Queerying Narrative 103

Pace Warfield-May queeries the Narrative Lectionary reading.

Genesis 39:1-23
¹After Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, he was taken to Egypt where Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of the Pharaoh and the captain of the guard bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. ²The Becoming One was present with Joseph, leading Joseph to become successful in the house of his Egyptian master. ³His master saw that the Becoming One was alongside Joseph and that the Becoming One caused all that Joseph did to prosper in his hands. ⁴So Joseph became Potiphar's favorite and attended to him; Potiphar made Joseph the overseer of the house and put him in charge of all his finances and possessions. ⁵The Becoming One made all that Joseph touched prosper, leading Potiphar to prosper as well, so that Joseph would be taken care of. ⁶So Potiphar left all of his possessions in Joseph’s care, and with Joseph in charge of the household, Potiphar was able to rely on Joseph's labor for all things so that all Potiphar had to worry about was what to eat.

Now Joseph was very, stunningly attractive. ⁷ And after a time his master’s wife saw Joseph and said, "Sleep with me." ⁸ But Joseph refused and said to his master’s wife, "Look, with me here, my master Potiphar has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has under my control. ⁹ As a result, he sees me almost as his equal and he hasn't kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do this awful deed and cause harm against God?" ¹⁰And although she asked Joseph day after day, he would not consent to lie beside her let alone sleep with her. ¹¹One day, however, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and he was alone in the house, ¹²she caught hold of his clothes saying, "Sleep with me!" In his hurry to leave, she was able to keep hold of his clothes as he ran away, leaving them with her. ¹³ When she realized his clothes had torn off and were in her hand as he ran outside, ¹⁴she called out to the members of her household and said to them, “See, my husband has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us! He came in to my room to rape me, and I cried out with a loud voice, ¹⁵and when he heard me raise my voice and cry out for help, he left his clothes beside me and fled outside." ¹⁶Then she kept his clothes by her until his master, Potiphar, came home, ¹⁷and she told him the same story, saying, "The Hebrew slave, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to rape me, ¹⁸ but as soon as I raised my voice and cried out for help, he left his clothes beside me and fled outside."

¹⁹When his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, saying, "This is the way your slave treated me," he became enraged. ²⁰And Joseph’s master took him and put him in the prison where the Pharaoh's prisoners were confined; Joseph remained there in prison. ²¹But the Becoming One remained faithful to Joseph and showed him steadfast love, which in turn gave Joseph favor with the chief jailer. ²²The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s care all the prisoners who were in the prison, and whatever was done there, Joseph was the one who did it. ²³The chief jailer gave Joseph free reign over the prison because the Becoming One was with Joseph, and whatever Joseph did, the Becoming One made it prosper.

Queeries for the text:
What is this passage building on?
What is the accompanying text?
Where is this headed?
Does God have favorites?
In what ways is Joseph's story queer?
How do prejudice, power, and racism play into this narrative?
Who has agency in this passage?
Why does God reward Joseph's masters?

What are your queeries?

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 Narrative 101

Pace Warfield-May queeries the Narrative Lectionary reading.

Genesis 6:5-22; 8:6-12; 9:8-17
^6:5The Becoming One saw that evil had infected humankind's hearts, ever increasing as it forced wickedness against other humans and the earth. ⁶And the Becoming One became remorseful that Xe had created humanity on the earth, and Xe grieved this in Xyrs heart. ⁷So the Becoming One said, "I will blot out from the earth the humans I have created–people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air–for I am bitterly hurt that I made them." ⁸But Noah found favor in the sight of the Becoming One.

⁹These are the offspring of Noah. Noah was righteous, blameless among his generation of wicked humans; Noah walked with God. ¹⁰And Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹¹Now the earth was polluted in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹²And God saw that the earth was corrupt, for all humankind had polluted its ways upon the earth. ¹³And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end to all living things, for the earth is filled with violence and pollution because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with the earth. ¹⁴Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. ¹⁵This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. ¹⁶Make a roof for the ark and finish it to a cubit above, and put the door of the ark in its side; make it with lower, second, and third decks. ¹⁷For my part, I am going to bring a great flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under the sky all living things in which is my breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. ¹⁸But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. ¹⁹And of every living thing, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be a reproducing pair. ²⁰Of the bird according to their kinds and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind shall come in with you, to keep them alive. ²¹Also take with you every kind of food that is eaten, and store it up, and it shall serve as food for you and for them." ²²Noah did all this; he did all that God commanded him.

