Queerying 5th after Epiphany B

 

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

 

Gospel: 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 he 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 him. ³⁷When they found Jesus, 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 Jesus went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

 

Queeries for the text:

How are Simon and Andrew related?

Who and what else is lifted up?

Why does work start so quickly again?

How big was the whole city?

What are the gifts of deserted places?

Who hunts? Who else is hunted?

How did Jesus come out? What does Jesus proclaim?

Who is cast out?

What secrets is Jesus keeping?

 

What are your queeries?

 

 

Queerying 18th after Pentecost C

Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Jeremiah 29:1, [2-3], 4-7

This is the text of the letter which the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the priests, the prophets, the rest of the elders of the exile community, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon  

[after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen and smiths had left Jerusalem. [The letter was sent] through Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah had dispatched to Babylon, to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.]

Thus said the Becoming God of Angel Armies, the God of Israel, to the whole community which I exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there, do not decrease. And seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you and pray to the Becoming One on its behalf; for in its prosperity you shall prosper.

Queeries for the text:
How might this text be sent today?
Is the omitted portion necessary? Why was it omitted?
Where were the Angel Armies before the exile?
Who can build houses?
Who are the acceptable family members?
Who is erased in this passage?
Why is multiplication important?
What is the advice of this text to the exiles? What advice would you give instead?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 17:11-19
¹¹On the way to Jerusalem

Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee.

¹²As he entered a village,

ten people who had leprosy approached him.

Keeping their distance,

¹³they called out, saying,

“Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

¹⁴When Jesus saw them, he said to them,

“Go and show yourselves to the priests.”

And as they went,

they were made clean.

¹⁵Then one of them,

when ze saw that ze was healed,

turned back,

praising God with a loud voice.

¹⁶Ze prostrated zirself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.

And ze was a Samaritan.

¹⁷Then Jesus asked,

“Were not ten made clean?

But the other nine, where are they?

¹⁸Was none of them found to return and give praise to God

except this foreigner?”

¹⁹Then Jesus said to zem,

“Get up and go on your way;

your faith has made you well.”

Queeries for the text:
How much does the number 10 matter?
Why did the one turn back?  Why didn't the 9?
Why does it matter that ze was a Samaritan?
In returning to Jesus, did the Samaritan come out about zir identity?
Where can we give praise to the Divine?
Who isn't a foreigner in the region between two places?
Why does praising the Samaritan's faith matter?
Who are foreigners?  Who have always lived in the place?



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?

Lent 4 year C

Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus.

²And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying,

“This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³So Jesus told them this parable:

^11b“There was a man who had two sons.
¹²The younger of them said to his father,

‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’

So the father divided his property between them.

¹³A few days later the younger son gathered all he had

and traveled to a distant country,

and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.

¹⁴When he had spent everything,

a severe famine took place throughout that country,

and he began to be in need.

¹⁵So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country,

who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs.

¹⁶He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating;

and no one gave him anything.

¹⁷But when he came to himself he said,

‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare,

but here I am dying of hunger!

¹⁸I will get up and go to my father,

and I will say to him,

“Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you;

¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son;

treat me like one of your hired hands.”’

²⁰So he set off and went to his father.

But while he was still far off,

his father saw him and was filled with compassion;

his father ran and put his arms around his son and kissed him.

²¹Then the son said to him,

‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you;

I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²²But the father said to his slaves,

‘Quickly, bring out a robe—

the best one—

and put it on him;

put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

²³And get the fatted calf and kill it,

and let us eat and celebrate;

²⁴for this son of mine was dead and is alive again;

he was lost and is found!’

And they began to celebrate.

²⁵“Now the elder son was in the field;

and when he came and approached the house,

he heard music and dancing.

²⁶He called one of the slaves

and asked what was going on.

²⁷He replied,

‘Your brother has come,

and your father has killed the fatted calf,

because he has got him back safe and sound.’

²⁸Then the elder son became angry

and refused to go in.

His father came out and began to plead with him.

²⁹But he answered his father,

‘Listen!

For all these years I have been working like a slave for you,

and I have never disobeyed your command;

yet you have never given me even a young goat

so that I might celebrate with my friends.

³⁰But when this son of yours came back,

who has devoured your property with prostitutes,

you killed the fatted calf for him!’

³¹Then the father said to him,

‘Son, you are always with me,

and all that is mine is yours.

