Queerying Narrative 102

Pace Warfield-May queeries the Narrative Lectionary reading.

Genesis 12:1-9
Now the Becoming One said to Abram, “Go from your country and your people and your parent's house to the land that I will show you. ²I will make a great nation out of your descendants, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

⁴So Abram went up and left as the Becoming One told him to, and his nephew Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot and all the possessions that they had gathered and the slaves they had stolen from their families in Haran, and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, ⁶Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were native to the land and called it their home. ⁷Then the Becoming One appeared to Abram and said, “Let's make this destiny manifest–I'll just rob this land from their people and give it to your offspring.” Abram built there an altar to the Becoming One, who had appeared to him. ⁸From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel and made camp, between Bethel and Ai, and there he built an altar to the Becoming One, calling out Xyrs name. ⁹And Abram continued on his journey slowly toward the Negeb.

Queeries for the text:
What is this passage building on?
What is the accompanying reading?
Where is this headed?
Why would God give Abram an already occupied land?
Who else has used the image of God gifting occupied land for their own benefit?
What does it mean to be heirs of a stolen land?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Transfiguration B

River Needham, MA queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: 2 Kings 2:1-12
When the Becoming One was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind,

Elijah and Elisha had set out from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the 

Becoming One has sent me on to Bethel.” 

 

“As the Becoming One lives and as you live,” said Elisha, “I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 

 

Disciples of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Becoming One will take your teacher away from you today?” 

 

He replied, “I know it, too; be silent.” 

 

Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, for the Becoming One has sent me on to Jericho.” 

 

“As the Becoming One lives and as you live,” said Elisha, “I will not leave you.” So they went on to Jericho. 

 

The disciples of the prophets who were at Jericho came over to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Becoming One will take your teacher away from you today?” 

 

He replied, “I know it, too; be silent.” 

 

Elijah said to him, “Stay here, for the Becoming One has sent me on to the Jordan.” 

 

“As the Becoming One lives and as you live, I will not leave you,” he said, and the two of them went on. 

 

Fifty men of the disciples of the prophets followed and stood by at a distance from them as the two of them stopped at the Jordan. There, Elijah took his mantle and, rolling it up, he struck the water; it divided to the right and left, so that the two of them crossed over on dry land. As they were crossing, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” 

 

Elisha answered, “Let a double portion of your spirit pass on to me.” 

 

“You have asked a difficult thing,” he said. “If you see me as I am being taken from you, this will be granted to you; if not, it will not.” As they kept on walking and talking, a fiery chariot with fiery horses suddenly appeared and separated one from the other; and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “Oh, father, father! Israel’s chariots and horsemen!” When he could no longer see him, he grasped his garments and rent them in two.

Queeries for the text:
Where else are circuitous journies beneficial?

What does death look like when under oppressive rule?

Who are the people we mourn today? Who do you mourn?
How do people mourn? What practices help us mourn?

Who else did not leave when their teacher, parent, companion moved on?
 

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

 

Gospel: Mark 9:2-9

²Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. ⁴And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. ⁵Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” ⁸Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

⁹As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

 

Queeries for the text:

Six days later than what?

What does it mean to be transfigured? 

What is as hard to achieve now as bleached white was then?

What is this voice echoing?

Why would Jesus want to keep it secret?

What is in need of transfiguring today?

 

What are your queeries?

 

 

 

 

Queerying 8th after Pentecost C

Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Hosea 11:1-11
God Said:
I fell in love with Israel when he was still a child; I have called him my son ever since Egypt. Thus were they called, but they went their own way; they sacrifice to Ba'als and offer to carved images. I have pampered Ephraim, taking them in my arms; but they have ignored my healing care. I drew them with human ties, with cords of love; but I seemed to them as one who imposed a yoke on their jaws, though I was offering them food. No! They return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria is their king. Because they refuse to repent, a sword shall descend upon their towns and consume their limbs and devour them because of their designs. For my people persists in its defection from me; when it is summoned upward, it does not rise at all. How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah, render you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart, all my tenderness is stirred. I will not act on my wrath, will not turn to destroy Ephraim. For I am God, not human, the Holy One in your midst: I will not come in fury. The Becoming One will roar like a lion, and they shall march behind Hir; when Ze roars, Hir children shall come fluttering out of the west. They shall flutter from Egypt like sparrows, from the land of Assyria like doves; and I will settle them in their homes —declares the Becoming One

Queeries for the text:
Where else is God jealous?
What do we know about jealousy today?
How do religious expression and intimate partner violence interact?
Who can you turn to if you are experiencing intimate partner violence?
What happened to Admah and Zeboiim?
What cycle stages are happening toward the end of the passage?
What flutters?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 12:13-21
¹³Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,

“Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”

¹⁴But Jesus said to them,

“Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?”

¹⁵And Jesus said to the crowd,

“Take care!

Be on your guard against all kinds of greed;

for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”

¹⁶Then Jesus told them a parable:

“The land of a rich man produced abundantly.
¹⁷And he thought to himself,

‘What should I do,

for I have no place to store my crops?’

