Queerying Reign of Christ the Queen C

Brooke McLain and Annie Porter musically queery the RCL readings.

How do you experience distance and closeness in your relationship with God?

How does God shelter us?

How does God strengthen you in difficult times?

Who are the faithful antiheroes in your life? 

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River Needham, MA ThM 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, 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. And 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—says the Becoming One—when I will raise up a true branch of David’s line. Xe shall reign as sovereign and shall prosper, and xe shall do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah shall be delivered and Israel shall dwell secure. And this is the name by which xe shall be called: “The Becoming One is our Vindicator.”

Queeries for the text:
Where have people strayed and scattered?
What is the solution?
Who are the shepherds?
What is the true branch of David's line?
Who needs vindication?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 23:33-43
³³When Jesus, the Roman soldiers, and the crowd came to the place that is called The Skull, the Roman soldiers crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.

³⁴Then Jesus said, “Caregiver, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And the Roman soldiers cast lots to divide his clothing. ³⁵And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders of the people scoffed at Jesus, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, the chosen one!”

³⁶The soldiers also mocked Jesus, 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 Jesus, “This is the King of the Jews.”

³⁹One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding Jesus and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

⁴⁰But the other rebuked the first, 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 one has done nothing wrong.” ⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

⁴³Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Queeries for the text:
Where are the criminals?
How do we cast lots?
Who else is told to save themselves?
What do we inscribe over others?
What do we deserve?
Who has done nothing wrong?
Who is remembered? Who needs to be?
Who is re-membered? Who needs to be?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 19th after Pentecost C

Suzannah Porter and Brooke McLain musically queery the RCL readings.

How does dealing with the past help to move into the future?

How can scripture strengthen against injustice?

How does proof-texting justify harm?

How do you persist for justice?  How does justice persist against you?

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Pace Warfield-May queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Jeremiah 31:27-34
²⁷The days are surely coming, says the Becoming One, when I will plant seeds of humans and animals in the two houses of my people, the houses of Israel and Judah.

²⁸And just as I've tended over them to pluck, break down, overthrow, destroy, and bring evil, so I will continue to tend over them to build up and to plant, says the Becoming One.

²⁹In those days there will no longer be the saying, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, or the children must have the bad karma of their parents" ³⁰Rather, all shall die for their own harm, the bad apples will remain in the rotten tree that sprouted them."

³¹ The days are surely coming, says the Becoming One, when I will make a new covenant, a new unbreakable promise, with the houses of Israel and Judah. ³²It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I, like a gentle lover, held them by their hand to guide them out of the land of Egypt--a promise that they broke, though I was and remain their committed partner, says the Becoming One. ³³But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Becoming One: I will write my law within them, bind it to their DNA, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be God, their beloved, and they shall be my people, my beloveds. ³⁴No longer shall they have to teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the Becoming One" for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Becoming One; for I will wipe away the barriers that separate them, and remember their harm no more."'

Queeries for the text:
What is the context for this passage?
What is karma?
What would this day to come look like?
What else is written in our DNA?
How does one cheat on God?
What does it mean for God to be your beloved partner?
What barriers separate us from one another?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 18:1-8
Then Jesus told his chosen family a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. ²He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. ³In that city there was a widow who kept coming to the judge and saying, ‘Avenge me against my adversary.’ ⁴For a while he refused; but later the judge said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, ⁵yet because this widow keeps coming at me, I will avenge her, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” ⁶And the Leader said, “Listen to what the corrupt judge says. ⁷And will not God avenge her favorites who cry to her day and night? Will she delay long in having patience with them? ⁸I tell you, she will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Human One comes, will they find faith on earth?”

Queeries for the text:
What did we skip?
Whose heart is being lost?
What do judges do?
Who neither fears God nor respects people?
Who annoys the powerful?
What happens when you continually come?
What is justice? Who cries to whom for justice? 

What are your queeries?



 

Queerying 16th after Pentecost C

Suzannah Porter and Brooke McLain musically queery the RCL readings.

 What have you learned about trusting in God through trials and tribulations?

In whom as God shown up when you have faced turbulence?

What treasures do we store up when we set our hopes on God?

How does God invite us to join in flipping the script?

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River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
The word which came to Jeremiah from the Becoming One in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the prison compound attached to the palace of the king of Judah.For King Zedekiah of Judah had confined him, saying, “How dare you prophesy."

[...]

Jeremiah said: The word of the Becoming One came to me:
Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you and say, “Buy my land in Anathoth, for you are next in succession to redeem it by purchase.”

And just as the Becoming One said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the prison compound and said to me, “Please buy my land in Anathoth, in the territory of Benjamin; for the right of succession is yours, and you have the duty of redemption. Buy it.”

Then I knew that it was indeed the word of the Becoming One. So I bought the land in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. I wrote a deed, sealed it, and had it witnessed; and I weighed out the silver on a balance. I took the deed of purchase, the sealed text and the open one according to rule and law, and gave the deed to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah in the presence of my kindred Hanamel, of the witnesses who were named in the deed, and all the Judeans who were sitting in the prison compound.

