Tuesday, October 30, 2018

all saints day year b - john

 https://www.bustle.com/p/space-pride-flags-exist-thanks-to-this-twitter-user-heres-what-they-mean-9405690

John 11:32-44
32When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him,
she knelt at his feet and said to him,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.”
33When Jesus saw her weeping,
and the Judeans who came with her also weeping,
he was greatly disturbed in spirit
and deeply moved.
34Jesus said,
“Where have you laid him?”
They said to him,
“Lord, come and see.”
35Jesus began to weep.
36So the Judeans said,
“See how he loved him!”
37But some of them said,
“Could not the one
who opened the eyes of the blind man
have kept this man from dying?” 

38Then Jesus,
again greatly disturbed,
came to the tomb.
It was a cave,
and a stone was lying against it.
39Jesus said,
“Take away the stone.”
Martha, the sister of the dead man,
said to him,
“Lord, already there is a stench
because he has been dead four days.”
40Jesus said to her,
“Did I not tell you that if you believed,
you would see the glory of God?”

41So they took away the stone.
And Jesus looked upward and said,
“Father, I thank you for having heard me.
42I knew that you always hear me,
but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here,
so that they may believe that you sent me.”
43When he had said this,
he cried with a loud voice,
“Lazarus, come out!”
44The dead man came out,
his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth,
and his face wrapped in a cloth.
Jesus said to them,
“Unbind him,
and let him go.”

Queeries for the text:
Who is Jesus weeping for?
How did Jesus love Lazarus?
Why do they call Jesus Lord so many times?
How often are our prayers for the sake of the crowd? Can they be for us and the crowd?
Does Jesus know something about Lazarus that we don't?
How is the church bound?
What did Lazarus think about coming back from the dead?  What did he say?
How did the religious authorities respond to this?
How many saints have been killed by guns and hatred this year?

What are your queeries?




Friday, October 26, 2018

blessings abound beyond the binary

After the rally, I voted at the Urbandale Public Library.

Today, in addition to voting (go vote!) I was one of many speakers at Des Moines' Trans Rights Are Human Rights Rally.

You can find a video of the whole thing here.

If you just want a video of me, check it out here.

This is what I said:

I am Pastor Emily E. Ewing I use they/them pronouns and I am a nonbinary pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and currently serve as the Leadership Project Director for Downtown Disciples.

Me and two other members of Downtown Disciples after the rally.

Today we gather on land originally inhabited by the Ioway, or Báxoj'e, and the Sauk and Meskwaki peoples. People who were systematically targeted by white settler colonialism for extermination, and along with indigenous people throughout this land, their Two Spirit people, who frequently held places of honor and responsibility, were some of the first to be targeted and killed.  And so as we gather, it is important that we acknowledge this land and their history.

We are here to decry the cruel policies, practices, and plans of this administration and others who have and will speak are making that clear.  so I'm going to do what pastors do best and give a blessing.

To you, my fellow intersex, trans, gender expansive, gender nonconforming, and gender renegade beloveds:

You are not alone.

You carry with you a great cloud of witnesses--those Two Spirit, Third Gender, trans, intersex, gender renegades whose names we no longer know, and yet are held in love by the Source of Life.

You rest on the shoulders of the courageous ones like Marsha P. Johnson, Silvia Rivera, and Miss Major—they threw bricks and shoes and words decades ago, which continue to reverberate today.

In my tradition, we also look to Joseph in Genesis, whose beautiful dress bore the full diversity of rainbow colors and whose dreams stretched beyond their imagining, to bring you energy and empower your resistance to what this administration intended for harm.

We recognize that in Acts the Ethiopian Eunuch's gender and sex helped them break down binaries and break open the church’s barriers. May their spirit pour over you, breaking through every barrier that keeps you from wholeness.

We remember that in Genesis the very first of humanity—the intersex human from humus, the earthling from the earth—was made in the Divine image. May this one renew your connection not only to the dirt of the earth, but also to the stardust scattered throughout the cosmos, which join together to form you.  And may the Divine One, whose image you bear, breathe new life into you.

As a Christian I also recognize that the Word made flesh, who transgresses boundaries between human and divine, who we name as Jesus, was born of the woman Mary through the power of that high femme Holy Spirit, was incarcerated and executed by the state and yet prevailed, spurring us to action and nourishing us for the struggle to come.

May the One who created and creates you, who loves your whole self, who loves who you are and who you are becoming, who loves the power you hold to transform the broken world in which we all live—may this One wrap you in love that seeps to the deepest core of your being.

May you know the peace, the power, the love, the strength, and the solidarity of the one who loves you best—the one who is love and life, justice and peace, restoration and celebration of who you are and who you are becoming!