[…]

^8:6At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made ⁷and sent out a raven, and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. ⁸Then Noah sent out the dove to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground, ⁹but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it returned to Noah to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. ¹⁰Noah waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark, ¹¹and the dove came back to him in the evening and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. ¹²Then he waited another seven days and sent out the dove, and it did not return to him anymore.

[…]

^9:8Then God said to Noah and to his family with him, ⁹"As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, ¹⁰not just with the humans, but with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. ¹¹I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall I destroy all living things by waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the entire earth." ¹²God continued, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature, for all generations: ¹³I have set my weapon, a bow, down upon the clouds over the earth and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and all the earth. ¹⁴When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, ¹⁵I will remember my covenant that is between me and all living creatures, and the waters shall never become a great flood that destroys all life. ¹⁶When my weapon, the bow, is laid to rest in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all kinds that is on the earth." ¹⁷God finished speaking to Noah, saying, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all living things upon the earth."

Queeries for the text:
What's missing?
What is the accompanying reading?
Where is this headed?
Why didn't Noah argue back against God?
What ways do floods harm the environment and humans?
How are humans wicked against the earth today?
What else does a rainbow symbolize?

What are your queeries?

Noah’s Ark
Histoire ancienne jusqu'à César, Kingdom of Jerusalem (Acre) before 1291
British Library, Additional 15268, fol. 7v

Queerying 7th after Pentecost C

Pace Warfield-May queeries the Tanakh reading.

Genesis 18:20-32
²⁰Then the Name said, "How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how serious their brokenness! I must go dwell with them and see whether they have done altogether according to the cries of the marginalized that have come to me; and if not, I will know." ²²So the company turned from there, and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Name.

²³Then Abraham cuddled close to God and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the just with the unjust? ²⁴Suppose there are fifty who are good within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty just who are in it? ²⁵Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the just with the unjust, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the cosmos do what is just?"

²⁶And the Name said gently, "If I find at Sodom fifty who are just in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake."

Abraham answered, "Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Infinite, I who am but finite, dust and ashes.

²⁸Suppose five of the fifty of the just are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And Xe said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there."

²⁹Again Abraham spoke to the Infinite, "Suppose forty are found there." Xe answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it."

³⁰Then Abraham replied, "Oh do not let the Infinite be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there." Xe answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there."

³¹Abraham asked, "Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Infinite. Suppose twenty are found there." Xe answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it."

³²Then he said, "Oh do not let the Infinite be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there." Xe answered gently, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."

Queeries for the text:
Have you ever argued with God?
When has God changed Xyr mind before?
What is the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah?
What does it mean to be just?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 11:1-13
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his chosen family said to him, “Leader, teach us to pray, as John taught his chosen family.”

²Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say something like: Mama, make your Name sacred. Enact your reign. ³Give us each day our necessary sustenance. ⁴And forgive us our wrongs, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the system of injustice.”

⁵And Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to them at midnight and say to them, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; ⁶for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before her.’ ⁷And they answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the lights are out, and Stephen Colbert is already on; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ ⁸I tell you, even though they will not get up and give em anything because em is their friend, at least because of eir persistence they will get up and give em whatever ey needs.

⁹“So I say to you: ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? ¹²Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? ¹³If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Mama give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Xem!”

Queeries for the text:
How do you pray?
Who receives their necessary sustenance?
Who is indebted?
Who is in a system of injustice?
How do you provide hospitality?
Who else is persistent?
Who asks? Who searches? Who knocks?
What expectations exist regarding prayer? How are they (un)realistic?
How could a parent give a child a snake that is a fish? 

What are your queeries?

Queerying Diakonia.Faith's Pride Vigil

For diakonia.faith's Pride Vigil, the following queer(i)ed readings were used.

