2023 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | Acts 16:1-10 The Holy Spirit pulls some stops in Paul, Silas & Timothy’s journey on their way to Philippi. The Spirit actually stops and redirects them 2 times. When we pause and read in between the lines we see the gift of uncertainty that holds space for listening […]
May 7, 2023 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | Exodus 15:1-13 Miriam leaves the place of slavery in Egypt and the one thing she brings is a tambourine. Jewish tradition teaches that Miriam led the women and people of Israel in song and dance at God’s liberation. She danced on dry land. Her tambourine is a […]
April 23, 2023 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | Genesis 1:1-3 Pastora Inés dives into an overview of the Ruach Elohim and scans the presence and power of the Spirit within the Old Testament. The same Spirit that hovers over the waters of creation falls upon prophets and prophetesses. She leans into the language we use […]
April 2, 2023 | Inés Velásquez-McBryde | Luke 19:35-40 Triumphal entries were a thing in ancient Rome. Kings would come back from a conquest showing off their spoils of war by marching in a procession in a conquered city. Victors would show off the conquered (enslaved) peoples, conquered kings and queens, and seized property/land. […]