Queerying 6th after Pentecost B

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10
All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. Long before now, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led Israel in war; and the Becoming One said to you: You shall shepherd My people Israel; you shall be ruler of Israel.” All the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a pact with them in Hebron before the Becoming One. They anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.

[...]

David occupied the stronghold and renamed it the City of David; David also fortified the surrounding area, from the Millo inward. David kept growing stronger, for the Becoming One, the God of Angel Armies, was with him.

Queeries for the text:
Who else rules instead of the king/queen? 
What is missing from this text?
Who else has asked for a ruler?
Who is God with today?
Who rules over the u.s.?
Who wrote this text?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Mark 6:1-13
Jesus left that place and came to his hometown, and his chosen family followed him. ²On the sabbath Jesus began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! ³Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and sibling of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Jesus.

⁴Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” ⁵And Jesus could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. ⁶And he was amazed at their unbelief.

Then Jesus went about among the villages teaching. ⁷He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁸Jesus ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; ⁹but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. ¹⁰He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. ¹¹If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” ¹²So the twelve went out and proclaimed that all should repent. ¹³They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Queeries for the text:
Where did Jesus leave?
Who takes offense at new wisdom?
What keeps us from deeds of power?
Who takes nothing today?
Who provides hospitality?
What happens when you shake off dust?
From what should we repent?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 5th after Pentecost B

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Mark 5:21-43

²¹When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. ²²Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw Jesus, fell at his feet ²³and begged him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.”

²⁴So Jesus went with Jairus. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. ²⁵Now there was a woman who had been suffering from vaginal bleeding for twelve years. ²⁶She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. ²⁷She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” ²⁹Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.

³⁰Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?”

³¹And Jesus' disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’”

³²Jesus looked all around to see who had done it. ³³But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told Jesus the whole truth. ³⁴He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

³⁵While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?”

³⁶But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” ³⁷He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. ³⁸When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. ³⁹When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.”

⁴⁰And they laughed at Jesus. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s parents and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. ⁴¹He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” ⁴²And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement.

⁴³He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Queeries for the text:
What did we skip?  Whose names are missing?
Who is at the point of death?
Who endures much under many physicians?
What happens when someone loses all that blood?
What are the boundaries of self?
What makes us well?  From what diseases do we need healing?
What happens when different people have needs?
What happens while someone is still speaking?
Who counts as no one?
When is healing private?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 4th after Pentecost B

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: 1 Samuel 17:32-49

David said to Saul, “Let no person's courage fail them. Your servant will go and fight that Philistine!”

But Saul said to David, “You cannot go to that Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth!”

David replied to Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep, and if a lion or a bear came and carried off an animal from the flock, I would go after it and fight it and rescue it from its mouth. And if it attacked me, I would seize it by the beard and strike it down and kill it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and that uncircumcised Philistine shall end up like one of them, for he has defied the ranks of the living God.

The Becoming One,” David went on, “who saved me from lion and bear will also save me from that Philistine.” “Then go,” Saul said to David, “and may the Becoming One be with you!”

Saul clothed David in his own garment; he placed a bronze helmet on his head and fastened a breastplate on him.

David girded his sword over his garment. Then he tried to walk; but he was not used to it. David said to Saul, “I cannot walk in these, for I am not used to them.” So David took them off.

He took his stick, picked a few smooth stones from the wadi, put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag and, sling in hand, he went toward the Philistine.

The Philistine, meanwhile, was coming closer to David, preceded by his shield-bearer.

When the Philistine caught sight of David, he scorned him, for he was but a boy, ruddy and handsome.

And the Philistine called out to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?” The Philistine cursed David by his gods; and the Philistine said to David, “Come here, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.”

David replied to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come against you in the name of the Becoming God of Angel Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel, whom you have defied.

This very day the Becoming One will deliver you into my hands. I will kill you and cut off your head; and I will give the carcasses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. All the earth shall know that there is a God in Israel.

And this whole assembly shall know that the Becoming One can give victory without sword or spear. For the battle is the Becoming One's, and Femme will deliver you into our hands.”

When the Philistine began to advance toward him again, David quickly ran up to the battle line to face the Philistine.

David put his hand into the bag; he took out a stone and slung it. It struck the Philistine in the forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.

Queeries for the text:
What makes things scary? What are the big scary things in your life?
What is a wadi?

Why did the Philistine die?

How does God make Femmes will come to be?

Where is God's preferential option?

Where do we celebrate death today?
 

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Mark 4:35-41
³⁵On that day, when evening had come, Jesus said to his chosen family, “Let us go across to the other side.”

³⁶And leaving the crowd behind, they took Jesus with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. ³⁷A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.

³⁸But Jesus was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and his chosen family woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

³⁹Jesus woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. ⁴⁰He said to his chosen family, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”

⁴¹And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Queeries for the text:
On which day?
When does Jesus call us to cross to the other side?
Who do we take just as they are?
When is weather dangerous?
What have you slept through?
Who is perishing?
Why are we afraid?  Where is our faith?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 3rd after Pentecost B

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Mark 4:26-34
²⁶Jesus also said, “The reign of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, they do not know how. ²⁸The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹But when the grain is ripe, at once they go in with the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

³⁰Jesus also said, “With what can we compare the reign of God, or what parable will we use for it? ³¹It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; ³²yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

³³With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to the gathered followers, as they were able to hear it; ³⁴Jesus did not speak to them except in parables, but explained everything in private to the disciples.

Queeries for the text:
What did we skip?
What do we know about God's reign? 
What do farmers and gardeners know?
What conspires with the earth?
What's smaller than a mustard seed?
How great can a shrub actually be?
Why parables?  Why private explanations?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 2nd after Pentecost B

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Mark 3:20-35
²⁰and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. ²¹When Jesus' family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” ²²And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.”

²³And Jesus called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴If a reign is divided against itself, that reign cannot stand. ²⁵And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ²⁶And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. ²⁷But no one can enter a strong person’s house and plunder their property without first tying up the strong person; then indeed the house can be plundered.

²⁸“Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; ²⁹but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— ³⁰for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

³¹Then Jesus' mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him.

³²A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to Jesus, “Your mother and your siblings are outside, asking for you.”

³³And Jesus replied, “Who are my mother and my siblings?” ³⁴And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my siblings! ³⁵Whoever does the will of God is my sibling and mother.”

Queeries for the text:
When did the crowd come together before?
Who is out of their mind?  Who do we restrain?
By whom are demons cast out?
Who is divided?
What is a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?
Why don't people come inside?
Who is family?

What are your queeries?