Queerying 4th after Epiphany B

River Needham, MA queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Moses continued:
The Becoming One your God will raise up for you a prophet from among your own people, like myself; hir you shall heed. This is just what you asked of the Becoming One your God at Horeb, on the day of the assembly, saying, “Let me not hear the voice of the Becoming One my God any longer or see this wondrous fire any more, lest I die.” 

Then the Becoming One said to me, “They have done well in speaking this. I will raise up a prophet for them from among their own people, like yourself: I will put My words in hirs mouth and xe will speak to them all that I command hir; and if anybody fails to heed the words xe speaks in My name, I Myself will call hir to account. But any prophet who presumes to speak in My name an oracle that I did not command hir to utter, or who speaks in the name of other gods—that prophet shall die.”

Queeries for the text:
Who are the prophets of our day?

Where are the prophetesses?

Where is Horeb?

Why did the people not want to hear from The Becoming One anymore?
Does death seem an appropriate penalty? Why or why not?

 

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

 

 

Gospel: Mark 1:21-28

²¹Jesus, Simon, Andrew, James, and John went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. ²²The crowd was astounded at his teaching, for Jesus taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 

 

²³Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, ²⁴and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 

 

²⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 

 

²⁶And the unclean spirit, convulsing the man and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! This one commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸At once Jesus' fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

 

Queeries for the text:

What is authority? Who has it?

Why do names matter? How?

How does fame impact people?

What is unclean?

What happens on the sabbath today?

Who destroys? What is saved?

 

What are your queeries?

 

 

Queerying 6th after Epiphany A

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

Tanakh: Deuteronomy 30:15-20

See, I set before you this day life and prosperity, death and adversity. For I command you this day, to love the Becoming One your God, to walk in Her ways, and to keep Her commandments, Her laws, and Her rules, that you may thrive and increase, and that the Becoming One your God may bless you in the land that you are about to enter and possess.

But if your heart turns away and you give no heed and are lured into the worship and service of other Gods, I declare to you this day that you shall certainly perish; you shall not long endure on the soil that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day: I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life—if you and your offspring would live— by loving the Becoming One your God, heeding Her commands, and holding fast to Her. For thereby you shall have life and shall long endure upon the soil that the Becoming One swore to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them.

Queeries for the text:
What dualisms are set up in this text? How can they be queered?
How are ways, commandments, laws and rules similar? How are they different?
Who are the other Gods? What kind of relationship to the Becoming One exists in this text?
How does the text handle its forays into the future? How does knowing what comes after change your encounter with the text?
What does it mean to value life? What are your personal growing edges in valuing life? What are the growing edges of society?
Where does choosing life lead us to today? Is that a worthwhile destination? What are the unintended consequences?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Matthew 5:21-37
²¹“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ ²²But I say to you that if you are angry with a sibling, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. ²³So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your sibling has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your sibling, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. ²⁶Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. ³¹“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³²But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

³³“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Becoming One.’ ³⁴But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, ³⁵or by the earth, for it is her footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great Queen. ³⁶And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

Queeries for the text:
How does anger lead to death?  How is anger good?
What does "you fool" sound like?
Who are the powerful Jesus is talking to?  How does Jesus address power?
Who might be assumed to look at a woman with lust?  What does this imply about victim blaming?  How does personal responsibility impact these situations?
What would happen to a woman if she received a certificate of divorce?  How did they perpetuate the patriarchy?
What is Jesus saying about control?

What are your queeries?

Lent 1 year C

Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Deuteronomy 26:1-11

When you enter the land the Becoming One your God is giving as a heritage,

and you possess it and settle in it,

you shall take some of every first fruit of the soil,

which you harvest from the land that the Becoming One your God is giving

you, put it in a basket and go

to the place where the Becoming One your God will establish Her

name.

You shall go to the priest in charge at that time and say to them,

“I acknowledge this day before the Becoming One your God that

I have entered the land that the Becoming One swore

to our parents to assign us.”

The priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down in front of the altar

of the Becoming One your God.

You shall then recite as follows before the Becoming One your God:

“My father was a fugitive Aramean.

He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there;

but there he became a great and very populous nation.

The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us;

they imposed heavy labor upon us.

We cried to the Becoming One, the God of our parents, and the Becoming One

heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression.

The Becoming One freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand,

by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents.

She brought us to this place and gave us this land,

a land flowing with milk and honey.

Therefore I now bring the first fruits of the soil

which You, O Becoming One, have given me.”

You shall leave it before the Becoming One your God

and bow low before the Becoming One your God.

Then, you shall enjoy, together with the Levite and the stranger in your midst,

all the bounty that the Becoming One your God has bestowed upon you

and your household.

Queeries for the text:
What is colonization? Who are colonizers today? Who are colonizers historically?
Does God instruct the colonization of the land? What does this suggest about God?
What fruits grow in this area? How long would it have taken to grow the fruit?
What happened to the previous inhabitants? What about in the colonies that exist today?
Who were the Arameans? Where do they exist today?
Why are the Egyptians cast in such a poor light? How does this influence the way we think today?
Does bounty have to come at the expense of other people? Why does God require those in our midst to be celebrated? Who is left out?
Is God's blessing zero-sum?

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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 Holy Child of God,

command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

⁴Jesus answered the devil,

“It is written,

‘One does not live by bread alone.’”

⁵Then the devil led Jesus up

and showed him in an instant all the dominions 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 Her.’”

⁹Then the devil took Jesus Jerusalem,

and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him,

“If you are the Holy Child of God,

throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰for it is written,

‘God will command the 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 the devil,

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

¹³Having finished every test,

the devil departed from Jesus until an opportune time.

Queeries for the text:
Can you be "full of" and "led by" the same thing?
Why would the Spirit lead Jesus into temptation?
How hangry was Jesus after 40 days without food?
How did the devil tempt Jesus throughout the 40 days, before the bread temptation?
Who is the devil?
What does "one live by"?
Who gave the glory and authority of the dominions of the world to the devil?
What is the context for the devil's verses?
When is an opportune time?
What temptations do we face?

What are your queeries?

15th after pentecost year b - deuteronomy

Our guest queerier for Deuteronomy is River Needham.

Image Description: A tree formed by ribbons of many colors.

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
¹And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and to the ordinances, which I teach you, and do them; that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the Becoming One, the God of your parents, gives to you.²You shall not add to the words which I command you, neither shall you take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Becoming One your God which I command you. 

⁶Observe therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, that, when they hear all these statutes, shall say: "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." ⁷For what great nation is there, that has God so close to them, as the Becoming One our God is whensoever we call upon Em? ⁸And what great nation is there, that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? ⁹Only pay attention to yourself, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and your children's children;

Queeries for the text

What's the difference between a statute and an ordinance?

Why do following the laws lead to genocide?

Why does God not need an editor? What are the consequences for editing God?

What is Wisdom? What about understanding?

Why is God staying close? Is that creepy?

How is God staying close related to consent?

What happens to community care when you "only pay attention to yourself"?

What does the assumption of children say about when this was written? 

What are your queeries?