Queer Grief and Lament
An adaptation of Psalm 137:1-6
By the rivers of a dangerous land—there we collapsed and there we sobbed when we remembered Home.
On the willows there we hung up our instruments.
For there our oppressors asked us for songs and rainbows,
and our oppressors asked for joy, saying, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’

How could we sing the Becoming One’s song in a hostile land?
If I forget you, O Community, let my purpose and agency dissipate!
Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Queer Community above my highest joy.

Queer Anger
Suzannah Porter uses an adaption of Habakkuk 1:1-4, 12-17, 2:1-20
The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk experienced.

O Becoming One, how long shall I cry for protection from harm, and you will not listen? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save? Why do you put harm and oppression before me?

Destruction and violence are before me; oppression and inequity arise. So the law becomes twisted and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous—therefore judgment comes forth to oppress.

Are you not from all times, O Becoming One my God, my Holy One? You shall not be destroyed. O Becoming One, you have marked the people for judgment; and you, O Brick, have established consequences for those who oppress.

[…]

Your eyes are too delicate to behold evil, and you cannot hear of wrongdoing; why do you look on those who oppress, and are silent when the violent swallow those working for justice? You have made people like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler.

The enemy brings all of them up with a hook; dragging them with his wit, the enemy entraps them, and so rejoices and smirks. Therefore the enemy sacrifices to his wit and makes offerings to his trap; for by them his portion is exorbitant, and his food is rich. Is the enemy then to keep on devastating the environment, and destroying peoples without mercy?

I will stand at my lookout place, and station myself on the defenses; I will keep watch to see how he frames the narrative, and how he will respond to my criticism.

Then the Becoming One answered me and said:
Write the vision; make it plain on social media, so that a textreader may voice it. For there is still a promise for the appointed time; it speaks of the time to come, and does not lie. If it seems to stall, anticipate it; it will surely come, it will not delay.

Look at the white supremacists and nationalists! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith. Moreover, wealth is treacherous; the wealthy do not endure. They die how they live; like Death they never have enough. They gather all peoples for themselves, and exploit the nations for their own gain. Shall not everyone deride such people and, with mocking riddles, say about them, ‘Alas for you who build rocketships while Creation cries out!’

How long will you load yourselves with goods taken through extortion and exploitation? Will not your own creditors suddenly rise, and those who hold you accountable wake up? Then you will be their workers for them. Because you have exploited many peoples, all that survive of the nations shall exploit you—because of human bloodshed, and violence to the earth, to cities and all who live in them.

‘Alas for you who are slumlords and housing bankers, setting your homes in penthouses and mansions to be safe from the reach of poverty!’ You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples; you have forfeited your life. The very foundation will cry out from your house, and the plaster will respond from the woodwork.

‘Alas for you who build a sundown town by bloodshed, and found a city on redlining!’ Is it not from the Becoming One of Angel Armies that nations labor only to feed the flames of capitalism, and peoples exhaust themselves for nothing?

But the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the justice of the Becoming One, as the waters cover the sea.

‘Alas for you who make your neighbors drink, pouring out your wrath until they are drunk, in order to violate and harm!’ You will be sated with contempt instead of glory. Drink, you yourself, and become compromised! The cup in the Becoming One’s right hand will come around to you, and shame will come upon your self-aggrandizement! For the violence done to others will overwhelm you; the destruction of creation will terrify you—because of human exploitation and violence to the earth, to cities and all who live in them.

What use is an idol once its maker has shaped it—a tool of nationalism, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in what can be manipulated, though the product is only a lie meant to confuse and mislead! Alas for you who say to guns, ‘Wake up!’ to the flag, ‘Rouse yourself!’

Can it teach?

See, it is plated with capitalism, racism, and patriarchy, and there is no life in it at all.

But the Becoming One is in Their holy temple, Creation; let all the earth keep reverence before Them!

Queer Rest and Preparation
River Needham MA ThM adapts Genesis 2:1-3
Then, all the work of creating the heavens and earth were over. On this the seventh day, God completed the work that she had made. The whole host of the earth and heaven was created out of formlessness, and it was good. So, God rested. God took the seventh day and made it sacred and holy. God rested on this holy day, and it was good.

Queer Sexualities
J. Pace Warfield-May adapts Song of Songs 2:16, 4:16, 8:6-7a
My beloved is mine and I am his.