Amen

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

reformation - john

John 8:31-36
31Then Jesus said to the Judeans who had believed in him,
“If you continue in my word,
you are truly my disciples;
32and you will know the truth,
and the truth will make you free.”
33They answered Jesus,
“We are descendants of Abraham
and have never been slaves to anyone.
What do you mean by saying,
‘You will be made free’?”
34Jesus answered them,
“Very truly, I tell you,
everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.
35The slave does not have a permanent place in the household;
the son has a place there forever.
36So if the Son makes you free,
you will be free indeed. 

Queeries for the text:
Which word from the Word are we supposed to continue in?
When does truth make you free?
When does truth make you captive?
How do we re-write our own histories?
How has John's gospel been used for antisemitic and anti-Judaic purposes?
What sins am I a slave to?
Do we want a permanent place in a household that continues slavery?

What are your queeries?







Tuesday, October 23, 2018

a blessing for those beyond the binary

At the beginning of October, I was in Chicago for our Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries in-person board meeting.  After the meeting, I stayed in Chicago for a few extra days to visit friends.  One of the stores I went to had two free items:



When I picked them out I had no idea how life-giving they would become in just a few weeks.

This last month has been filled with complicated feelings from the joys and struggles of Coming Out Day to the administration’s racist and transphobic policies, plans, and actions, and yet this sticker and this button bring me back to the love of the One who loves me best and remind me of the importance of blessings and affirmation.  So, I have a blessing for my fellow beloveds.

-----

To you beloved children of God who are intersex, trans, gender expansive, and gender nonconforming:

May the Holy One who celebrates the gifts of Joseph, whose beautiful dress bore the full diversity of rainbow colors and whose dreams stretched beyond their imagining, bring you energy and empower your resistance to what this administration intended for harm.

May the Spirit who poured Herself out on the Ethiopian Eunuch, whose gender and sex helped them break down binaries and break open the church’s barriers, pour over you, breaking through every barrier that keeps you from wholeness.

May the Divine One who brought into being the very first of humanity—the intersex human from humus, the earthling from the earth—renew your connection not only to the dirt of the earth, but also to the stardust scattered throughout the cosmos, which join together to form you.  May this Divine One, whose image you bear, breathe new life into you.

May the Word made flesh, who transgresses boundaries between human and divine, who comes to us as Jesus, born of the woman Mary through the power of that high femme Holy Spirit, spur you to action and nourish you for the struggle to come.

May the One who created and creates you, who loves your whole self, who loves who you are and who you are becoming, who loves the power you hold to transform the broken world in which we all live—may this One wrap you in love that seeps to the deepest core of your being.

Monday, October 22, 2018

23rd after pentecost year b - mark

https://www.archives.gov/files/global-images/portal/medium/accessibility.png




Mark 10:46-52
46As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho,
Bartimaeus son of Timaeus,
a blind beggar,
was sitting by the roadside.
47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
Bartimaeus began to shout out and say,
“Jesus, Son of David,
have mercy on me!”
48Many sternly ordered Bartimaeus to be quiet,
but he cried out even more loudly,
“Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49Jesus stood still and said,
“Call him here.”
And they called the blind man,
saying to him,
“Take heart;
get up,
he is calling you.”
50So throwing off his cloak,
he sprang up
and came to Jesus.
51Then Jesus said to him,
“What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man said to him,
“My teacher, let me see again.”
52Jesus said to him,
“Go;
your faith has made you well.”
Immediately he regained his sight
and followed Jesus on the way.

Queeries for the text:
Why do names matter?
What does mercy look like today?
Who is sternly ordering others to be quiet today?  Who is crying out today?
How do personhood and identity interact?
Does Bartimaeus have a flare for the dramatic?  Did he miss his calling to theater?
What would Jesus do if Bartimaeus had wanted others to create more accessible spaces instead?
Why does Bartimaeus get to keep following Jesus when others couldn't?
How much faith is needed to make our world well?

What are your queeries?




