Queerying Reign of Christ the Queen C

River Needham queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Jeremiah 23:1-6

Ah, shepherds who let the flock of my pasture stray and scatter!—declares the Becoming One. Assuredly, thus said the Becoming One, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who should tend my people: It is you who let my flock scatter and go astray.

You gave no thought to them, but I am going to give thought to you, for your wicked acts—declares the Becoming One, and I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have banished them, and I will bring them back to their pasture, where they shall be fertile and increase.
I will appoint over them shepherds who will tend them; they shall no longer fear or be dismayed, and none of them shall be missing—declares the Becoming One.

See, a time is coming—declares the Becoming One—when I will raise up a true branch of David’s line. Ze shall reign as sovereign and shall prosper, and ze shall do what is just and right in the land. In hir days Judah shall be delivered and Israel shall dwell secure. And this is the name by which ze shall be called: “The Becoming One is our Vindicator.”

Queeries for the text:
Who are shepherds?
Who are sheep?
Where is God gathering hir sheep from?
What does it mean that none shall be missing?
Who is the true branch of David's line?
When did this line end? When might it start again?
Where else have nations dwelt secure?
Where is the land?
Where else do people serve as vindicators?
Who else has been scattered?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 23:33-43

³³When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁴Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing. ³⁵And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” ³⁶The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, ³⁷and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” ³⁸There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” ³⁹One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Queeries for the text:
Like Jesus, what other queens are lynched today?
Like Jesus, what other queens are lynched today?
Like Jesus, what other queens are lynched today?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 17th after Pentecost C

Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Lamentations 1:1-5

Alas! Lonely sits the city that was once great with people! She that was great among nations has become like a widow. The princess among states has become a thrall. Bitterly she weeps in the night, her cheek wet with tears. There is none to comfort her of all her friends. All her allies have betrayed her; they have become her foes. Judah has gone into exile because of misery and harsh oppression; When she settled among the nations, she found no rest; all her pursuers overtook her in the narrow places. Zion's roads are in mourning, empty of festival pilgrims; all her gates are deserted. Her priests sigh, her maidens are unhappy—she is utterly disconsolate! Her enemies are now the masters, her foes are at ease, because the Becoming One has afflicted her for her many transgressions; her infants have gone into captivity before the enemy.

Queeries for the text:
What cities were once great with people?
Who weeps bitterly in the night? Why?
Who has been betrayed?
Who is in exile?
Where are there roads in mourning?
Where are the gates deserted?
Who is disconsolate?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 17:5-10
⁵The apostles said to the Powerful One, “Increase our faith!”

⁶The Powerful One replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

⁷“Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? ⁸Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? ⁹Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? ¹⁰So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’”

Queeries for the text:
What did we skip? Why might that be?
How does someone go about increasing someone else's faith?
What does Jesus' question imply about slavery?
(How) is slavery (in)compatible with following Jesus?
What sort of environment do mulberry trees need to grow?
Who among us has slaves?
Who does and who doesn't get a place at the table?

What are your queeries?

Remembering Pulse: Words at a Vigil

Below are my words from the Pulse Vigil that took place this evening at The Blazing Saddle in Des Moines.  I was one of three speakers and simultaneous translation and interpretation were provided in Spanish and ASL, so I only have the English below.

-----

Buenas noches.  Good evening.

I'm Pastor Emily Ewing and I'm the Social Justice Pastor at Trinity las Américas United Methodist Church.  My pronouns are they/them/theirs, elle.

Today, my queerly beloved, we gather on land originally inhabited by the Ioway, Sauk, and Meskwaki peoples to remember violence perpetrated on the land of the Seminole people.

The attack on Pulse night club on Latinx night was a decidedly “American” attack—born from a country that weds the dominant religious ideology and white supremacy.  This country combines the evils of racism and queer- and transphobia and in recent years has been even more explicitly encouraging them.

The ways this country has historically and still today perpetuated and even created newly horrific forms of racism, queerphobia and transphobia, especially under the name of Christianity and “religious freedom” are sin.  Racism is sin.  White supremacy is sin.  Queerphobia is sin.  Transphobia is sin.  Heterosexism and cisgenderism are sin.

They harm everyone.

