Queerying Narrative Lectionary 106

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Narrative Lectionary reading.

Joshua 24:1-15
Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned Israel’s elders and commanders, magistrates and officers; and they presented themselves before God. Then Joshua said to all the people, “Thus said the Becoming One, the God of Israel: In past times, your ancestors—Terah, father of Abraham and father of Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and worshiped other gods.
But I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates and led him through the whole land of Canaan and multiplied his offspring. I gave him Isaac, and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession, while Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

“Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with the wonders that I wrought in their midst, after which I freed you— I freed your ancestors—from Egypt, and you came to the sea. But the Egyptians pursued your ancestors to the Sea of Reeds with chariots and horses. Your ancestors cried out to the Becoming One, and Xe put darkness between you and the Egyptians; then Xe brought the sea upon the Egyptians, and it covered them. Your own eyes saw what I did to the Egyptians.

“After you had lived a long time in the wilderness, I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan. They battled you, but I delivered them into your hands; I annihilated them for you, and you took possession of their land. Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, made preparations to attack Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you, but I refused to listen to Balaam; he had to bless you, and thus I saved you from him.

“Then you crossed the Jordan and you came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho and the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites fought you, but I delivered them into your hands. I sent a plague ahead of you, and it drove them out before you just like the two Amorite kings—not by your sword or by your bow. I have given you a land for which you did not labor and towns which you did not build, and you have settled in them; you are enjoying vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.

“Now, therefore, revere the Becoming One and serve Xyr with undivided loyalty; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the Becoming One. Or, if you are loath to serve the Becoming One, choose this day which ones you are going to serve—the gods that your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or those of the Amorites in whose land you are settled; but I and my household will serve the Becoming One.”

Queeries for the text:
What is this building on?
What is the companion text?
Where is this headed?
Who is missing from this text?
Who are the other gods that we serve?
How is darkness holy?
What does it mean to annihilate a people?
What must be done with the land stolen by God?
Where are other gods treated more favorably?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Lent 5C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: John 12:1-8
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ²There they gave a dinner for Jesus. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. ³Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴But Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus' chosen family (the one who was about to betray him), said, ⁵“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” ⁶(Judas said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.)

⁷Jesus said, “Leave Mary alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. ⁸You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

Queeries for the text:
What is Passover?
Who is Jesus' chosen family? How does Jesus love them?
What does nard smell like?
What happens when fragrance fills a space?
When do we care about the poor? When don't we?
Who steals from the common purse?
How do we always have the poor with us? Why?

What are your queeries?

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 7th after Epiphany C

Guest queerier, Pace Warfield-May, queeries the Tanakh Reading.

Tanakh Reading: Genesis 45:3-11, 15
³Joseph said to their brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But Joseph’s brothers were so stunned in realizing that they were in Joseph’s presence. ⁴Then Joseph said to their brothers, "Come near to me." And they came near.

Joseph said, "I am your sibling, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵And now do not grieve nor be angry at yourselves because you sold me here; for out of this situation God has sent me before you to preserve life. ⁶For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. ⁷God sent me ahead of you for you to be a remnant on earth, and to save your lives by escaping the famine. ⁸So it was not you who sent me here, but God; She has made me Pharaoh's caregiver and supervisor of all Pharaoh’s house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. ⁹Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your child Joseph, God has made me the ruler of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. ¹⁰You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. ¹¹I will provide for you there--since there are five more years of famine to come--so that you and your household, and all whom you love and all that you have, will not come to poverty.'"

...

¹⁵And Joseph kissed all their brothers and wept on them; and after that their brothers talked with them.

Queeries for the text:
What is missing from this passage?
Where or what is Goshen?
How is Joseph framing God’s actions in this story?
What is a famine? Who is impacted the most by famines?
How was Joseph gender nonconforming?
What does it look like to weep on someone?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 6:27-38
Jesus said:
²⁷"But I say to you that listen, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ²⁹If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your undergarment. ³⁰Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.

³²"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. ³⁵But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for She is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. ³⁶Be merciful, just as your Caregiver is merciful.

³⁷"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; ³⁸give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back."

Queeries for the text:
How do we love our enemies?
Why would I turn a cheek?
What happens without any clothes?
Where does credit come from?
How do we judge? 
A good measure of what?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 4th after Epiphany C

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Jeremiah 1:4-10
The word of the Becoming One came to me:
Before I created you in the womb, I selected you;
Before you were born, I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet concerning the nations.