Awake, O North Wind
    and come, O South Wind.
Blow upon my garden
    that this fragrance may spread everywhere.
Come, beloved, into your garden,
    taste these pleasant fruits.

Set me as a seal upon your heart,
    as a seal upon your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
    its passion unyielding as mortality.
It burns like a blazing fire,
    like a roaring flame, it burns.
Many waters cannot quench love;
    Neither can the floods drown it.

Queer Celebration and Joy
Rev. Emily E. Ewing adapts Psalm 150
Praise the Becoming One!
Praise God in Xyr sanctuary;
    praise God in Her mighty firmament!
Praise God for Their mighty deeds;
    praise God according to Faer surpassing greatness!

Praise God with trumpet sound;
    praise Xem with lute and harp!
Praise God with tambourine and dance;
    praise Her with strings and pipe!
Praise God with clanging cymbals;
    praise Them with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that breathes praise the Becoming One!
Praise God!

Queerying Pentecost C

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Genesis 11:1-9
Everyone on earth had the same language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them hard.”—Brick served them as stone, and asphalt served them as mortar.— And they said, “Come, let us build us a city, and a tower with its top in the sky, to make a name for ourselves; or else we shall be scattered all over the world.” The Becoming One came down to look at the city and tower that humanity had built, and the Becoming One said, “If, as one people with one language for all, this is how they have begun to act, then nothing that they may propose to do will be out of their reach. Let us, then, go down and confuse their speech there, so that they shall not understand one another’s speech.” Thus the Becoming One scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel, because there the Becoming One confused the speech of the whole earth; and from there scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Queeries for the text:
How many languages exist now?
How tall would Babel have needed to be to have its top in the sky?
What purpose does babel hold?
How did these languages evolve into today?
What else can we mourn today?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: John 14:8-17, [25-27]
⁸Philip said to Jesus, “Lover, show us the Caregiver, and we will be satisfied.”

⁹Jesus said to Philip, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Caregiver. How can you say, ‘Show us the Caregiver’? ¹⁰Do you not believe that I am in the Caregiver and the Caregiver is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Caregiver who dwells in me does Xyr works. ¹¹Believe me that I am in the Caregiver and the Caregiver is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. ¹²Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Caregiver. ¹³I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Caregiver may be glorified in the Beloved. ¹⁴If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

¹⁵”If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶And I will ask the Caregiver, and Xe will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. ¹⁷This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Her nor knows Her. You know Her, because She abides with you, and She will be in you.
...

²⁵”I have said these things to you while I am still with you. ²⁶But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Caregiver will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. ²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

Queeries for the text:
When is this conversation taking place?
Why does Philip want proof?
How do you show someone the divine?
What works is Jesus talking about?
What power is in a name?
Where is the Spirit of truth today?
Who needs an Advocate?
What's missing?
What does the Holy Spirit need to remind you of?
How does the world give peace?  How does Jesus give peace?

-----

Find previous queeries for the Acts text here.

-----

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 Genesis 1:1-2:4a

For a virtual Easter Vigil project this year, I translated and shared Genesis 1:1-2:4a. I received a few requests for the translation I used, so here it is.

In beginning, when God created the heavens, the earth, and everything between and beyond ²the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

³Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness in all their goodnesses. ⁵God called the light Day, the darkness They called Night, plus Twilight, Dusk, and Dawn. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

⁶And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. ⁸God called the dome Sky, Atmosphere, Stratosphere, and Space. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

⁹And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together They called Seas, plus marshlands and beach. And God saw that it was good. ¹¹Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. ¹²The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. ¹³And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

¹⁴And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, ¹⁵and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶God made the two great lights—the louder light to rule the day and the younger light to rule the night—and the stars: constellations, galaxies, and cosmos. ¹⁷God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, ¹⁸to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness, but not too much. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

²⁰And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” ²¹So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind and even the winged birds that swarm in the waters. And God saw that it was good. ²²God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

²⁴And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. ²⁵God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind, and even the animals that creep on the ground and swarm in the water. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have responsibility over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” ²⁷So God created humankind in Their image, in the image of God They created them; male and female, between and beyond, They created them. ²⁸God blessed humanity, and God said to them, “Be fruity and multiply, and fill the earth and seduce it; and have responsibility over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”

²⁹God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. ³⁰And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” God endorsed vegetarianism, and it was so.