Just as immigration and the evils of ICE and Border Patrol don’t just impact those living along the borders, what happened at Pulse is not restricted to Orlando.  White supremacists and neo Nazis have been physically disrupting Prides this year.  In recent months we have heard again of Black trans women being killed in Dallas, of yet another Latina trans woman dying in detention while seeking asylum, and this is all to say nothing of the murders that don’t make our news.

And so we gather.

Again and again we gather.

We gather to support and encourage each other.

We gather to remember the lives we have lost—the ones unjustly taken from us.

We gather to challenge the powers and principalities that seek to do harm—to oppress, divide, and diminish especially the most marginalized among us.

In my Lutheran tradition, when someone is baptized or confirmed—recommitting themselves to their faith journey—we celebrate and we also make space to renounce the forces that divide and harm us and the world.  So, if you are willing, please join me when appropriate by responding to my questions with “I renounce them.”  Not every renunciation will apply to each one of us gathered here, but especially when it comes to systems and powers that you benefit from or that you want tonight to commit to challenging, please join in the renunciation.  The decision is entirely yours to do as you feel moved.

Do you, my queerly beloveds, renounce queerphobia, homophobia, and biphobia?

I renounce them.

Do you renounce racism, white supremacy, and xenophobia?

I renounce them.

Do you renounce transphobia, cisgenderism, and the gender binary?

I renounce them.

Do you renounce all forms of religious bigotry, religious extremism, and religious supremacy?

I renounce them.

Do you renounce the shame that others impose and use to condemn?

I renounce them.

Do you renounce the powers and principalities that attempt to divide and conquer us?

I renounce them.

Recommitting ourselves to the work of justice, of love, and of peace takes all of us—calling each other in when we mess up, supporting and carrying each other when we cannot go it alone, ensuring the most vulnerable among us are safe and centered in the work we do, and also celebrating both when there are victories and when the victory is simply that we are still here to fight another day—celebrating even in the face of those who would seek to harm us.

So, to you my queerly beloveds,

who come from the rich, nourishing dirt of the earth

and the brilliant, sparkling stardust scattered throughout the cosmos

you, who bear the divine image, love, and wonder in all of who you are,

and in all of who you are becoming:

May you remember and work to honor those no longer with us—

from the early resisters, rioters, and brick throwers

like Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson

to those whose lives were taken at Pulse
to those who are killed still today—

may your living do them justice and honor them

May you know that you are loved—oh so very loved—

that you are lovable,
and that you are capable of so much love.

May you know sacred spaces throughout your life—

from queer bars to faith communities,
from parks and coffee shops to gardens and shelters.

May you always know that you belong,

that you are valid,

and that your existence in the world is important.

Amen.

Queerying Easter 3C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Acts and Gospel readings.

Acts 9:1-6 [7-20]
Meanwhile Saul,

still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of Jesus,

went to the high priest
²and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus,

so that if Saul found any who belonged to the Way, of any gender,

he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

³Now as Saul was going along and approaching Damascus,

suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,

“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

⁵Saul asked,

“Who are you, Sovereign?”

The reply came,

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

⁶But get up and enter the city,
and you will be told what you are to do.”

[⁷The ones who were traveling with Saul stood speechless

because they heard the voice but saw no one.

⁸Saul got up from the ground,

and though his eyes were open,

he could see nothing;

so they led Saul by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

⁹For three days Saul was without sight,

and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias.

The Sovereign said to him in a vision,

“Ananias.”

Ananias answered,

“Here I am, Sovereign.”

¹¹The Sovereign said to Ananias,

“Get up and go to the street called Straight,

and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul.

At this moment he is praying,

¹²and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in
and lay his hands on Saul so that he might regain his sight.”

¹³But Ananias answered,

“Sovereign, I have heard from many about this man,

how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem;

¹⁴and here he has authority from the chief priests

to bind all who invoke your name.”

¹⁵But the Sovereign said to Ananias,

“Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen

to bring my name before Gentiles and rulers
and before the people of Israel;

¹⁶I myself will show Saul how much he must suffer

for the sake of my name.”

¹⁷So Ananias went and entered the house.

He laid his hands on Saul and said,

“Brother Saul,

the Sovereign Jesus,

who appeared to you on your way here,

has sent me so that you may regain your sight

and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

¹⁸And immediately something like scales fell from Saul's eyes,

and his sight was restored.

Then he got up and was baptized,

¹⁹and after taking some food,

Saul regained his strength.

For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus,

²⁰and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying,

“Jesus is the One born of God.”]