Tuesday, October 16, 2018

22nd after pentecost year b - mark

https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/lightnings-thunder-bold-strike-summer-260nw-724569412.jpg
The sons of Thunder!!!  (or just the cause)


Mark 10:35-45
35James and John,
the sons of Zebedee,
came forward to Jesus and said to him,
“Teacher,
we want you to do for us
whatever we ask of you.”
36And Jesus said to them,
“What is it you want me to do for you?”
37And they said to Jesus,
“Grant us to sit,
one at your right hand and one at your left,
in your glory.”
38But Jesus said to them,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Are you able to drink the cup that I drink,
or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
39They replied,
“We are able.”
Then Jesus said to them,
“The cup that I drink you will drink;
and with the baptism with which I am baptized,
you will be baptized;
40but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant,
but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

41When the ten heard this,
they began to be angry with James and John.
42So Jesus called them and said to them,
“You know that among the Gentiles
those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them,
and their great ones are tyrants over them.
43But it is not so among you;
but whoever wishes to become great among you
must be your servant,
44and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.
45For the Human One came not to be served but to serve,
and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Queeries for the text:
What have we skipped since last week?
What does thunder have to do with this?
Will the disciples *EVER* get it?
How much more entitled could the Sons of Thunder be?
Which baptism was Jesus baptized with?
For whom have those special seats been prepared?
How do rulers today lord their power over others?
Who are the servants among usWho are those legally enslaved in the u.s. today?
What does it mean to ransom others?
How is Jesus rejecting the false binaries of ruler/servant and powerful/powerless?

What are your queeries?



If you're interested in checking out the sermon that came out of this queery, you can find a brief description of the sermon and the image here!

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

21st after pentecost year b - amos

This text was queeried by periodic queerier River Needham with collaboration from Rev. Emily E. Ewing.

Verses bracketed in Italics are omitted from the assigned reading.

Amos 5:6-7 [8-9] 10-15
Seek the Becoming One, and you will live, else She will rush like fire upon the House of Joseph and consume Bethel with none to quench it. Ah, you who turn justice into wormwood and hurl righteousness to the ground! [Who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns deep darkness into dawn and darkens day into night, who summons the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the earth— Her name is the Becoming One! It is She who hurls destruction upon strongholds, so that ruin comes upon fortresses!] They hate the arbiter in the gate, and detest her whose plea is just. Assuredly, because you impose a tax on the poor and exact from them a levy of grain, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted delightful vineyards, but shall not drink their wine. For I have noted how many are your crimes, and how countless your sins—you enemies of the righteous, you takers of bribes, you who subvert in the gate the cause of the needy! Assuredly, at such a time the prudent one keeps silent, for it is an evil time. Seek good and not evil, that you may live, and that the Becoming One, the God of Angel Armies, may truly be with you, as you think. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; perhaps the Becoming One, the God of Angel Armies, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Queeries for the text:
How are darkness and light dependent on each other?
How does justice become wormwood?
What does prudence mean? Should we be prudent?
What does God of the Angel Armies mean? What might that mean for peace in our time?
What would Amos have called the constellations? What might this mean for followers of the stars?  Why were two verses dropped in the middle of this text?
What are these financial practices called today?
What is the gate? What does justice at the gate look like? How are the needy cared for?

What are your queeries?



Tuesday, October 9, 2018

21st after pentecost year b - mark

This was queeried by me with collaboration from River Needham.

Mark 10:17-31
17As Jesus was setting out on a journey,
a man ran up and knelt before him,
and asked him,
“Good Teacher,
what must I do to inherit everlasting life?”
18Jesus said to him,
“Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
19You know the commandments:
‘You shall not murder;
You shall not commit adultery;
You shall not steal;
You shall not bear false witness;
You shall not defraud;
Honor your parents and caregivers.’”
20He said to Jesus,
“Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.”
21Jesus,
looking at him,
loved him and said,
“You lack one thing;
go,
sell what you own,
and give the money to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven;
then come,
follow me.”
22When the man heard this,
he was shocked
and went away grieving,
for he had many possessions.

23Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
“How hard it will be for those who have wealth
to enter the reign of God!”
24And the disciples were perplexed at these words.
But Jesus said to them again,
“Children,
how hard it is to enter the reign of God!
25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for someone who is rich to enter the reign of God.”
26They were greatly astounded and said to one another,
“Then who can be saved?”
27Jesus looked at them and said,
“For mortals it is impossible,
but not for God;
for God all things are possible.”

28Peter began to say to Jesus,
“Look,
we have left everything
and followed you.”
29Jesus said,
“Truly I tell you,
there is no one
who has left house or siblings or parents or children or fields,
for my sake
and for the sake of the good news,
30who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—
houses, siblings, caregivers and children,
and fields with persecutions—
and in the age to come eternal life.
31But many who are first will be last,
and the last will be first.”


Queeries for the text:
Why does Jesus question his own goodness?
What does it mean for Jesus to love the man?
What does the young rich man lack?
What was the man grieving? What did he decide to do?
What does it mean for Jesus to call the disciples children?
Was Jesus really talking about a dromedary and sewing?
Who has left house, family, and fields today?
Which fields come with persecutions?
Who is last?  Who is first?  Why are they trading places?

What are your queeries?



I preached on this text this past weekend, so if you'd like to see a bit of the sermon that came from this queerying, check it out!