³²But we had to celebrate and rejoice,

because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life;

he was lost and has been found.’”

Queeries for the text:
What's missing?
Who are sinners?  How does cultural context matter?
Why would the son ask for his dad's share of the estate?
Why would the son leave?
What is dissolute living?
Why didn't anyone give the younger son anything to eat?
Is the prodigal son also Schrödinger's son?  Which son is prodigal?
Why didn't the elder child go in and check on the party himself?
What's the difference between a hired hand and a slave? Can a son actually "work like a slave"?
How does the elder know what what younger the younger did?  Why does he assume he knows?
What does the mother think?
What would this story be like with different genders?

What are your queeries?

all saints day year b - john

 

John 11:32-44
³²When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him,

she knelt at his feet and said to him,

“Lord, if you had been here,

my brother would not have died.”

³³When Jesus saw her weeping,

and the Judeans who came with her also weeping,

he was greatly disturbed in spirit

and deeply moved.

³⁴Jesus said,

“Where have you laid him?”

They said to him,

“Lord, come and see.”

³⁵Jesus began to weep.
³⁶So the Judeans said,

“See how he loved him!”

³⁷But some of them said,

“Could not the one

who opened the eyes of the blind man

have kept this man 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 him,

“Lord, already there is a stench

because he 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,

“Father, 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,

he 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 them,

“Unbind him,
and let him go.”

Queeries for the text:
Who is Jesus weeping for?
How did Jesus love Lazarus?
Why do they call Jesus Lord so many times?
How often are our prayers for the sake of the crowd? Can they be for us and the crowd?
Does Jesus know something about Lazarus that we don't?
How is the church bound?
What did Lazarus think about coming back from the dead?  What did he say?
How did the religious authorities respond to this?
How many saints have been killed by guns and hatred this year?

What are your queeries?

reformation - john

John 8:31-36
³¹Then Jesus said to the Judeans who had believed in him,

“If you continue in my word,

you are truly my disciples;

³²and you will know the truth,

and the truth will make you free.”

³³They answered Jesus,

“We are descendants of Abraham

and have never been slaves to anyone.

What do you mean by saying,

‘You will be made free’?”

³⁴Jesus answered them,

“Very truly, I tell you,

everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.

³⁵The slave does not have a permanent place in the household;

the son has a place there forever.

³⁶So if the Son makes you free,

you will be free indeed. 

Queeries for the text:
Which word from the Word are we supposed to continue in?
When does truth make you free?
When does truth make you captive?
How do we re-write our own histories?
How has John's gospel been used for antisemitic and anti-Judaic purposes?
What sins am I a slave to?
Do we want a permanent place in a household that continues slavery?

What are your queeries?

a blessing for those beyond the binary

At the beginning of October, I was in Chicago for our Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries in-person board meeting.  After the meeting, I stayed in Chicago for a few extra days to visit friends.  One of the stores I went to had two free items:

When I picked them out I had no idea how life-giving they would become in just a few weeks.

This last month has been filled with complicated feelings from the joys and struggles of Coming Out Day to the administration’s racist and transphobic policies, plans, and actions, and yet this sticker and this button bring me back to the love of the One who loves me best and remind me of the importance of blessings and affirmation.  So, I have a blessing for my fellow beloveds.

-----

To you beloved children of God who are intersex, trans, gender expansive, and gender nonconforming:

May the Holy One who celebrates the gifts of Joseph, whose beautiful dress bore the full diversity of rainbow colors and whose dreams stretched beyond their imagining, bring you energy and empower your resistance to what this administration intended for harm.

May the Spirit who poured Herself out on the Ethiopian Eunuch, whose gender and sex helped them break down binaries and break open the church’s barriers, pour over you, breaking through every barrier that keeps you from wholeness.

May the Divine One who brought into being the very first of humanity—the intersex human from humus, the earthling from the earth—renew your connection not only to the dirt of the earth, but also to the stardust scattered throughout the cosmos, which join together to form you.  May this Divine One, whose image you bear, breathe new life into you.

May the Word made flesh, who transgresses boundaries between human and divine, who comes to us as Jesus, born of the woman Mary through the power of that high femme Holy Spirit, spur you to action and nourish you for the struggle to come.

May the One who created and creates you, who loves your whole self, who loves who you are and who you are becoming, who loves the power you hold to transform the broken world in which we all live—may this One wrap you in love that seeps to the deepest core of your being.