Queeries for the text:
Who breathes threats and murder against faithful people today?
How do we persecute Jesus today?
How much evil is done while thinking it is for God?
How is blindness a gift for Saul?
Why would anyone want a street (or anything) called Straight?
How much must Saul suffer for the sake of the Holy Name?
When do we begin to call him Paul?
When have we encountered the Divine?  Do we recognize it?  Do we name it as such?

-----

Gospel: John 21:1-19
After these things

Jesus showed themself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias;

and they showed themself in this way.

²Gathered there together were Simon Peter,

Thomas called the Twin,
Nathanael of Cana in Galilee,
the sons of Zebedee,
and two others of the disciples.

³Simon Peter said to them,

“I am going fishing.”

They said to him,

“We will go with you.”

They went out and got into the boat,

but that night they caught nothing.

⁴Just after daybreak,

Jesus stood on the beach;

but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

⁵Jesus said to them,

“Children, you have no fish, have you?”

They answered Jesus,

“No.”

⁶Jesus said to them,

“Cast the net to the right side of the boat,

and you will find some.”

So they cast it,

and now they were not able to haul it in

because there were so many fish.

⁷That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter,

“It is the Sovereign!”

When Simon Peter heard that it was Jesus,

he put on some clothes, for he was naked,

and jumped into the sea.

⁸But the other disciples came in the boat,

dragging the net full of fish,

for they were not far from the land,

only about a hundred yards off.

⁹When they had gone ashore,

they saw a charcoal fire there,

with fish on it, and bread.

¹⁰Jesus said to them,

“Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”

¹¹So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore,

full of large fish,

a hundred fifty-three of them;

and though there were so many,

the net was not torn.

¹²Jesus said to them,

“Come and have breakfast.”

Now none of the disciples dared to ask Jesus,

“Who are you?”

because they knew it was the Sovereign.

¹³Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them,

and did the same with the fish.

¹⁴This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples

after being raised from the dead.

¹⁵When they had finished breakfast,

Jesus said to Simon Peter,

“Simon son of John,

do you love me more than these?”

Simon Peter said to Jesus,

“Yes, Sovereign;

you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him,

“Feed my lambs.”

¹⁶A second time Jesus said to him,

“Simon son of John,

do you love me?”

Simon Peter said to Jesus,

“Yes, Sovereign;

you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him,

“Tend my sheep.”

¹⁷Jesus said to Simon Peter the third time,

“Simon son of John,

do you love me?”

Peter felt hurt because Jesus said to him the third time, “Do you love me?”

And Peter said to Jesus,

“Sovereign, you know everything;

you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him,

“Feed my sheep.

¹⁸Very truly, I tell you,

when you were younger,

you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished.

But when you grow old,

you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will fasten a belt around you
and take you where you do not wish to go.”

¹⁹(Jesus said this to indicate

the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.)

After this Jesus said to him,

“Follow me.”

Queeries for the text:
How many times will Jesus show themself to the disciples?
Why did Simon Peter want to go fishing?
Do the fishing disciples always follow instructions and advice from strangers they don't recognize?
How does the Beloved Disciple know it's Jesus?
Why is Simon Peter in such a rush to get to Jesus?
Why does the disciple whom Jesus loves wait for the boat to get to short to see Jesus?
Why does Jesus want more fish if some was already on the fire?
Why 153?
How many times must Jesus appear for the disciples to get it?
Why does Jesus ask Simon Peter three times?

What are your queeries?

Good Friday year C

Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12

“Indeed, my servant shall prosper,

be exalted and raised to great heights.

Just as the many were appalled—

so marred was his appearance, unlike any form,

beyond human semblance

just so he shall startle many nations.

Kings shall be silenced because of him,

for they shall see what has not been told them,

shall behold what they never have heard.”

“Who can believe what we have heard?

Upon whom has the arm of the Becoming One been revealed?

For he has grown, by God's favor, like a tree crown,

like a tree trunk out of arid ground.

He had no form or beauty, that we should look at him:

no charm, that we should find him pleasing.

He was despised, shunned by all, a man of suffering, familiar with disease.

As one who hid his face from us, he was despised, we held him of no account.

Yet it was our sickness that he was bearing,

our suffering that he endured.

We accounted him plagued, smitten and afflicted by God;

but he was wounded from our sins,

crushed from our iniquities.