¹⁸Then the rich man said,

‘I will do this:

I will pull down my barns and build larger ones,

and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

¹⁹And I will say to my soul,

‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years;

relax, eat, drink, be merry.’

²⁰But God said to the rich man,

‘You fool!
This very night your life is being demanded of you.

And the things you have prepared,

whose will they be?’

²¹So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves

but are not rich toward God.”

Queeries for the text:
Why would(n't) a sibling share the inheritance?
When do we set the wrong people up to be judge?
How many kinds of greed are there?
Why is it "his crops" when the land is the one to produce?
Is a famine coming?  Is the rich man planning for climate change?
Why does size matter to the rich man?  Is bigger actually better?
Can goods last for many years?
Why is the rich man talking to his own soul?  Is he Voldemort?
What is demanding his life?
Where do our treasures go?


What are your queeries?

Queerying 2nd after Pentecost C

Periodic Queerier, River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: 1 Kings 19:1-4 [5-7] 8-15
When Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he had put all the prophets to the sword, Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “Thus and more may the gods do if by this time tomorrow I have not made you like one of them.”
Frightened, Elijah fled at once for his life.
Elijah came to Beer-sheba, which is in Judah, and left his servant there; Elijah himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. Elijah came to a broom bush and sat down under it, and prayed that he might die.
“Enough!” he cried. “Now, O Becoming One, take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” He lay down and fell asleep under a broom bush. 
Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 

He looked about; and there, beside his head, was a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water! He ate and drank, and lay down again.
The angel of the Becoming One came a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.”

He arose and ate and drank; and with the strength from that meal he walked forty days and forty nights as far as the mountain of God at Horeb.
There he went into a cave, and there he spent the night.
Then the word of the Becoming One came to him. Ze said to him, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
He replied, “I am moved by zeal for the Becoming One, the God of Angel Armies, for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and put Your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they are out to take my life.”
“Come out,” Ze called, “and stand on the mountain before the Becoming One.”
And lo, the Becoming One passed by.
There was a great and mighty wind, splitting mountains and shattering rocks by the power of the Becoming One; but the Becoming One was not in the wind.
After the wind—an earthquake; but the Becoming One was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake—fire; but the Becoming One was not in the fire.
And after the fire—a soft murmuring sound.
When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his mantle about his face and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
Then a voice addressed him: “Why are you here, Elijah?” He answered, “I am moved by zeal for the Becoming One, the God of Angel Armies; for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and have put Your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they are out to take my life.”
The Becoming One said to him, “Go back by the way you came, and on to the wilderness of Damascus.

Queeries for the text:
Who was Jezebel?
Where else do prophets call out for God to take their life?
Why do we think the angel is not a necessary part of the story? Where else do we edit out people? Does the meaning of the text change with or without the italicized portion?
What meaning does the number 40 have?
What does it mean to come out?
Where is God in natural disasters?
How does God speak today?
Where all did Elijah travel?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 8:26-39
²⁶Then Jesus and the disciple arrived at the country of the Gerasenes,

which is opposite Galilee.

²⁷As Jesus stepped out on land,

a person of the city who had demons met him.

For a long time they had worn no clothes,
and they did not live in a house but in the tombs.

²⁸When they saw Jesus,

they fell down before him
and shouted at the top of their voice,

“What have you to do with me,

Jesus, Child of the Most High God?

I beg you, do not torment me”—

²⁹for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit
to come out of the person.

(For many times it had seized them;
they were kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles,

but they would break the bonds
and be driven by the demon into the wilds.)

³⁰Jesus then asked them,

“What is your name?”

They said,

“Legion”;

for many demons had entered them.

³¹The demons begged Jesus not to order them to go back into the abyss.

³²Now there on the hillside

a large herd of swine was feeding;
and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these.

So Jesus gave them permission.

³³Then the demons came out of the person
and entered the swine,
and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake
and was drowned.

³⁴When the swineherds saw what had happened,

they ran off and told it in the city and in the country.
and when they came to Jesus,

they found the person from whom the demons had gone

sitting at the feet of Jesus,

clothed and in their right mind.

And they were afraid.

³⁶Those who had seen it told them

how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed.

³⁷Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes

asked Jesus to leave them;

for they were seized with great fear.

So Jesus got into the boat and returned.

³⁸The one from whom the demons had gone begged

that they might be with Jesus;

but Jesus sent them away, saying,

³⁹“Return to your home,
and declare how much God has done for you.”

So they went away,

proclaiming throughout the city

how much Jesus had done for them.

Queeries for the text:
Why did people let the person live without clothes in a tomb?
Who else is bound?  With chains and shackles?
Who else is driven into the wilds?
What does "Legion" represent?
Who is Legion today?
What's the difference between the abyss and drowning in a lake?
Why does someone in their right mind spark fear?
Why and how are we afraid of healing? How do we encounter healing?
Why does Jesus send the person away?

What are your queeries?