16th after pentecost year b - mark

Special thanks this week to collaboration from River Needham and Remy!

Mark 7:24-37
²⁴Jesus set out
     and went away to the region of Tyre.
Jesus entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there.
     Yet he could not escape notice,
          ²⁵but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit
               immediately heard about him,
               and she came and bowed down at his feet.
                    ²⁶Now the woman was a Gentile,
                         of Syrophoenician origin.
               She begged Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter.
²⁷Jesus said to her,
     “Let the children be fed first,
          for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”  
²⁸But she answered him,
     “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”  
²⁹Then Jesus said to her,
     “For saying that,
          you may go—
               the demon has left your daughter.”
          ³⁰So she went home,
               found the child lying on the bed,
                    and the demon gone.

³¹Then Jesus returned from the region of Tyre,
     and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee,
          in the region of the Decapolis.
     ³²They brought to him a deaf man
          who had an impediment in his speech;
     and they begged Jesus to lay his hand on him.
³³Jesus took him aside in private,
     away from the crowd,
     and put his fingers into his ears,
     and he spat and touched his tongue.
          ³⁴Then looking up to heaven,
               Jesus sighed and said to him,
                    “Ephphatha,”
                         that is, “Be opened.”
               ³⁵And immediately his ears were opened,
               his tongue was released,
               and he spoke plainly.  
³⁶Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one;
     but the more he ordered them,
          the more zealously they proclaimed it.
               ³⁷They were astounded beyond measure, saying,
                    “He has done everything well;
                         he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

Queeries for the text:
How do you escape notice *inside a house*??
Why does it matter that she was a Gentile?
Are there any lengths to which a parent won't go for their child?
What "children" is Jesus talking about?
What did Jesus just call her?!?!?!
How quick-witted do you have to be to come up with such a subversive comeback?
What impact did this woman have on Jesus?
Who is the they?  Family?  Community?  People who don't know how to open up their community to other ways of communicating?
How do we make a spectacle in inappropriate ways?
What did the man actually want? 
How do we need to be opened?
Are they outing Jesus without his consent?
What could possibly have been done "well" in calling this woman a dog?
What would society be like if people didn't have to be "healed" in order to be included?
What did the man say when he began to speak?

What are your queeries?

7th after pentecost year b - mark

Mark 6:1-13

Jesus left that place and came to his hometown,

    and his disciples followed him.

    2On the sabbath he 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 brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon,

                             and are not his sisters here with us?”

                                  And they took offense at him.

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 he 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.

     8He 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 they 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:
Did Jesus' hometown ever end up embracing him after he came out?
Can you ever be viewed as an adult in the faith community you grew up in?
What are Jesus' sisters' names???
How much can anyone be known by way of their family?
How are people offended by Jesus' ministry?
How much does intention matter in power and healing?
What did Jesus teach in the villages?
What would happen if people took nothing for a journey today?
How often did they shake off the dust?
How many ways are there to give a testimony?
What should we repent of?

What are your queeries?

jesus comes out: john 7

Today I preached in a place that has been going through the gospel of John chapter by chapter.  This mean that unlike many of my friends and colleagues, I preached on the 7th chapter of John today.  I didn't record the sermon, but have a couple of visuals that I'll comment on after the gospel if you're interested in checking them out.  Visually you can get a sense of my sermon by paying attention to the pieces that stood out to me and the pieces that felt problematic to me in the gospel, combined with what showed up in the final visual version of my sermon.

John 7

After this Jesus went about in Galilee.

   He did not wish to go about in Judea

      because the religious leaders were looking for an opportunity to kill him.

2Now the Jewish festival of Booths was near.

   3So Jesus’ brothers said to him,

      “Leave here and go to Judea

           so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing;

              4for no one who wants to be widely known acts in secret.

          If you do these things,

               show yourself to the world.”

                  5(For not even his brothers believed in him.)

   6Jesus said to them,

      “My time has not yet come,

           but your time is always here.

       7The world cannot hate you,

           but it hates me because I testify against it

              that its works are evil.

      8Go to the festival yourselves.

           I am not going to this festival,

               for my time has not yet fully come.”

9After saying this,

   Jesus remained in Galilee.

   10But after his brothers had gone to the festival,

       then he also went,

           not publicly but as it were in secret.

      11The religious leaders were looking for him at the festival and saying,

           “Where is he?”