He bore the chastisement that made us whole,

by his bruises we were healed.

We all went astray like sheep, each going their own way;

the Becoming One visited upon him the guilt of all of us.”

He was maltreated, yet he was submissive, he did not open his mouth;

like a sheep being led to slaughter,

like a ewe, dumb before those who shear her,

he did not open his mouth.

By oppressive judgment he was taken away, who could describe his abode?

For he was cut off from the land of the living through the sin of people,

who deserved the punishment.

And his grave was set among the wicked,

and with the rich, in his death—

though he had done no injustice and had spoken no falsehood.

But the Becoming One chose to crush him by disease,

that, if he made himself an offering for guilt,

he might see offspring and have long life,

that through him the Becoming One's purpose might prosper.

Out of his anguish he shall see it;

he shall enjoy it to the full through his devotion.

“My righteous servant makes the many righteous,

it is their punishment that he bears.

Assuredly, I will give him the many as his portion,

he shall receive the multitude as his spoil.

For he exposed himself to death and was numbered among the sinners,

whereas he bore the guilt of the many and made intercession for sinners.”

Queeries for the text:
Who does this text talk about? When has or will this person come?
Who is speaking in this text? Does it matter?
Does this person fulfill a political role, a religious role, or something else entirely?
What kind of healing does Messiah bring?
What is the sin for which Messiah was hurt?
Are the Becoming One's actions justified? Why or Why not?
What kinds of atonement theory are in place in this text? How are they reconciled with belief in a just God?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading, broken into parts as they would be used for a tenebrae service.

Gospel: John 18:1-11
After Jesus had spoken these words,

he went out with his disciples

across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden,

which he and his disciples entered.

²Now Judas,

who betrayed Jesus,

also knew the place,

because Jesus often met there with his disciples.

³So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers

together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees,

and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

⁴Then Jesus,

knowing all that was to happen to him,

came forward and asked them,

“Whom are you looking for?”

⁵They answered,

“Jesus of Nazareth.”

Jesus replied,

“Here I AM.”

Judas, who betrayed Jesus,

was standing with them.

⁶When Jesus said to them, “Here I AM,”

they stepped back and fell to the ground.

⁷Again Jesus asked them,

“Whom are you looking for?”

And they said,

“Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁸Jesus answered,

“I told you that here I AM.

So if you are looking for me,

let these others go.”

⁹This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken,

“I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me.”

¹⁰Then Simon Peter,

who had a sword,

drew it,

struck the high priest’s slave,

and cut off his right ear.

The slave’s name was Malchus.

¹¹Jesus said to Peter,

“Put your sword back into its sheath.

Am I not to drink the cup that the Loving Parent has given me?”

Queeries for the text:
How are soldiers and police connected to religious folks?
What happened to Malchus' ear?  Why was Malchus there?

--

Gospel: John 18:12-27
¹²So the soldiers, their officer, and the Judean police

arrested Jesus and bound him.

¹³First they took Jesus to Annas,

who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,

the high priest that year.

¹⁴Caiaphas was the one who had advised the religious authorities

that it was better to have one person die for the people.

¹⁵Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.

Since that disciple was known to the high priest,

they went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest,

¹⁶but Peter was standing outside at the gate.

So the other disciple,

who was known to the high priest,

went out,
spoke to the woman who guarded the gate,
and brought Peter in.

¹⁷The woman said to Peter,

“You are not also one of this man’s disciples,

are you?”

Peter said,

“I am not.”

¹⁸Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold,

and they were standing around it
and warming themselves.

Peter also was standing with them and warming himself.

¹⁹Then the high priest questioned Jesus

about his disciples and about his teaching.

²⁰Jesus answered,

“I have spoken openly to the world;
I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple,

where all the Jewish people come together.

I have said nothing in secret.

²¹Why do you ask me?

Ask those who heard what I said to them;

they know what I said.”

²²When Jesus had said this,

one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying,

“Is that how you answer the high priest?”

²³Jesus answered,

“If I have spoken wrongly,

testify to the wrong.

But if I have spoken rightly,

why do you strike me?”

²⁴Then Annas sent Jesus bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

²⁵Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself.

Those gathered asked him,

“You are not also one of his disciples,

are you?”

Peter denied it and said,

“I am not.”

²⁶One of the slaves of the high priest,

a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off,

asked,

“Did I not see you in the garden with him?”

