Queerying Lent 4B

River Needham, MA queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Numbers 21:4-9
The Israelites set out from Mount Hor by way of the Sea of Reeds to skirt the land of Edom. But the people grew restless on the journey, and the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why did you make us leave Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread and no water, and we have come to loathe this miserable food.” The Becoming One sent flying snakes against the people. They bit the people and many of the Israelites died.

The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned by speaking against the Becoming One and against you. Intercede with the The Becoming One to take away the serpents from us!” Moses interceded for the people.

Then the Becoming One said to Moses, “Make a winged figure and mount it on a standard. If anyone who is bitten looks at it, she will recover.” Moses made a copper serpent and mounted it on a standard; and when anyone was bitten by a serpent, she would look at the copper serpent and recover.

Queeries for the text:
Where do snakes fly?
What do we complain about? 

What is biting us today?

Who and where is God amidst the pandemic of flying snakes and coronaviruses?

Where is recovery?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

 

 

Gospel: John 3:14-21

Jesus said:

¹⁴“And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the One Born of Woman be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever believes in the One may have everlasting life. 

 

¹⁶“For God loved the world in this way: Ze gave Zers only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have everlasting life. 

 

¹⁷“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸Those who believe in the Son are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ¹⁹And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. ²¹But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

 

Queeries for the text:

Who is Jesus talking to?

How did Moses lift up the serpent? Why?

How does and doesn't grammar matter?

What is salvation like today?

Who is light?

What happens with too much light?

What do we hide? Why?

 

What are your queeries?