In their presence I charged Baruch as follows:
Thus said the The Becoming One, ruler of angel armies, the God of Israel: “Take these documents, this deed of purchase, the sealed text and the open one, and put them into an earthen jar, so that they may last a long time.” For thus said the Becoming One, Ruler of angel armies, the God of Israel: “Houses, fields, and vineyards shall again be purchased in this land.”

Queeries for the text:
Who is stuck in the prison compound?
What is missing from this passage?
How do we value land?
How do we redeem?
What does it mean to be a kindred?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 16:19-31
Jesus said:
¹⁹“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. ²⁰And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, ²¹who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. ²²The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.

²³In Hades, where the no-longer-rich, dead man was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. ²⁴He called out, ‘Daddy Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’

²⁵But Abraham said, ‘Little one, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. ²⁶Besides all this, between you and us a grand canyon has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’

²⁷He said, ‘Then, Daddy, I beg you to send him to my Papa’s house— ²⁸for I have five brothers—that he may serve me and warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’

²⁹Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’

³⁰He said, ‘No, Daddy Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

³¹Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Queeries for the text:
What did we skip? How can it be good to skip?
Why is purple so special?
Who receives scraps from the table?
How do dogs comfort and heal?
How does the rich man's contempt continue after death?
How does God flip the script?
Where are grand canyons today?
What would startle you into repentance?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 15th after Pentecost C

Suzannah Porter and Brooke McLain musically queery the RCL readings.

For what sorrows and wounds are you calling out to God to soothe?

How will humans need redemption for blessings being squandered now?

How do you pray for people who abuse their power?

How does prioritizing financial security prevent faithful living?

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River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Jeremiah 8:18-9:1
When in grief I would seek comfort,
My heart is sick within me.
“Is the Becoming One in Zion?
Is not her Sovereign within her?
Why then did they anger Me with their images,
with alien futilities?”

Hark! The outcry of my poor people
from the land far and wide:
“Harvest is past,
summer is gone,
but we have not been saved.”
Because my people are shattered I am shattered;
I am dejected, seized by desolation.
Is there no balm in Gilead?
Can no physician be found?
Why has healing not yet
come to my poor people?
Oh, that my head were water,
My eyes a fount of tears!
Then would I weep day and night
for the slain of my poor people.

Oh, to be in the desert,
at an encampment for wayfarers!
Oh, to leave my people,
to go away from them—
for they are all adulterers,
a band of rogues.

Queeries for the text:
Who is in mourning?
What is the outcry of "my poor people"?
What is the Balm in Gilead?
What is the physician doing?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 16:1-13
Then Jesus said to his chosen family, “There was a rich man who had a steward, and charges were brought to him that this steward was wasting his possessions. ²So the rich man summoned them and said to them, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your stewardship, because you cannot be my steward any longer.’

³Then the steward said to themself, ‘What will I do, now that my Proprietor is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to do unskilled labor, and I am ashamed to ask for what I need. ⁴I have decided what to do so that, when I am fired as steward, people may welcome me into their homes.’

⁵So, summoning their Proprietor’s debtors one by one, they asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my Proprietor?’

⁶The first answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’

They said to that one, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, remove the interest, and make it fifty.’

⁷Then they asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’

The other replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’

They said to that one, ‘Take your bill, remove the interest, and make it eighty.’

⁸And the Proprietor commended the corrupt steward because they had acted wisely; for the children of this age are more wise in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. ⁹And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of corrupt securities so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the everlasting homes.

¹⁰“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is corrupt in a very little is corrupt also in much. ¹¹If then you have not been faithful with the corrupt securities, who will entrust to you what is genuine? ¹²And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? ¹³No domestic servant can serve two Proprietors; for they will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and securities.”

Queeries for the text:
What did we skip?
When else was there a rich man?
Who stewards for the rich?
Who brought the charges against the steward?
Who is strong enough for unskilled labor?
Who changes debt?
What has corrupt securities?
How do you make friends?
What is another's?
What is your own?

What are your queeries?



 

Queerying 14th after Pentecost C

Suzannah Porter and Brooke McLain musically queery the RCL readings.

What do you pray for the wind of God to blow through and sweep away?

What are we running from when we engage in sin?

How does God's mercy released you from regrets?

How is God protecting you and searching for you, even in your lostness, waiting for you to come home?

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River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
At that time, it shall be said concerning this people and Jerusalem:
The conduct of My poor people is like searing wind
from the bare heights of the desert—
it will not serve to winnow or to fan.
A full blast from them comes against Me:
now I in turn will bring charges against them.

[...]

For My people are willfully ignorant,
they give Me no heed;
they are foolish children,
they are not intelligent.
They are clever at doing wrong,
but unable to do right.
I look at the earth,
it is unformed and void;
at the skies,
and their light is gone.
I look at the mountains,
they are quaking;
and all the hills are rocking.
I look: no human is left,
and all the birds of the sky have fled.
I look: the farm land is desert,
and all its towns are in ruin—
because of the Becoming One,
because of Xyr blazing anger.