I replied:
Ah, Becoming Itself!
I don’t know how to speak,
For I am still a boy.
And the Becoming said to me:
Do not say, “I am still a boy,”
But go wherever I send you
And speak whatever I command you.
Have no fear of them,
For I am with you to deliver you
—declares the Becoming One.

The Becoming One put out Her hand and touched my mouth, and the Becoming One said to me: Here, I put My words into your mouth.
See, I appoint you this day
Over nations and kingdoms:
To uproot and to pull down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
To build and to plant.

Queeries for the text:
What nations does this author refer to?
Who are the prophets?
What is God saying today?
What can we build and plant?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 4:21-30
²¹Then Jesus began to say to the crowd gathered in the synagogue, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” ²²All spoke well of Jesus and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”

²³Jesus said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’”

²⁴And Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. ²⁵But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; ²⁶yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. ²⁷There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. ²⁹They got up, drove Jesus out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff.

³⁰But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went on his way.

Queeries for the text:
Which scripture?
Who is spoken well of today? Who speaks well of others?
What expectations do we place on helpers?
What did God do in Zarephath?
What did God do to Namaan?
How do some people fill with rage so quickly?
How do people pass through the midst of crowds? 

What are your queeries?


 

Queerying Advent 4C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 1:39-45[46-55]
³⁹In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, ⁴⁰where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her uterus. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴²and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among those who create life, and blessed is the fruit of your creating. ⁴³And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Leader comes to me? ⁴⁴For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by Becoming One.”

[⁴⁶And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Becoming One, ⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, ⁴⁸for She has looked with favor on the lowliness of Her servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; ⁴⁹for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is Her name. ⁵⁰God's mercy is for those who fear Her from generation to generation. ⁵¹She has shown strength with Her arm; She has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. ⁵²She has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; ⁵³She has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. ⁵⁴She has helped Her servant Israel, in remembrance of Her mercy, ⁵⁵according to the promise She made to our ancestors, to Hagar, Sarah, and Abraham and to their descendants forever.”]

Queeries for the text:
In which days?
How often does a fetus leap in utero? 
How does that blessing continue? 
Which child is which?
What is God's favor like?
Who receives mercy?
What scatters the arrogant?
Whose thrones need brought down? 
Who is filled? Who is hungry?
What promise to the descendants?

What are your queeries?


 

Queerying All Saints B

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Isaiah 25:6-9
The Becoming One of angel armies will make on this mount
For all the peoples
A banquet of rich foods,
A banquet of choice wines
Of rich foods seasoned with marrow,
Of choice wines well refined.
And E will destroy on this mount the shroud
That is drawn over the faces of all the peoples
And the covering that is spread
Over all the nations:
E will destroy death forever.
My Becoming God will wipe the tears away
From all faces
And will put an end to the reproach of Eir people
Over all the earth—
For it is the Becoming One who has spoken.
In that day they shall say:
This is our God;
We trusted in Em, and E delivered us.
This is the Becoming One, in whom we trusted;
Let us rejoice and exult in Eir deliverance!

Queeries for the text:
What rich food and fine wines are without guilt?
What is deliverance?
What is the feast referenced?
What is the final disposition of death?
For whom do we mourn?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: John 11:32-44
³²When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Teacher, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. ³⁴He said, “Where have you laid Lazarus?”

They said to Jesus, “Teacher, come and see.”

³⁵Jesus began to weep.

³⁶So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

³⁷But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind one have kept this one from dying?”

³⁸Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. ³⁹Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to Jesus, “Teacher, already there is a stench because Lazarus has been dead four days.”

⁴⁰Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Caregiver, I thank you for having heard me. ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³When he had said this, Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to those gathered, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Queeries for the text:
Why did Jesus come here?
Why were the Jews following Mary?
Why do we weep?
Where is the stench of death?
What do we say for the sake of others? 
Who else comes out? How does Lazarus come out?
What is bound? What needs binding?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 14th after Pentecost B

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Song of Solomon 2:8-13
Hark! My beloved! There she comes, leaping over mountains, bounding over hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or like a young stag. There she stands behind our wall, gazing through the window, peering through the lattice. My beloved spoke thus to me, “Arise, my darling; my fair one, come away! For now the winter is past, the rains are over and gone. The blossoms have appeared in the land, the time of pruning has come; the song of the turtledove is heard in our land. The green figs form on the fig tree, the vines in blossom give off fragrance. Arise, my darling; my fair one, come away!

Queeries for the text:
Who is my beloved?
Who speaks in this text?
What blossoms are we waiting for?
What are green figs?
What's going on?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Now when the religious authorities and lawyers who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, ²they noticed that some of Jesus' chosen family were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. ³(For the religious authorities, and all the Jewish people, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the ancestors; ⁴and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) ⁵So the religious authorities and lawyers asked Jesus, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the ancestors, but eat with defiled hands?”

