Queerying Lent 1C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 4:1-13
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, ²where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. Jesus ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.

³The devil said to Jesus, “If you are the Divine Child, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

⁴Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”

⁵Then the devil led Jesus up and showed him in an instant all the nations of the world. ⁶And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. ⁷If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”

⁸Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Becoming One your God, and serve only Them.’”

⁹Then the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Divine Child, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰for it is written, ‘They will command Their angels concerning you, to protect you,’ ¹¹and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

¹²Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Becoming One your God to the test.’”

¹³When the devil had finished every test, he departed from Jesus until an opportune time.

Queeries for the text:
What happened at the Jordan?
How long is 40 days? 
Where is it written?
Who wants to rule?
Where is it written?
Where are these written?
Where is it written?
When is an opportune time?
Why test? 

What are your queeries?


 

Queerying Baptism of Jesus B

River Needham, MA queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Genesis 1:1-5

When God began to form the heavens and the earth.
The earth, unformed and empty, with darkness over the surface of the deep, felt wind from God's breath blowing over the water. 

God said: Let there be light!
And there was light.

God saw the light was good, so She pulled the light apart from the dark and separated them. 

God called the light Day, and the darkness, She called Night. And there was evening and morning, a first day.

Queeries for the text:
When does God begin to form?
What does unformed and empty mean?
How are breath and wind different?
How is light formed?
Where is Day celebrated? What about the (longest) Night?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

 

Gospel: Mark 1:4-11

⁴John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to John, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁶Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷John proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of this one's sandals. ⁸I have baptized you with water; but the one to come will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

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.”

Queeries for the text:

Where have I read some of this before?

What sins need to be confessed?

What happens after repentance?

What do we proclaim?

What do shoes have to do with anything?

What do heavens torn apart look like?

When else are divisions torn apart?

What has Jesus done to deserve divine pleasure?

 

What are your queeries?

 

 

Queerying Epiphany Music

Epiphany and the season after it are upon us!  As with Christmas, I've made a playlist!  There are some songs that are familiar to me, having grown up in the church.  Songs like We Three Kings and the First Noel will show up a few different times in this playlist.  In this playlist there are also other songs, some I found on my own and some that were suggested by friends.  

Unlike my Christmas playlist, this playlist is intentionally organized.  It begins from the perspective of the wise ones, or magi, includes their whole journey and the fall-out in the Slaughter of the Holy Innocents, and moves into Jesus' Baptism and the season after Epiphany, a season characterized by more light coming into the world as well as glimpses of God's glory being made manifest in the ordinary of life.  The playlist ends with Transfiguration, which we celebrate the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. 

My playlists are never set in stone.  Like a good Lutheran, the canon on my seasonal playlists remains open.  Feel free to suggest additional songs or ask me why I picked certain ones (it may just be the title...or the actual lyrics.  Rarely, if ever, will the answer be the tune...I just don't know how to music like that).  Check out the playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/user/22zoaq4yqbmnlyw5dfzp4mfty/playlist/4AcxpqhIOZnxmkq0uDHOvE

baptism of our lord year b - mark

Mark 1:4-11

⁴John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness,

     proclaiming a baptism of repentance

          for the forgiveness of sins. 

     ⁵And people from the whole Judean countryside

     and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him,

          and were baptized by him in the river Jordan,

               confessing their sins.

⁶Now John was clothed with camel’s hair,

     with a leather belt around his waist,

     and he ate locusts and wild honey. 

⁷John proclaimed,

     “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me;

          I am not worthy to stoop down 

               and untie the thong of his sandals. 

          ⁸I have baptized you with water;

               but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

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.”

Queeries for the text:

Is John The Baptizer^TM a superhero?

What kind of leather belt is John wearing?

What does camel's hair feel like?

Did Jesus actually baptize anyone?

What does it look like when the heavens are torn apart?

Are dive-bombing pigeons really the best image for the Holy Spirit?

What if the Voice was higher pitched and light and airy like the wind?

What are your queeries?