²⁷Again Peter denied it,

and at that moment the cock crowed.

Queeries for the text:
Which disciple knew the high priest?  How did they know Caiaphas?
How should police be treated?
Was Peter too cocky during dinner?

--

Gospel: John 18:28-40
²⁸Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters.

It was early in the morning.

They themselves did not enter the headquarters,

so as to avoid ritual defilement

and to be able to eat the Passover.

²⁹So Pilate went out to them and said,

“What accusation do you bring against this one?”

³⁰They answered,

“If this man were not a criminal,

we would not have handed him over to you.”

³¹Pilate said to them,

“Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.”

The Judeans replied,

“We are not permitted to put anyone to death.”

³²(This was to fulfill what Jesus had said

when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.)

³³Then Pilate entered the headquarters again,

summoned Jesus, and asked him,

“Are you the King of the Jews?”

³⁴Jesus answered,

“Do you ask this on your own,

or did others tell you about me?”

³⁵Pilate replied,

“I am not Jewish, am I?

Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me.

What have you done?”

³⁶Jesus answered,

“My kingdom is not from this world.

If my kingdom were from this world,

my followers would be fighting

to keep me from being handed over to the Judeans.

But as it is,

my kingdom is not from here.”

³⁷Pilate asked him,

“So you are a king?”

Jesus answered,

“You say that I am a king.

For this I was born,

and for this I came into the world,

to testify to the truth.

Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

³⁸Pilate asked him,

“What is truth?”

After Pilate had said this,

he went out to the Judeans again and told them,

“I find no case against him.

³⁹But you have a custom

that I release someone for you at the Passover.

Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?”

⁴⁰They shouted in reply,

“Not this man,

but Barabbas!”

Now Barabbas was a terrorist.

Queeries for the text:
What is truth?
What does it mean to be called King (of the Jews)?
What kind of terrorists exist today?

--

Gospel: John 19:1-7
Then Pilate took Jesus

and had him flogged.
²And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns

and put it on his head,

and they dressed him in a purple robe.

³The soldiers kept coming up to Jesus, saying,

“Hail, King of the Jews!”

and striking him on the face.

⁴Pilate went out again and said to them,

“Look,

I am bringing him out to you

to let you know that I find no case against him.”

⁵So Jesus came out,

wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.

Pilate said to them,

“Here is the one!”

⁶When the chief priests and the police saw Jesus,

they shouted,

“Crucify him!
Crucify him!”

Pilate said to them,

“Take him yourselves and crucify him;

I find no case against him.”

⁷The Judeans answered Pilate,

“We have a law,

and according to that law he ought to die

because he has claimed to be the Son of God.”

Queeries for the text:
What's the difference between Son of God and child of God?
Why did Pilate have Jesus beaten and mocked when found no case against him? Who is beaten and mocked today?
Where were the rest of the people?

--

Gospel: John 19:8-16a
⁸Now when Pilate heard this,

he was more afraid than ever.

⁹Pilate entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus,

“Where are you from?”

But Jesus gave him no answer.

¹⁰Pilate therefore said to him,

“Do you refuse to speak to me?

Do you not know that I have power to release you,
and power to crucify you?”

¹¹Jesus answered Pilate,

“You would have no power over me

unless it had been given you from above;

therefore the one who handed me over to you

is guilty of a greater sin.”

¹²From then on Pilate tried to release Jesus,

but the Judeans cried out,

“If you release this man,

you are no friend of the emperor.

Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.”

¹³When Pilate heard these words,

he brought Jesus outside
and sat on the judge’s bench

at a place called The Stone Pavement,

or in Hebrew Gabbatha.

¹⁴Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover;

and it was about noon.

Pilate said to the Judeans,

“Here is your King!”

¹⁵They cried out,

“Away with him! Away with him!
Crucify him!”

Pilate asked them,

“Shall I crucify your King?”

The chief priests answered,

“We have no king but the emperor.”

¹⁶Then Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

Queeries for the text:
What power do we think we have?  Who actually hands Jesus over?
Who is "King" for "Christians"?  What about those who claim to be Queens?

--

Gospel: John 19:16b-22
So they took Jesus;

¹⁷and carrying the cross by himself,

Jesus went out to what is called The Place of the Skull,

which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.

¹⁸There they crucified Jesus,

and with him two others,

one on either side,

with Jesus between them.

¹⁹Pilate also had an inscription written
and put on the cross.

