Queerying Narrative Lectionary 115

Pace Warfield-May queeries the Narrative Lectionary reading.

Isaiah 42:1-9
¹Yo, look! It's my servant that I hand picked!

My chosen servant, in whom I find deep joy;

I have put my spirit upon her;

She will inspire and bring justice to all nations.

²She will not cry out or shout

Or try to call attention to herself in the streets!

³She will not even break a twig that's barely hanging on to the branch,

and she will not put out even the faintest flame on the wick:

She will faithfully bring forth justice.

⁴But neither will she grow faint or be crushed

until she has established justice in all corners of the earth;

and the coastal areas will wait upon her teaching.

⁵Thus says God/ess, the Becoming One,

who created the heavens and stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and what comes from it,

who gives breath to the people upon it

and spirit to those who walk in it:

⁶I am the Becoming One, I have called you in righteousness;

I have taken you by the hand and kept you;

I have given you as an unfailing, everlasting promise to the people,

a lighthouse for all nations to sail and navigate safely by,

⁷to bring wholeness and healing to those broken or in need,

to set the prisoners free, just and unjustly imprisoned alike,

for all prisons are unholy and broken.

⁸I am the Becoming One, that is my name;

my glory is mine alone,

no idols deserve the praise belonging to me.

⁹See, the old ways have died,

"a new, more glorious dawn awaits,"

before the sun rises on this dawn,

I am telling you of the wonderful things to come.

Queeries for the text:
What is this text building on?
What is the accompanying text?
Where is this headed?
What does a "new, more glorious dawn" entail?
Who is the suffering servant?
What needs to die in order to give birth to new life?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Easter 7C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Acts reading.

Acts 16:16-34
¹⁶One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met an enslaved girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her enslavers a great deal of money by fortune-telling. ¹⁷While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.” ¹⁸She kept doing this for many days.

But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

¹⁹But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. ²⁰When they had brought them before the officers, they said, “These men are disturbing our city; they are Jewish ²¹and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.” ²²The crowd joined in attacking them, and the officers had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. ²³After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. ²⁴Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were holding vigil, praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

²⁶Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.

²⁷When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he assumed that the prisoners had escaped.

²⁸But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”

²⁹The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹They answered, “Believe on the Lover Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³²They spoke the word of the Lover to him and to all who were in his house. ³³At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. ³⁴The jailer brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.

Queeries for the text:
Where are they?
[When] do owners work?
Why was Paul annoyed at truth-telling?
What happened to the girl after this?
How does faith disturb empire?
Who else did Roman authorities flog?
What happens when jailed?
How do we keep vigil?
What happens when incarceration is unnecessary?
When despairing, what can we do besides un-aliving ourselves?
What do jailers need saving from?
Which word of the Lover did they speak?
How does faith humanize? How does faith dehumanize?

-----

J. Pace Warfield-May queeries the reading from Revelation.

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21
“Holy shit, y’all: I am coming soon and my reward is with me, to give the reward away according to everyone’s work. ¹³I am the A and the Z, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

¹⁴Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.

¹⁶“It’s me, Jesus, who has sent my angel to testify to y’all these things in the churches. I am the source and the descendent of David, the radiant morning star.

¹⁷The Spirit and her fiancé say, “Come,”
And let everyone who hears say, “Come,”
And let everyone who is parched come.
Let anyone who wishes to take the water of life have free and unlimited access.

²⁰The one who testifies to these things say, “Surely I am coming soon.” Truly– Come, Lover Jesus. ²¹The grace of our Lover, Jesus the Anointed One, be with all those who have been set apart, the holy. Amen.

Queeries for the text:

What is missing from this text?
What is the importance of a morning star?
Why are those who wash their robes blessed?
What does it mean to testify?
Who is the Spirit’s fiancé?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Epiphany C

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Isaiah 60:1-6
Arise, shine, for your light has dawned;
The Presence of the Becoming One has shone upon you!
Behold! Darkness shall cover the earth,
And thick clouds the peoples;
But upon you the Becoming One will shine,
And Their presence be seen over you.
And nations shall walk by your light,
Rulers, by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about:
They have all gathered and come to you.
Your children shall be brought from afar,
Your offspring like babes on shoulders.
As you behold, you will glow;
Your heart will throb and thrill—
For the wealth of the sea shall pass on to you,
The riches of nations shall flow to you.
Dust clouds of camels shall cover you,
Dromedaries of Midian and Ephah.
They all shall come from Sheba;
They shall bear gold and frankincense,
And shall herald the glories of the Becoming One.