⁶Jesus said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,

‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
⁷in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.’

⁸You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” 

[...]

¹⁴Then Jesus called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”

[...]

²¹For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: immoral sex, theft, murder, ²²adultery, greed and extortion, wickedness, deceit, shameless excess, envy, slander, pride, folly. ²³All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Queeries for the text:
What's missing?  How is it problematic?
What kind of handwashing is traditional?
How is washing good?
Why is Jesus so reactive towards these religious authorities? When else is Jesus reactive?
Which human traditions have taken over God's commands?
When else is defilement addressed?
What does immoral sex consist of?  Shameless excess?  Envy?
What else defiles from within?

What are your queeries?


 

Queerying 8th after Pentecost B

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: 2 Samuel 7:1-14a
When the king was settled in his palace and the Becoming One had granted him safety from all the enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan: “Here I am dwelling in a house of cedar, while the Ark of the Becoming One abides in a tent!”

Nathan said to the king, “Go and do whatever you have in mind, for the Becoming One is with you.”

But that same night the word of the Becoming One came to Nathan: “Go and say to My servant David: thus said the Becoming One: are you the one to build a house for Me to dwell in? From the day that I brought the people of Israel out of Egypt to this day I have not dwelt in a house, but have moved about in Tent and Tabernacle. As I moved about wherever the Israelites went, did I ever reproach any of the tribal leaders whom I appointed to care for My people Israel: why have you not built Me a house of cedar?

“Further, say thus to My servant David: thus said the Becoming God of Angel Armies: I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be ruler of My people Israel, and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut down all your enemies before you. Moreover, I will give you great renown like that of the greatest people on earth. I will establish a home for My people Israel and will plant them solidly, so that they shall dwell secure and shall tremble no more. Evil people shall not oppress them anymore as in the past, ever since I appointed chieftains over My people Israel. I will give you safety from all your enemies.

“The Becoming One declares to you that Femme, the Becoming One, will establish a house for you. When your days are done and you lie with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own issue, and I will establish his kingship. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish his royal throne forever. I will be a parent to him, and he shall be a child to Me.”

Queeries for the text:
What does it mean to have a home?
Who do you know that doesn't live in a home?
What makes a family?
Where does the temple of God live today?
Where does David's house live today?
What's wrong with adopting a person abandoned by their family?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
³⁰The chosen family gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹Jesus said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. ³²And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. ³³Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. ³⁴As Jesus went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

[...]

⁵³When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. ⁵⁴When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized Jesus, ⁵⁵and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard Jesus was. ⁵⁶And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Jesus that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

Queeries for the text:
Who has done a lot?  Who needs rest?
How do people travel faster than a boat?
What did Jesus teach them?  What's missing?
Was Jesus ever able to go somewhere unrecognized?
Where are the sick laid today?
Who else touched the fringe of Jesus' cloak?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Pentecost B

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Ezekiel 37:1-14
The hand of the Becoming One came upon me. She took me out by the spirit of the Becoming One and set me down in the valley. It was full of bones. She led me all around them; there were very many of them spread over the valley, and they were very dry. She said to me, “O mortal, can these bones live again?” 

I replied, “O Becoming God, only You know.” 

Then She said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Becoming One! Thus said the Becoming God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live again. I will lay sinews upon you, and cover you with flesh, and form skin over you. I will put breath into you, and you shall live again. You shall know that I am the Becoming One!” 

I prophesied as I had been commanded. While I was prophesying, suddenly there was a sound of rattling, and the bones came together, bone to matching bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had grown, and skin had formed over them; but there was no breath in them. 

Then She said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, O mortal! Say to the breath: Thus said the Becoming God: Come, O breath, from the four winds, and breathe into these slain, that they may live again.” 

I prophesied as She commanded me. The breath entered them, and they came to life and stood up on their feet, a vast multitude. 

Then, She said to me, “O mortal, these bones are the whole House of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone; we are doomed.’ Prophesy, therefore, and say to them: Thus said the Becoming God: I am going to open your graves and lift you out of the graves, O My people, and bring you to the land of Israel. You shall know, O My people, that I am the Becoming One, when I have opened your graves and lifted you out of your graves. I will put My breath into you and you shall live again, and I will set you upon your own soil. Then you shall know that I the Becoming One have spoken and have acted”—declares the Becoming One. 