It read,

“Jesus of Nazareth,

the King of the Jews.”

²⁰Many of the Judeans read this inscription,

because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city;

and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.

²¹Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate,

“Do not write,

‘The King of the Jews,’

but, ‘This man said,

I am King of the Jews.’”

²²Pilate answered,

“What I have written I have written.”

Queeries for the text:
How does the Hebrew matter?
Why was the place for the crucifixion of Jesus near the city?
What is the authority of the written word?

--

Gospel: John 19:23-30
²³When the soldiers had crucified Jesus,

they took his clothes and divided them into four parts,

one for each soldier.

They also took his tunic;

now the tunic was seamless,

woven in one piece from the top.

²⁴So they said to one another,

“Let us not tear it,

but cast lots for it to see who will get it.”

This was to fulfill what the scripture says,

“They divided my clothes among themselves,

and for my clothing they cast lots.”

²⁵And that is what the soldiers did.

Meanwhile,

standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother,
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene.

²⁶When Jesus saw his mother
and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her,

he said to his mother,

“Woman, here is your son.”

²⁷Then he said to the disciple,

“Here is your mother.”

And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

²⁸After this,

when Jesus knew that all was now finished,

he said (in order to fulfill the scripture),

“I am thirsty.”

²⁹A jar full of sour wine was standing there.

So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop
and held it to his mouth.

³⁰When Jesus had received the wine, he said,

“It is finished.”

Then Jesus bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Queeries for the text:
How have soldiers divided bounty since then?  With what did the soldiers leave Jesus on the cross?
Where's the rest of Jesus' family?  Siblings?
What is finished? What did Jesus give up?

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Gospel: John 19:31-42
³¹Since it was the day of Preparation,

the Judeans did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath,

especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity.

So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken

and the bodies removed.

³²Then the soldiers came

and broke the legs of the first
and of the other who had been crucified with him.

³³But when they came to Jesus
and saw that he was already dead,

they did not break his legs.

³⁴Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear,

and at once blood and water came out.

³⁵(The one who saw this has testified

so that you also may believe.

This one's testimony is true,

and they know that they tell the truth.)

³⁶These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled,

“None of his bones shall be broken.”

³⁷And again another passage of scripture says,

“They will look on the one whom they have pierced.”

³⁸After these things,

Joseph of Arimathea,

who was a disciple of Jesus,

though a secret one because of his fear of the Judeans,

asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus.

Pilate gave him permission;

so Joseph came and removed Jesus' body.

³⁹Nicodemus,

who had at first come to Jesus by night,

also came,

bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes,

weighing about a hundred pounds.

⁴⁰They took the body of Jesus

and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths,

according to the Jewish burial custom.

⁴¹Now there was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified,

and in the garden there was a new tomb

in which no one had ever been laid.

⁴²And so,

because it was the Jewish day of Preparation,
and the tomb was nearby,

they laid Jesus there.

Queeries for the text:
Why was that sabbath so solemn?
How can you be a secret disciple? How much did Nicodemus' myrrh and aloe cost?!
Does it matter if the tomb had been used?  Was it a tomb of convenience?

What are your queeries?

Maundy Thursday year C

Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Exodus 12:1-4 [5-10] 11-14.
The Becoming One said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:

This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months;

it shall be the first of the months of the year for you.

Speak to the whole community of Israel and say that on the tenth of this month

each of them shall take a lamb to a family, a lamb to a household.

But if the household is too small for a lamb, let him share one with a neighbor who

dwells nearby in proportion to the number of persons: you shall contribute for

the lamb according to what each household will eat.

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a yearling male;

you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

You shall keep watch over it until the fourteenth day of this month;

and all the assembled congregation of the Israelites shall slaughter it at twilight.

They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel

of the houses in which they are to eat it.

They shall eat the flesh that same night;

they shall eat it roasted over the fire,

with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs.

Do not eat any of it raw, or cooked in any way with water,

but roasted—head, legs, and entrails—over the fire.

You shall not leave any of it over until morning;

if any of it is left until morning, you shall burn it.

This is how you shall eat it:

your loins girded,

your sandals on your feet,

and your staff in your hand;

and you shall eat it hurriedly:

it is a passover offering to the Becoming One.
For that night I will go through the land of Egypt

and strike down every first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast;

and I will mete out punishments to all the gods of Egypt,

I the Becoming One.

