Queerying Advent 2A

River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Isaiah 11:1-10

But a shoot shall grow out of the stump of Jesse, a twig shall sprout from his stock.
The spirit of the Becoming One shall alight upon her:

a spirit of wisdom and insight, a spirit of counsel and valor, a spirit of devotion and reverence for the Becoming One.

She shall sense the truth by her reverence for the Becoming One: she shall not judge by what her eyes behold, nor decide by what her ears perceive.

Thus she shall judge the poor with equity and decide with justice for the lowly of the land. She shall strike down a land with the rod of her mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of her lips.

Justice shall be the girdle of her loins, and faithfulness the girdle of her waist. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard lie down with the kid; the calf, the beast of prey, and the fatling together, with a little one to herd them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion, like the ox, shall eat straw. A babe shall play over a viper’s hole, and an infant pass their hand over an adder’s den.

In all of my sacred mount nothing evil or vile shall be done; for the land shall be filled with devotion to the Becoming One as water covers the sea. In that day, the stock of Jesse that has remained standing shall become a standard to peoples— nations shall seek her counsel and her abode shall be honored.

Queeries for the text:
How do twigs sprout from stock?
How is the spirit of the Becoming One separate from or a part of the Becoming One? Does her spirit have devotion and reverence for her? Does this make her narcissistic?
Who are the lowly of the land?
What might the breath of her lips tell us about the Becoming One?
How might biology change in this vision of reality?
How is devotion to the Becoming One quantified?
 
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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming,

²“Repent, for the reign of heaven has come near.” ³This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Becoming One, make their paths straight.’”

⁴Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, ⁶and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷But when John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism,
he said to them,

“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruit worthy of repentance. ⁹Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
¹¹“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry this one's sandals. They will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹²Their winnowing fork is in their hand, and they will clear their threshing floor and will gather their wheat into the granary; but the chaff they will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Queeries for the text:
Did John apparate into the wilderness? If not, how did John just appear?
Why would the Becoming One want anything straight?
Why locust and wild honey?
What kind of fruit is worthy of repentance?
Can stones become children?
Is good fruit worthy of repentance? Why would good fruit need repentance?
Who is what? Fruit? Wheat? Chaff?  Are we even meant to be in the symbolism?
What sort of baptism happens by fire?

What are your queeries?