³¹God saw everything that They had made, and indeed, it was all very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

2Thus the heavens and the earth and everything between and beyond were spent, and all their multitude. ²And on the seventh day God finished the work that They had done, and God rested on the seventh day from all the work that They had done. ³So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that They had done in creation.

⁴These are the generations of the heavens and the earth and everything between and beyond when they were created.

Queerying Baptism of Jesus B

River Needham, MA queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Genesis 1:1-5

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

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

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

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

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

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

 

Gospel: Mark 1:4-11

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

⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰And just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. ¹¹And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Child, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Queeries for the text:

Where have I read some of this before?

What sins need to be confessed?

What happens after repentance?

What do we proclaim?

What do shoes have to do with anything?

What do heavens torn apart look like?

When else are divisions torn apart?

What has Jesus done to deserve divine pleasure?

 

What are your queeries?

 

 

Queerying 10th after Pentecost A

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

Authors Note: In the narration in this text, pronouns for Joseph are inconsistent and changing, while in the spoken words the classical he/him pronouns for Joseph are retained. How does this enhance or distract from the reading of this text? What queeries does it prompt in your mind?

Tanakh: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

Now Jacob was settled in the land where his father had sojourned, the land of Canaan.

This, then, is the line of Jacob: At seventeen years of age, Joseph tended the flocks with her brothers, as a helper to the sons of faer father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. And Joseph brought bad reports of them to their father.  Now Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for fae was the child of his old age; and he had made them a princess dress. And when her brothers saw that their father loved faer more than any of her brothers, they hated them so that they could not speak a friendly word to her.

[...]

One time, when faer brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flock at Shechem, Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing at Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” 

Joseph answered, “I am ready.”

And Israel said to Joseph, “Go and see how your brothers are and how the flocks are faring, and bring me back word.” So he sent faer from the valley of Hebron. When they reached Shechem, a man came upon her wandering in the fields. 

The man asked them, “What are you looking for?”

She answered, “I am looking for my brothers. Could you tell me where they are pasturing?”

The man said, “They have gone from here, for I heard them say: Let us go to Dothan.” So Joseph followed faer brothers and found them at Dothan. They saw them from afar, and before she came close to them they conspired to kill faer.

They said to one another, “Here comes that dreamer!

Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we can say, ‘A savage beast devoured him.’ We shall see what comes of his dreams!”

But when Reuben heard it, he tried to save them from them. He said, “Let us not take his life.”

And Reuben went on, “Shed no blood! Cast him into that pit out in the wilderness, but do not touch him yourselves”—intending to save her from them and restore faer to their father.

When Joseph came up to her brothers, they stripped Joseph of faer dress, the princess dress that they were wearing, and took her and cast faer into the pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

Then the brothers sat down to a meal. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels bearing gum, balm, and ladanum to be taken to Egypt.

Then Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain by killing our brother and covering up his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let us not do away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed.

When Midianite traders passed by, they pulled Joseph up out of the pit. They sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who brought Joseph to Egypt.

Queeries for the text:
What is missing from this passage?

What does it mean to be the favorite son? What are the consequences?

What's that about a princess dress? Why is that important?

What is the difference between Ruben's intention and impact?

What are current responses to human trafficking?

Who is most affected by human trafficking?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33

²²Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.

²⁵And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. ²⁶But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is an apparition!” And they cried out in fear.

²⁷But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

²⁸Peter answered him, “Guide, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹Jesus said, “Come.”

So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. ³⁰But when Peter noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Guide, save me!”

³¹Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught Peter, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³²When they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

³³And those in the boat worshiped Jesus, saying, “Truly you are the Divine One.”

Queeries for the text:

Who values solitude?

How did the disciples think Jesus would catch up with them on the sea?

What ghosts haunt us today?  What messages do they have for us?

Why does Peter need proof?

How is the strong wind blowing today?

Who is beginning to sink now?

Who else has little faith?  What good is little faith?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 9th after Pentecost A

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

Tanakh: Genesis 32:22-31
That same night [Jacob] arose, and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven children, he crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After taking them across the stream, he sent across all his possessions. Jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. When the man saw that he had not prevailed against Jacob, he wrenched Jacob’s hip at its socket, so that the socket of his hip was strained as the man wrestled with him.