And the blood on the houses where you are staying shall be a sign for you:

when I see the blood I will pass over you,

so that no plague will destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

This day shall be to you one of remembrance: you shall celebrate it as a festival to

the Becoming One throughout the ages;

you shall celebrate it as an institution for all time.

Queeries for the text:
Does time rebegin in this text? How does time change in this text?
What do cooperative economics look like in this text? In different cultures? Today?
Why were the preparation instructions not a required part of the assigned reading?
Why is cooking it with water explicitly verboten?
Are there any meals we eat hurriedly today? Why do we hurry?
Who are the gods of Egypt? Why does the Becoming One need to mete out punishments to them? What do they do?
What is the significance of blood? Why does God upend the social structure, where Egyptians benefit from the slavery of the Israelites? What might this imply for our social structure today?
Are there any additional plagues? Does this complicate God's instruction? Who was Batyah? Why is she important?
What is the significance of passover to Christians?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Now before the festival of the Passover,

Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world

and go to the Loving Parent.

Having loved his own who were in the world,

Jesus loved them to the end.

²The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas

son of Simon Iscariot to betray him.

And during supper ³Jesus,

knowing that the Loving Parent had given all things into his hands,

and that he had come from God and was going to God,

⁴got up from the table,
took off his outer robe,
and tied a towel around himself.

⁵Then Jesus poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.

⁶Jesus came to Simon Peter, who said to him,

“Master, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus answered,

“You do not know now what I am doing,

but later you will understand.”

⁸Peter said to Jesus,

“You will never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered,

“Unless I wash you,

you have no share with me.”

⁹Simon Peter said to him,

“Master, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”

¹⁰Jesus said to Simon Peter,

“One who has bathed does not need to wash,

except for the feet,

but is entirely clean.

And you are clean,

though not all of you.”

¹¹For Jesus knew who was to betray him;

for this reason he said,

“Not all of you are clean.”

¹²After Jesus had washed their feet,
had put on his robe,
and had returned to the table,
he said to them,

“Do you know what I have done to you?

¹³You call me Teacher and Master—and you are right,

for that is what I am.

¹⁴So if I, your Master and Teacher, have washed your feet,

you also ought to wash one another’s feet.

¹⁵For I have set you an example,

that you also should do as I have done to you.

¹⁶Very truly, I tell you,

slaves are not greater than their master,

nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them.

¹⁷If you know these things,

you are blessed if you do them.”

³¹“Now the Human One has been glorified,

and God has been glorified in them.

³²If God has been glorified in the Human One,

God will also glorify the Human One in Godself
and will glorify them at once.

³³Little children,

I am with you only a little longer.

You will look for me;

and as I said to the Judeans so now I say to you,

‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’

³⁴I give you a new commandment,

that you love one another.

Just as I have loved you,

you also should love one another.

³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,

if you have love for one another.”

Queeries for the text:
What's missing?
Why is John's gospel always hating on Judas?
What was under Jesus' outer robe?  How big was the towel?
Why would Jesus wash everyone's feet?
Do we ever really know what Jesus is doing?
What kind of master and slave are we talking about?  Was Jesus kinky?  A power bottom?
How has the Human One been glorified?  How is God glorified in humanity?
What can it look like to love one another?  What about those outside of the community?  How do we fail at Jesus' new commandment?

What are your queeries?

Lent 3 year C

On the afternoon of 15 March 2019, a White Supremacist inspired by politicians in the United States opened fire in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. As people trained in the Christian tradition, which often functions in Islamophobic and White Supremacist ways, we repudiate White Supremacy and Islamophobia in the strongest possible terms. Our queeries this week are in honor of those who died, may Allah open the highest levels of paradise to them.

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Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Isaiah 55:1-9

Ho, all who are thirsty, come for water,

even if you have no money;

Come, buy food and eat: buy food without money,

wine and milk without cost.

Why do you spend money for what is not bread,

Your earnings for what does not satisfy?

Give heed to Me, and you shall eat choice food and enjoy the richest viands.

Incline your ear and come to Me; Hearken, and you shall be revived.

And I will make with you an everlasting covenant,

The enduring loyalty promised to David.

As I made him a leader of peoples,

a prince and commander of peoples,

So you shall summon a nation you did not know,

and a nation that did not know you shall come running to you

For the sake of the Becoming One your God,

The Holy One of Israel who has glorified you.