Queeries for the text:
How is darkness good?
How do we see without eyes?
What is the wealth of the seas?
What is a dromedary?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise ones from the East came to Jerusalem, ²asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”

³When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

⁵They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ⁶‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”

⁷Then Herod secretly called for the wise ones and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. ⁸Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”

⁹When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. ¹¹On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹²And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Queeries for the text:
Where is East?
Who observes the stars?
Why was King Herod frightened?
Was the star a secret?
Why did they stop in Jerusalem?
How do you know where the star stops?
What are frankincense and myrrh for?
What other warnings do dreams carry?

What are your queeries?


 

Queerying Lent 1B

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

 

 

Gospel: Mark 1:9-15

⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰And just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. ¹¹And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Child, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” ¹²And the Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness. ¹³Jesus was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

¹⁴Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, ¹⁵and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the reign of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

Queeries for the text:

Where else are things torn?

How does the Spirit guide in the wilderness? How is the wilderness a gift?

How long does 40 days last?

Which wild beasts?

What did the night sky look like?

Who are the angels today? 

Why was John arrested?

For what do we repent?

 

What are your queeries?

 

 

Queerying Lent 1A

River Needham M.A., queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

The Becoming God took the human and placed them in the garden of Eden, to till it and tend it. Then the Becoming God commanded the human, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat; but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of it, you shall die.” Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild beasts that the Becoming God had made. The serpent said to the woman, “Did God really say: You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?” The woman replied to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the other trees of the garden. It is only about fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said: ‘You shall not eat of it or touch it, lest you die.’” And the serpent said to the woman, “You are not going to die, but God knows that as soon as you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like divine beings who know good and bad.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for eating and a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable as a source of wisdom, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they perceived that they were naked and they sewed together fig leaves and made themselves loincloths.

Queeries for the text:
How big would the garden of Eden need to be to support two humans today?
What are your favorite dangerous plants?
What gets omitted in this pericope?
How does this text speak to human biases in picking and translating texts?
Can serpents talk or reason?
How is good and bad decided?
What is wrong with being naked?
How are fig leaves sewn together?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ²Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards was famished. ³The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Child of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

⁴But Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

⁵Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶saying to him, “If you are the Child of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘God will command Their angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

⁷Jesus said to the tempter, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Becoming One your God to the test.’”

⁸Again, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; ⁹and the devil said to Jesus, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

¹⁰Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Becoming One your God, and serve only Them.’” ¹¹Then the devil left Jesus, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Queeries for the text:
Why would the Spirit lead to temptation?
What comes from the mouth of God?
What is visible from the pinnacle today?
What would you trade for food?
What would you trade for proof?
What would you trade for power?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Transfiguration A

River Needham M.A. queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Exodus 24:12-18

The Becoming One said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the teachings and commandments which I have inscribed to instruct them.” So Moses and his attendant Joshua arose, and Moses ascended the mountain of God. To the elders he had said, “Wait here for us until we return to you. You have Aaron and Hur with you; let anyone who has a legal matter approach them.” When Moses had ascended the mountain, the cloud covered the mountain. The Presence of the Becoming One abode on Mount Sinai, and the cloud hid it for six days. On the seventh day She called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. Now the Presence of the Becoming One appeared in the sight of the Israelites as a consuming fire on the top of the mountain. Moses went inside the cloud and ascended the mountain; and Moses remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Queeries for the text:
What mountain does The Becoming One tell Moses to go up?
Can tablets be made of stone?
How do we instruct?
Does the Becoming One have a body?
What other divine figures are represented by fire?
What is significant about forty days?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. ²And Jesus was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

⁴Then Peter said to Jesus, “Duuuuuude, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵While Peter was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Child, the Beloved; with whom I am well pleased; listen to him!” ⁶When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear.  

⁷But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” ⁸And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. ⁹As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Human One has been raised from the dead.”

Queeries for the text:
Six days later than what?
How does the sun shine?
How does whiteness dazzle?  What about darkness?
How was Peter going to make the dwellings?
How does touch challenge fear?
Why doesn't Jesus want anyone to know?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Baptism of Jesus A

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17
¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴John would have prevented Jesus, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

¹⁵But Jesus answered John, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

¹⁶And when Jesus had been baptized, just as Jesus came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and Jesus saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Child, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Queeries for the text:
What did we skip?
How far away is Galilee from the Jordan?
What else would we prevent?
Why is consent important?  Why does John's consent matter?
What do the heavens look like when they're opened?
Why is God already well pleased with Jesus?
What has Jesus done so far to earn God's love?
What does it look like for pigeons to alight on someone?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 10th after Pentecost C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 12:49-56
Jesus said:
⁴⁹“I came to bring fire to the earth,

and how I wish it were already kindled!
⁵⁰I have a baptism with which to be baptized,

and what stress I am under until it is completed!