      12And there was considerable complaining about him among the crowds.

           While some were saying,

               “He is a good man,”

           others were saying,

               “No, he is deceiving the crowd.”

                   13Yet no one would speak openly about him

                       for fear of the religious authorities.

14About the middle of the festival Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach.

   15The Judeans were astonished at it, saying,

      “How does this man have such learning,

           when he has never been taught?”

16Then Jesus answered them,

   “My teaching is not mine

      but is of the one who sent me.

           17Anyone who resolves to do the will of God

              will know whether the teaching is from God

              or whether I am speaking on my own.

                  18Those who speak on their own seek their own glory;

                      but the one who seeks the glory 

                           of the one who sent them is true,

                           and there is nothing false in them.

   19“Did not Moses give you the law?

      Yet none of you keeps the law.

           Why are you looking for an opportunity to kill me?”

20The crowd answered,

   “You have a demon!

      Who is trying to kill you?”

21Jesus answered them,

   “I performed one work,

       and all of you are astonished.

   22Moses gave you circumcision

      (it is, of course, not from Moses,

           but from the patriarchs),

      and you circumcise a child on the sabbath.

       23If a child receives circumcision on the sabbath

           in order that the law of Moses may not be broken,

               are you angry with me

                   because I healed a person’s whole body on the sabbath?

   24Do not judge by appearances,

      but judge with right judgment.”

25Now some of the people of Jerusalem were saying,

   “Is not this the man whom they are trying to kill?

      26And here he is, speaking openly,

           but they say nothing to him!

      Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Messiah?

           27Yet we know where this man is from;

              but when the Messiah comes,

                  no one will know where he is from.”

28Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple,

   “You know me,

   and you know where I am from.

       I have not come on my own.

           But the One who sent me is true,

              and you do not know Them.

              29I know Them,

                   because I am from Them,

                  and They sent me.”

30Then they tried to arrest Jesus,

   but no one laid hands on him,

      because his hour had not yet come.

    31Yet many in the crowd believed in Jesus and were saying,

       “When the Messiah comes,

          will they do more signs than this man has done?”

   32The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering such things about Jesus,

      and the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple police to arrest him.

33Jesus then said,

   “I will be with you a little while longer,

      and then I am going to the one who sent me.

           34You will search for me,

              but you will not find me;

          and where I am,

               you cannot come.”

35The Judeans said to one another,

   “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him?

      Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks 

           and teach the Greeks?

       36What does he mean by saying,

           ‘You will search for me and you will not find me’

           and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”

37On the last day of the festival,

   the great day,

      while Jesus was standing there, he cried out,

           “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me,

          38and let the one who believes in me drink.

               As the scripture has said,

                   ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”

                      39Now he said this about the Spirit,

                           which believers in Jesus were to receive;

                      for as yet there was no Spirit,

                           because Jesus was not yet glorified.

      40When they heard these words,

          some in the crowd said,

               “This is really the prophet.”

       41Others said,

          “This is the Messiah.”

      But some asked,

           “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee,

              does he?

               42Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David

              and comes from Bethlehem,

                  the village where David lived?”

      43So there was a division in the crowd because of him.

           44Some of them wanted to arrest him,

               but no one laid hands on him.

45Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees,

   who asked them,

      “Why did you not arrest him?”

46The police answered,

   “Never has anyone spoken like this!”

47Then the Pharisees replied,

   “Surely you have not been deceived too,

      have you?

    48Has any one of the authorities

    or of the Pharisees believed in him?

       49But this crowd,

          which does not know the law—

              they are accursed.”

50Nicodemus,

   who had gone to Jesus before,

   and who was one of them, asked,

       51“Our law does not judge people

           without first giving them a hearing

              to find out what they are doing,

                  does it?”

52They replied,

   “Surely you are not also from Galilee,

       are you?

           Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”

53Then each of them went home,

Some context: this weekend was Pride weekend where I currently live and preach in Des Moines Iowa's metro area. The congregation where I was preaching is undergoing some construction on their facilities and so worship was in the fellowship hall.

Through one of the open Sunday school rooms I could see the sun shining through this fabric, creating God's very own bi pride flag for me.

This is the visual for my sermon:

The yellow traced queer experiences through the sermon and Jesus' experiences in John 7.

After preaching I learned about this tragic event, which put Jesus' experience of having to keep his identity a secret and then going to a party when people want to arrest and kill him into very real terms.