Queerying 2nd after Epiphany C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: John 2:1-11
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and Mary, the mother of Jesus was there. ²Jesus and his chosen family had also been invited to the wedding. ³When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”

⁴And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.”

⁵His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

⁶Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.

⁸He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.”

So they took it.

⁹When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the wedding party ¹⁰and said to them, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

¹¹Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Queeries for the text:
The third day after what?
Who gets invited to weddings?
What happens when wine runs out?
When is Jesus' “hour”?
What Jewish rites of purification?
What do servants know?
Why does quality matter?
To whom can this text be harmful? 

What are your queeries?

Queerying Pentecost C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the reading from Acts.

Acts 2:1-21
When the day of Pentecost had come,

the disciples were all together in one place.

²And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind,

and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
³Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them,

and a tongue rested on each of them.

⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in other languages,

as the Spirit gave them ability.

⁵Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven

living in Jerusalem.

⁶And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered,

because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.
⁷Amazed and astonished, they asked,

“Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
⁸And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?

⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites,
and residents of Mesopotamia,

Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia,
¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene,

and visitors from Rome,

both Jewish-born and proselytes,

¹¹Cretans and Arabs—

in our own languages we hear them speaking

about God’s deeds of power.”

¹²All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another,

“What does this mean?”

¹³But others sneered and said,

“They are filled with new wine.”

¹⁴But Peter, standing with the eleven,

raised his voice and addressed them,

“You Judeans and all who live in Jerusalem,

let this be known to you,

and listen to what I say.

¹⁵Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose,

for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.

¹⁶No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,

and your children of all genders shall prophesy,

and your youth shall see visions,
and your elders shall dream dreams.

¹⁸Even upon my slaves of all genders,

in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.

¹⁹And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,

blood, and fire, and smoky mist.

²⁰The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood,

before the coming of the Becoming One’s great and glorious day.

²¹Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

Queeries for the text:
Why was it called the day of Pentecost?
What does a violent wind sound like?
Did they know which charm Wendelin the Weird used to protect from fire?
How many languages would be spoken today?
What are they saying about God's deeds of power?
Are they Lutherans? Or is this where Luther got it?
Do others also speak more easily in another language while drinking?  Who drinks at 9am
What are the dreams and visions?  What are the portents?
Is someone cooking over a campfire?  Is Joel talking about lunar and solar eclipses?
How else does coming out give birth to new opportunities and communities?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 2nd after Epiphany

This week, we're dedicating Queerying The Text to the memory of the Rev. Gordon Straw. Rev. Straw, an enrolled member of the Brothertown Indian Nation and an ever-growing force in Lutheran theological education, influenced both of us: Emily as a mentor and colleague and River as a professor and trusted mentor. You might notice Rev. Straw's influence flowing through our Queeries this week.

-Emily and River

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Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries the reading from the Tanakh.

Tanakh: Isaiah 62:1-5
For the sake of Zion I will not be silent,

for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still,

till her victory emerge resplendent and her triumph like a flaming torch.

Nations shall see your victory, and every ruler your majesty;

and you shall be called by a new name

which the Becoming One herself shall bestow.

You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the Becoming One,

and a royal diadem in the palm of your God.

Nevermore shall you be called “Forsaken,”

Nor shall your land be called “Desolate”;

But you shall be called “I delight in her,”

and your land “Espoused.”

For the Becoming One takes delight in you, and your land shall be espoused.

As a youth espouses a maiden, your sons shall espouse you;

and as a bridegroom rejoices over their bride,

so will your God rejoice over you.

Queeries for the text:
Who is Jerusalem fighting?
Where else might we use flaming torches today?  How are flaming torches harmful?
Which nations are treated unfairly today?
How are new names important?
What is a diadem?
Who is desolate, or has been forsaken? How does God delight in them?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the reading from the Gospel.

Gospel: John 2:1-11
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee,

and the mother of Jesus was there.

²Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.

³When the wine gave out,

the mother of Jesus said to him,

“They have no wine.”

⁴And Jesus said to her,

“Woman, what concern is that to you and to me?

My hour has not yet come.”

⁵Jesus' mother said to the servants,

“Do whatever he tells you.”

⁶Now standing there were six stone water jars

for the Jewish rites of purification,

each holding twenty or thirty gallons.

⁷Jesus said to the servants,

“Fill the jars with water.”

And they filled them up to the brim.

⁸Jesus said to them,

“Now draw some out,

and take it to the chief steward.”

So they took it.

⁹When the steward tasted the water that had become wine,

and did not know where it came from

(though the servants who had drawn the water knew),

the steward called the bridegroom ¹⁰and said to him,

“Everyone serves the good wine first,

and then the inferior wine

after the guests have become drunk.

But you have kept the good wine until now.”

¹¹Jesus did this,

the first of his signs,

in Cana of Galilee,

and revealed his glory;

and his disciples believed in him.

Queeries for the text:
On which third day?
Who was getting married in Cana?  How were Jesus, his mom, all the disciples and the wedding couple connected?  What other connections were there?
How did the mother of Jesus know he could fix the wine problem?
Who were the servants?  What was Jesus' mom's role at the wedding?
How much is 20-30 gallons?
What is the chief steward's role?
Is it good to have good wine late?  Why does it matter?
How many other signs are there?
Why does it matter that it was in Cana of Galilee?  How is location important?
Why is belief connected to the wine?
What is glory?

What are your queeries?