Then the man said, “Let me go, for dawn is breaking.”

But he answered, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.”

Said the other, “What is your name?”

He replied, “Jacob.” 

 

The man said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with beings divine and human, and have prevailed.” 

 

Jacob asked, “Pray tell me your name.” 

 

But he said, “You must not ask my name!” The man took leave of Jacob there. 

So Jacob named the place Peniel, meaning, “I have seen a divine being face to face, yet my life has been preserved.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping on his hip. That is why the children of Israel to this day do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the socket of the hip, since Jacob’s hip socket was wrenched at the thigh muscle.

Queeries for the text:
What is wealth in this text? What about today?

What does it mean to be alone? How long had it been since Jacob was alone?

Who do we fight at nighttime?
Are there erotic overtones?

How are names important? What names do you wear?

How do we change names?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21

¹³Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from his hometown in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴When Jesus went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.

¹⁵When it was evening, the disciples came to Jesus and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

¹⁶Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”

¹⁷They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.”

¹⁸And Jesus said, “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, Jesus looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. ²¹And those who ate were about five thousand cisgender men, not to mention the women, children, queer folks, and transgender people.

Queeries for the text:

What did Jesus hear?
Why did the disciples wait until the hour was late?
Who tries to hoard or protect resources?
Who is giving them something to eat?
What is nothing?
When else does Jesus bless and break bread?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 8th after Pentecost A

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

Tanakh: Genesis 29:15-28

Laban said to Jacob, “Just because you are kin, should you serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?”

Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older one was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah had weak eyes; Rachel was shapely and beautiful. Jacob loved Rachel; so he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 

Laban said, “Better that I give her to you than that I should give her to an outsider. Stay with me.” 

So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time is fulfilled, that I may cohabit with her.” Laban gathered all the people of the place and made a feast. When evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and he cohabited with her.— Laban had given his maidservant Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maid.— When morning came, there was Leah! So he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I was in your service for Rachel! Why did you deceive me?” 

Laban said, “It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the older. Wait until the bridal week of this one is over and we will give you that one too, provided you serve me another seven years.”

Jacob did so; he waited out the bridal week of the one, and then he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife.

Queeries for the text:
Where is God?

What kinds of exchanges occur for weddings?
Who do we call weak? What does weakness mean?

What does a Jewish Wedding look like?

What is agency?

What cultural influences shape weddings today?

What tradition did this story create that continues to this day?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 7th after Pentecost A

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

Tanakh: Genesis 28:10-19a

Jacob left Beer-sheba, and set out for Haran.

He came upon a certain place and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. He had a dream; a stairway was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky, and angels of God were going up and down on it. And the Becoming One was standing beside him and Xe said, “I am the Becoming One, the God of your ancestor Abraham and the God of Rebecca: the ground on which you are lying I will assign to you and to your offspring. Your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your descendants. Remember, I am with you: I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Becoming One is present in this place, and I did not know it!”

Shaken, he said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven.”

Early in the morning, Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He named that site Bethel; but previously the name of the city had been Luz. 

Queeries for the text:
Where did this story take place?
When did this story take place?
Did this story take place?
Who are angels?

Who are God's Messengers Today?

What does the assigning of the land mean? Who is captivated by the land?

Why did Jacob anoint the Rock?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

²⁴Jesus put before the disciples another parable: “The reign of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in their field; ²⁵but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. ²⁷And the slaves of the owner came and said to them, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’

²⁸They answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’

The slaves said to them, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’

²⁹But they replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

^...

³⁶Then Jesus left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”

³⁷Jesus answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Human One; ³⁸the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the reign; the weeds are the children of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Human One will send Their angels, and they will collect out of Their reign all causes of sin and all evildoers, ⁴²and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the reign of their Maker. Let anyone with ears listen!”

Queeries for the text:

What's missing?

What makes you uncomfortable in this passage?

What needs uprooting?

Who is human?

What is the difference between consequences and punishment?

How does context and interpretation matter?

How does listening happen without ears?

What are your queeries?