What's Saving Your Life Right Now? I: The Practice of Waking Up to God! Vision
April 7, 2024 • Squire Prince • Genesis 28:10–19
It may seem elementary, but I want to start our reflection today with a question, have you ever wanted more out of God? I mean yes we come here on Sundays, we sing, one of the ministers speaks a few words of hope to us, we rub on Minister Doogie, and then we go home. At some point you have to wonder, is that all there is, God? Isn’t there more? I mean what happened to the God of five loaves and two fish? What about the parting of the waters in Exodus? At Least you can turn this cup of water into wine…. I mean coffee, God! Barbara Brown Taylor in her book "An Altar in the World" helps to remove the scales from our eyes to the greater dimensions of God’s presence in the world around us. She points out that all of us in a sense, have a longing for an experience with the one we call God, and maybe that experience, that treasure, that Divine Spirit is right under our noses. A priest once asked Barbara to come speak at his church, and when she asked what he wanted her to talk about, he simply said “come tell us what is saving your life right now”#_ftn1. #_ftnref1Taylor, B. B. (2010). An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith. HarperOne.
Jesus' Grandmothers, III : Rahab
January 21, 2024 • Squire Prince • Joshua 2:1–14, Joshua 2:17–18, Joshua 2:21, Joshua 6:21–25
"Now I call this a messy history because if you look at the genealogy of people in the line of Jesus, you would see a rag tag group of ragamuffins and ne-er do wells who have stolen, murdered, lied, lusted, some worked in careers that were deemed questionable and destitute, and much more. But before you bring anybody out to the town square and say stone them, are we any better? We all in a sense live in this space of fragmentation, with cracks that dig deep into who we are, distorting our ability sometimes to live into our full selves. One of the things we talked about in this theology intensive I attended this week was the idea of the fall of humanity being seen in our need to differentiate and subjugate. A part of our messiness is our desire to uplift ourselves, but downplaying, or dehumanizing another. "
The Call of a Lifetime
April 16, 2023 • Squire Prince • Genesis 12:1–3
On this blessed Sunday, we turn our gaze to our youth, and God’s presence and provision in their life. We focus on how God is moving in their midst, and even still is calling them, as God called the patriarchs and prophets, the matriarchs and models of faith. That’s my key word for the day, Call! Our youth are our example of a faithful answer to God’s call. Many of our youth will pack their bags and answer the call to do ministry with some wonderful churches in Puerto Rico; many have answered the call to serve the church in different leadership and service roles; and yet still, many of our seniors will answer the call to embark on new journeys into unknown lands and places, stepping out on faith. This echoes the story of Abraham, at the time Abram, and his call from God.
The Unnamed, XI: Pilate's Wife
March 26, 2023 • Squire Prince • Matthew 27:11–26
Too often, we are so comfortable in our spaces, places, and races that we turn blind eyes to our siblings of humanity who are crying out for relief. We turn our heads to paradise while many, purposely outside of our gaze, are stomped upon by systems of oppression, violence, and hate. We focus on our bubbles of comfort and safety, while many just blocks away from us starve, giving up whatever items they can to have just one more meal, and a moment of warmth. How often are we captivated in fear by how others feel about us? Fear about losing friends or losing social status? So much so that we don’t speak out when others use their power or influence for wrong. We silence ourselves and allow ourselves to be a part of the problem because “that’s not our fight” or to save face and space.