Queeries for the text:
When does life begin? 

Who has access to life?
Who gets breath when they can't breathe? 

Do the bones get to respond to the prophecy? 

What happens when bones get dry?

How can doom become hope?  

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Acts reading.

 

 

First Reading: Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, Jesus' Chosen Family 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 She 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, the crowd 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, “People of Judea 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 Becoming One shall be saved.’” 

 

Queeries for the text:

Who were all gathered in one place?

When else do violent winds show up?

What all kinds of fire?

How many languages?

How many nations? Who's missing?

What's happening to Native languages?

Who do we sneer at today?

What has flesh?
 

-----

Guest queerier, Pace Warfield-May, queeries the Gospel reading.

 

Gospel: John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
Jesus said to the Chosen Family:
^15:26"When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Caretaker, the Breath of truth who comes from the Caretaker, She will testify on my behalf. ²⁷You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.

^16:4b"I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. ⁵But now I am going to She who sent me; yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' ⁶ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. ⁷Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Her to you. ⁸And when She comes, She will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹about sin, because they do not believe in me; ¹⁰about righteousness, because I am going to the Caretaker and you will see me no longer; ¹¹about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.

¹²"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.¹³When the Breath of truth comes, She will guide you into all the truth; for She will not speak on Her own, but will speak whatever She hears, and She will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴She will glorify me, because She will take what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵All that the Caretaker has is mine. For this reason I said that She will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

Queeries for the text:
On whose behalf will the Advocate testify?

What is missing from this passage? 

What is the ruler of the world? 

What is the Breath of truth taking and declaring to us? 

What does the Breath of truth look like?

What are your queeries?

 

 

 

 

Queerying Easter 6B

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Acts reading.

 

 

First Reading: Acts 10:44-48

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. ⁴⁵The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, ⁴⁶for they heard them speaking as foreigners and extolling God. Then Peter said, ⁴⁷“Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” ⁴⁸So Peter ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

 

Queeries for the text:

What was Peter "still speaking" about?  To whom?

How much of a klutz is the Holy Spirit?

How do foreigners speak?

Upon whom are you astounded that the Holy Spirit has been poured out?

Who tries to withhold water?

How is reception of the Holy Spirit different for each person?

 

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Guest queerier, Pace Warfield-May, queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: John 15:9-17
[Jesus said]
⁹"As the Caretaker has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you will abide and dwell in my love, just as I have kept my Caretaker's commandments and abide and dwell in Zer love. ¹¹I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

¹²This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵I do not call you subs any longer, because the sub does not know what the dom is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Caretaker. ¹⁶You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Caretaker will give you whatever you ask Zer in my name. ¹⁷I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Queeries for the text:
What does queer friendship look like?
How does slave/master language cause harm?
What do power dynamics have to do with friendship?
What commands do friends give each other?
What does complete joy look like?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Easter 5B

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Acts reading.

 

 

First Reading: Acts 8:26-40

²⁶Then an angel of the Becoming One said to Philip, “Get up and go up toward the south to the road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) ²⁷So Philip got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. Ey had come to Jerusalem to worship ²⁸and was returning home; seated in eir chariot, ey was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” ³⁰So Philip ran up to it and heard the Ethiopian reading the prophet Isaiah. 

 

Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 

 

³¹Ey replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And ey invited Philip to get in and sit beside em. ³²Now the passage of the scripture that ey was reading was this: “Like a sheep they were led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so they do not open their mouth. ³³In their humiliation justice was denied them. Who can describe their generation? For their life is taken away from the earth.” ³⁴The Ethiopian treasurer asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about themself or about someone else?” 

 

³⁵Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to em the good news about Jesus. ³⁶As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the Ethiopian eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” ³⁸Ey commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the Ethiopian, went down into the water, and Philip baptized em. 

 

³⁹When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Becoming One snatched Philip away; ey saw him no more, and went on eir way rejoicing. ⁴⁰But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

 

Queeries for the text:

What had Philip been up to?

What is the role of education in faith?

Where in Isaiah is that passage?

From whom is justice denied? 

What else does Isaiah say? Who are they talking about?

What prevents people from being baptized?

Where all did Philip go?

 

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Guest queerier, Pace Warfield-May, queeries the Gospel reading.

 

Gospel: John 15:1-8
Jesus continued:
“I am the true vine, and my Caretaker is the gardener. ²Ze removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit Ze prunes to make it bear more fruit. ³You have already been pruned by the word that I have spoken to you.