Seek the Becoming One while Ey can be found,

Call to Em while Ey is near.

Let the wicked give up her ways,

The sinful one her plans;

Let her turn back to the Becoming One,

And Ey will pardon her;

To our God, for Ey freely forgives.

For My plans are not your plans,

Nor are My ways your ways —declares the Becoming One.

But as the heavens are high above the earth,

So are My ways high above your ways

And My plans above your plans.

Queeries for the text:
What genre is this text?
What is a viand?
What do we hunger and thirst for today?
How might Muslim people give heed to Allah? Do Christians have similar practices?
What does the beginning of this text refer to? What does that look like in other faiths?
What kind of summoning does this text refer to? Which country will be called?
What are the conditions of forgiveness? How are they culturally conditioned?
To whom does the last stanza refer? Is it the same "you" throughout this passage?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 13:1-9
At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans

whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

²Jesus asked them,

“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way

they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?

³No, I tell you;

but unless you repent,

you will all perish as they did.

⁴Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—

do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?

⁵No, I tell you;

but unless you repent,

you will all perish just as they did.”

⁶Then Jesus told this parable:

“A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard;

and he came looking for fruit on it and found none.

⁷So he said to the gardener,

‘See here!

For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree,

and still I find none.

Cut it down!

Why should it be wasting the soil?’

⁸The gardener replied,

‘Sir, let it alone for one more year,

until I dig around it and put manure on it.

⁹If it bears fruit next year, well and good;

but if not, you can cut it down.’”

Queeries for the text:
At which "very time"?
Does Jesus know what Paul will write?
How else is Jesus clear about victim blaming?
What are compassionate responses to those who have been killed?
Who is in need of compassion and action?
What do we need to confess and repent of?
How long does it take a tree to bear fruit?
Why do men think they know how everything should work?
Is God the gardener?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 4th after Epiphany year C

Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Jeremiah 1:4-10
The word of the Becoming One came to me:

Before I created you in the womb, I selected you;

Before you were born, I consecrated you;

I appointed you a prophet concerning the nations.

I replied: Ah, Becoming GOD!

I don’t know how to speak, for I am still a boy.

And the Becoming One said to me: Do not say, “I am still a boy,”

but go wherever I send you and speak whatever I command you.

Have no fear of them, For I am with you to deliver you —declares the Becoming One.

The Becoming One put out Faer hand and touched my mouth, and the Becoming One said to me:

Here I put My words into your mouth.

See, I appoint you this day over nations and kingdoms:

to uproot and to pull down,

to destroy and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.

Queeries for the text:
Who and what else is consecrated?
Who is the Becoming GOD? How is Fae different from the Becoming One? What might this difference signify?
Who are the nations for Jeremiah? Who are they today?
What would a prophet to the nations say today?
Who else struggles with words?
Where in the Tanakh is the first boy? What does Islam teach about him? What is the significance of these first two boys? What does it say about God?
Where else do we see God's finger?
What is the significance of the triad of pairs at the end?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 4:21-30
²¹Then Jesus began to say to all in the synagogue of Nazareth,

“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

²²All spoke well of Jesus

and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They said,

    “Is not this Joseph’s son?”

²³Jesus said to them,

“Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb,

‘Doctor, cure yourself!’

And you will say,

‘Do here also in your hometown

the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’”

²⁴And Jesus said,

“Truly I tell you,

no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown.

²⁵But the truth is,

there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah,

when the heaven was shut up three years and six months,

and there was a severe famine over all the land;

²⁶yet Elijah was sent to none of them

except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.

²⁷There were also many lepers in Israel

in the time of the prophet Elisha,

and none of them was cleansed

except Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸When they heard this,

all in the synagogue were filled with rage.

²⁹They got up,

drove Jesus out of the town,

and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built,

so that they might hurl him off the cliff.

³⁰But Jesus passed through the midst of them

and went on his way.

Queeries for the text:
What happened before this?
Why is Jesus offended at their amazement?
What does Joseph have to do with Jesus' proclamation?
Where is Zaraphath?  What happened to the widow?
How was Namaan cleansed?
Why were they filled with rage?
Was it a hill or a cliff?
What does the brow of a hill look like?
How did Jesus pass through the midst of them?
When does Jesus pass through the midst of us to go on his way?

What are your queeries?