⁵¹Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth?

No, I tell you, but rather division!

⁵²From now on five in one household will be divided,

three against two and two against three;
⁵³they will be divided:

father against son and son against father,
mother against daughter and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

⁵⁴Jesus also said to the crowds,

“When you see a cloud rising in the west,

you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’;

and so it happens.

⁵⁵And when you see the south wind blowing,

you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’;

and it happens.

⁵⁶You hypocrites!

You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky,

but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Queeries for the text:
What did we skip?  Why do we keep skipping verses?
Was Jesus a pyro?  How is fire helpful?
When are families divided?
Does Jesus bring the division or shed light on it?
What can we interpret from earth and sky?
What is in the present time?
What stress does baptism cause?
How are we divided?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Epiphany

Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries today's reading from the Tanakh.

Tanakh - Isaiah 60:1-6

Arise, shine, for your light has dawned;

The Presence of the Becoming One has shone upon you!

Behold! Darkness shall cover the earth, And thick clouds the peoples;

But upon you the Becoming One will shine, and
Their presence be seen over you.

And nations shall walk by your light, Kings, by your shining radiance.

Raise your eyes and look about: the nations have all gathered and come to you.

Some of your children shall be brought from afar,

Other children like babes on shoulders.

As you behold, you will glow; your heart will throb and thrill— for the wealth of the sea shall pass on to you, the riches of nations shall flow to you.
Dust clouds of camels shall cover you, dromedaries of Midian and Ephah.
They all shall come from Sheba; They shall bear gold and frankincense, and shall herald the glories of the Becoming One.

Queeries for the text:
What light has dawned?
What is the Presence of the Becoming One?
What is darkness?
Where else does The Becoming One shine?
What is this Shining Radiance?
Can you be brought from afar on shoulders? What does this imply about those traveling?
Where else do hearts throb and thrill?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries today's gospel reading.

Gospel - Matthew 2:1-12
In the time of King Herod,

after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,

magi from the East came to Jerusalem,

²asking, “Where is the child who has been born ruler of the Jews?

For we observed their star at its rising,

and have come to pay them homage.”

³When King Herod heard this,

he was frightened,

and all Jerusalem with him;

⁴and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people,

he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

⁵They told him,

“In Bethlehem of Judea;

for so it has been written by the prophet:

⁶‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”

⁷Then Herod secretly called for the magi

and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared.

⁸Then he sent them to Bethlehem,

saying, “Go and search diligently for the child;

and when you have found him,

bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”

⁹When they had heard the king,

the magi set out;

and there, ahead of them,

went the star that they had seen at its rising,

until it stopped over the place where the child was.

¹⁰When they saw that the star had stopped,

the magi were overwhelmed with joy.

¹¹On entering the house,

they saw the child with Mary his mother;

and they knelt down and paid him homage.

Then, opening their treasure chests,

they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹²And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,

they left for their own country by another road.

Queeries for the text:
What are magi and which one is Jesus' star?
Why was all Jerusalem frightened with King Herod?
Why didn't Herod know where the Messiah was to be born?  Which prophet wrote that?
Why did Herod call the magi back secretly?
Why does Herod assume the baby will be a boy?
What does it feel like to be overwhelmed with joy?
When did the Holy Family get a house?
How many magi were there?  How did they make it across so many lands?  Why gold, frankincense, and myrrh?
What warnings are dreams bringing today?
How can we take another road?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Advent 1 Year C - Luke

Luke 21:25-36
²⁵“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,

and on the earth distress among nations

confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.

²⁶People will faint

from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world,

for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

²⁷Then they will see ‘the Human One coming in a cloud’

with power and great glory.

²⁸Now when these things begin to take place,

stand up and raise your heads,

because your redemption is drawing near.”

²⁹Then Jesus told them a parable:

“Look at the fig tree and all the trees;

³⁰as soon as they sprout leaves

you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near.

³¹So also, when you see these things taking place,

you know that the reign of God is near.

³²Truly I tell you,

this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place.

³³Heaven and earth will pass away,

but my words will not pass away.

³⁴“Be on guard

so that your hearts are not weighed down

with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life,

and that day catch you unexpectedly,

³⁵like a trap.

For it will come upon all who live

on the face of the whole earth.

³⁶Be alert at all times,

praying that you may have the strength

to escape all these things that will take place,

and to stand before the Human One.”