⁴“Remain and dwell in me as I remain and dwell in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains and dwells in the vine, neither can you unless you remain and dwell in me. ⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶Whoever does not remain and dwell in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷If you remain and dwell in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸My Caretaker is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

Queeries for the text:
How do you bear fruit?
Why do branches stop bearing fruit?
How does pruning help things grow?
How does climate change affect vineyards and farming?
What do you wish for?

 

What are your queeries?

 

 

 

Queerying Easter 2B

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Acts reading.

Inclusion does not = equity.

Diversity does not = justice.

Tolerance does not = love.

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) April 6, 2021

First Reading: Acts 4:32-35

³²Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. ³³With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Leader Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. ³⁵They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

 

Queeries for the text:

How is a whole group of one heart and soul? Were they really?

What happens without private ownership?

What do we hold in common?  What don't we?

What else happens with great power and great grace?

What do Jesus' words mean without needy?

What happens when lands and houses are sold?

 

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Guest queerier, Pace Warfield-May, queeries the Gospel reading. 

Gospel: John 20:19-31
¹⁹When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where Jesus’ chosen family had met were locked for fear of the authorities, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace and wholeness be with you." ²⁰After They said this, They showed them Their hands and Their side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Leader. ₂₁Jesus said to them again, "Peace and wholeness be with you. As the Caretaker has sent me, so I am sending you." ²²When They had said this, They breathed on the chosen family and said to them, "Receive the Holy Breath. ²³If you let go of the sins of any, they are let go; if you hold on to the sins of any, they are held on to."

²⁴But Thomas (who was nicknamed the Twin), one of the twelve, was notpwith them when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other chosen family members told him, "We have seen the Leader." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."

²⁶A week later Jesus’ chosen family was gathered again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace and wholeness be with you." ²⁷Then They said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my wounded side. Do not doubt but believe." ²⁸Thomas answered Them, "My Leader and my God!" ²⁹Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

³⁰Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of Their chosen family, which are not written in this book. ³¹But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Child of God, and that through believing you may have life in Their name.

Queries for the Text:
What is the role of skepticism? What is the value in questioning?
Doubting Thomas or conditional Thomas?
Why did Jesus say “Peace and wholeness be with you?”
How do we address antisemitism in passages like this?
How is disability present in this story?

What are your queeries?

 

 

Queerying Lent 2B

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

 

Gospel: Mark 8:31-38

³¹Then Jesus began to teach them that the One Born of Woman 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, Jesus 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 One Born of Woman will also be ashamed when they come in the glory of their Father with the holy angels.”

Queeries for the text:

Who is the One Born of Woman?

Who are the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes today?

Who is killing Jesus today?

Who needs rebuke today?

What does it mean to deny myself?  What does it NOT mean?

Who's profiting from the whole world?

What do we give in return for our life? Who do we give in return for our life?

What is the role of shame?

 

What are your queeries?

 

 

Queerying Ash Wednesday

River Needham, MA queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Joel 2: 1-2, 12-17

“Blow a horn in Zion, sound an alarm on my holy mount! Let all dwellers on earth tremble, for the day of the Becoming One has come! It is close—a day of darkness and gloom, a day of densest cloud spread like soot over the hills. A vast, enormous horde — nothing like it has ever happened, and it shall never happen again through the years and ages. 

[...]

“Yet even now”—says the Becoming One— “Turn back to me with all your hearts, and with fasting, weeping, and lamenting.” Rend your hearts rather than your garments, and turn back to the Becoming One your God. For Ze is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, and renouncing punishment. Who knows but Ze may turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind for meal offering and drink offering to the Becoming One your God? Blow a horn in Zion, solemnize a fast, proclaim an assembly! Gather the people, bid the congregation purify themselves. Bring together the old, gather the babes and breastfeeding children; let the bridegroom come out of his chamber, the bride from her canopied couch. Between the portico and the altar, let the priests, the Becoming One's ministers, weep and say: “Oh, spare Your people, Becoming One! Let not Your possession become a mockery, to be taunted by nations! Let not the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’”

Queeries for the text:

What is missing from this text?
What is the day of the Becoming One?

Who's getting married now?

How do we turn back our hearts?

What do we turn back our hearts from?

What methods are less helpful today?

What is the portico, and what does it do?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

 

 

Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Jesus said:

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Parent in heaven. 

 

²“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ³But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

⁵“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ⁶But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

¹⁶“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

¹⁹“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Queeries for the text:

What's missing?

What does it look like to practice piety

Who prays at street corners? What is their reward?

How is fasting helpful? Harmful?

What treasures are stored up?

Where do you want your heart to go?

 

What are your queeries?