Queeries for the text:
What sort of signs will be in the sun and the moon and the stars?
Why are end times thought to be bad when the imagery is so positive?
What is distressing the nations today?
What is confusing us today?
What if we can't stand up or raise our heads?  How is ableism affecting this text?
What sort of time is Jesus talking about if the generation that "will not pass away" has passed away?
What sort of strength will we need?  What can we PrEPare for?
Where is Hope?

What are your queeries?



If you want to check out the sermon that came in part from this queery, you can find it here!

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?

17th after pentecost year b - mark

Mark 8:27-38
²⁷Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; 
     and on the way he asked his disciples, 
          “Who do people say that I am?”  
²⁸And they answered him, 
     “John the Baptist; 
     and others, Elijah; 
     and still others, one of the prophets.”  
²⁹Jesus asked them, 
     “But who do you say that I am?” 
Peter answered him, 
     “You are the Messiah.”  
³⁰And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

³¹Then Jesus began to teach them 
     that the Human One must undergo great suffering, 
     and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, 
     and be killed, 
     and after three days rise again. 
          ³²Jesus said all this quite openly. 
               And Peter took him aside 
               and began to rebuke him. 
          ³³But turning and looking at his disciples, 
               he rebuked Peter and said, 
                    “Get behind me, Satan! 
                         For you are setting your mind 
                              not on divine things but on human things.”

³⁴Jesus called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, 
     “If any want to become my followers, 
          let them deny themselves 
          and take up their cross and follow me.
               ³⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, 
               and those who lose their life for my sake, 
                    and for the sake of the gospel, 
                         will save it.
               ³⁶For what will it profit them to gain the whole world 
                    and forfeit their life?
                         ³⁷Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?
     ³⁸Those who are ashamed of me and of my words 
          in this adulterous and sinful generation, 
               of them the Human One will also be ashamed 
                    when he comes in the glory of his Papa with the holy angels.”

Queeries for the text:
Why is Jesus so interested in gossip?
How does Jesus hold saying things quite openly and yet ordering the disciples not to tell anyone?
How do we rebuke Jesus?
What human things are our minds set on?
What divine things are we missing?
What does it mean to deny ourselves and take up our cross?
What is the cost of following Jesus?
What is in profit?
How are we ashamed of Jesus?

What are your queeries?

Ash Wednesday blessing

Blessed gift of God's good creation, it is true:

You are dust, made from the rich, dark matter of the earth, a human from Earth's hummus.

You are from this life-giving ground and one day you also will return to the earth. 

     Nourishing it as it has nourished you. 

     Nourishing others as they have nourished you.

But, beloved one of God, it is not just dust and soil that make you up. 

You are made of stardust, scattered like infinite glitter, sparking and sparkling throughout the universe.

As you journey through Lent this year, return to who you are.

May the Creator bless the dust in you and around you.

May the Word made flesh, who crossed boundaries and borders, affirm your humanity.

May the Spirit spark imagination and wonder in the stardust that lives in you.

You are dust and stardust, and to the cosmos you will return.

Amen.

5th after epiphany year b - mark

Mark 1:29-39

²⁹As soon as Jesus and the disciples left the synagogue,

     they entered the house of Simon and Andrew,

          with James and John. 

          ³⁰Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever,

               and they told Jesus about her at once. 

          ³¹Jesus came and took her by the hand and lifted her up.

               Then the fever left her,

                    and she began to serve them.

³²That evening, at sundown,

     they brought to Jesus all who were sick or possessed with demons. 

          ³³And the whole city was gathered around the door. 

          ³⁴And Jesus cured many who were sick with various diseases,

               and cast out many demons;

                    and Jesus would not permit the demons to speak,

                         because they knew him. 

³⁵In the morning,

     while it was still very dark,

          Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place,

               and there he prayed. 

          ³⁶And Simon and his companions hunted for Jesus. 

               ³⁷When they found him,

                    they said to him,

                         “Everyone is searching for you.” 

               ³⁸Jesus answered,

                    “Let us go on to the neighboring towns,

                         so that I may proclaim the message there also;

                              for that is what I came out to do.” 

                    ³⁹And he went throughout Galilee,

                         proclaiming the message in their synagogues

                              and casting out demons.

Queeries for the text:
Why does Mark care so much about what time it is?
Do Jesus and the disciples just care about Simon's mother-in-law so that she'll serve them?
Why is Jesus afraid of the ones who know him saying something?
Is Jesus an introvert?
Are Simon and his companions hunting because they're afraid Jesus will leave without them?
Who is "everyone"?
Is casting out demons just assumed to be part of "proclaiming the message"?
What did the dark night sky look like to Jesus when he prayed?
Does Jesus like the dark as much as I do?
Why is Jesus always moving on?

What are your queeries?