For thus said the Becoming One:
the whole land shall be desolate,
but I will not make an end of it.
For this the earth mourns,
and skies are dark above—
because I have spoken, I have planned,
and I will not relent or turn back from it.

Queeries for the text:
What is missing from this pericope?
What slurs can we eradicate from our language?
When else was the Earth unformed and void?
Who suffers when mountains quake?
What might the end of humanity look like?
Why won't the Becoming One relent or turn Xyr back from desolation?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 15:1-10
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. ²And the religious leaders were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³So Jesus told them this parable: ⁴“Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until you find it? ⁵When you have found it, you lay it on your shoulders and rejoice. ⁶And when you come home, you call together your friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ ⁷Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

⁸“Or what woman having ten silver coins, a daily wage each, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹When she has found it, she calls together her gal pals, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ ¹⁰Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Queeries for the text:
What did we skip?
What did tax collectors do?
Who are "sinners"?
Who grumbles today?
What would shepherds do?
How do we rejoice with others?
Which sheep repented? Which coin?
What prompts you to clean the house?
Who repents?

What are your queeries?



 

Queerying 13th after Pentecost C

Our newest segment: Suzannah Porter and Brooke McLain musically queery the RCL readings.

What does this week's lectionary tell us about what Jesus will do for our lives?

What changes, from God and from my own self, do I need to open myself up to?

What fearful and wonderful things about who you are has God been waiting, on the edge of Xyr seat with joy, for you to grow into?

What in our past can we now seek to make amends for? To whom can we reach out for reparation and reconciliation?

What things must we let go of in order to build a better life that honors ourselves, our community, and our God?

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River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Jeremiah 18:1-11
The word which came to Jeremiah from the Becoming One:
“Go down to the house of a potter, and there I will impart My words to you.”
So I went down to the house of a potter, and found her working at the wheel.
And if the vessel she was making was spoiled, as happens to clay in the potter’s
hands, she would make it into another vessel, such as the potter saw fit to make.

Then the word of the Becoming One came to me:
O House of Israel, can I not deal with you like this potter?—says the Becoming One. Just like clay in the hands of the potter, so are you in My hands, O House of Israel!
At one moment I may decree that a nation or a state shall be uprooted and pulled down and destroyed; but if that nation against which I made the decree turns back from its wickedness, I change My mind concerning the punishment I planned to bring on it.
At another moment I may decree that a nation or a state shall be built and planted;
but if it does what is displeasing to Me and does not obey Me, then I change My mind concerning the good I planned to bestow upon it.

And now, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus said the Becoming One:
I am devising disaster for you and laying plans against you. Turn back, each of you,
from your wicked ways, and mend your ways and your actions!

Queeries for the text:
What do potters make today?
How can we make something new out of mistakes?
How have people mistreated the earth?
What hope is there to avoid disaster?

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While many of these are the same as were accidentally queeried last week, there are a few different queeries and a different translation to explore.

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 14:25-33
²⁵Now large crowds were traveling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, ²⁶“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. ²⁷Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. ²⁸For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether you have enough to complete it? ²⁹Otherwise, when you have laid a foundation and are not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule you, ³⁰saying, ‘This one began to build and was not able to finish.’ ³¹Or what ruler, going out to wage war against another ruler, will not sit down first and consider whether they are able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against them with twenty thousand? ³²If they cannot, then, while the other is still far away, they send a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. ³³So therefore, none of you can become my chosen family if you do not give up all your possessions.

Queeries for the text:
What did we skip?
Who hates family?
How are nonbinary people uniquely lovable?
Who hates life?
How do humans hate life?
How are building cost estimates inaccurate?
Who actually builds towers?
How is peace negotiated?
What harm does war cause?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 11th after Pentecost C

River Needham, MA ThM 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 a hand and touched my mouth, and said to me:
Now 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:
How did the word of the Becoming One come?
Who is still a boy?
What are Christians afraid of?
What needs to be destroyed and rebuilt, overthrown and planted?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 13:10-17
¹⁰Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. ¹¹And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” ¹³When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.

¹⁴But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.”

¹⁵But the Leader answered the synagogue leader and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie their ox or their donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? ¹⁶And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” ¹⁷When Jesus said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

Queeries for the text:
How often is Jesus active on the Sabbath?
What does it mean to be crippled?
How are people bent?
How do ailments bind? How don't they?
What is Sabbath for?
What is shameful today? 

What are your queeries?

Queerying 4th after Epiphany C

River Needham, MA ThM 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 Itself!
I don’t know how to speak,
For I am still a boy.
And the Becoming 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 Her 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:
What nations does this author refer to?
Who are the prophets?
What is God saying today?
What can we build and plant?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 4:21-30
²¹Then Jesus began to say to the crowd gathered in the synagogue, “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:
Which scripture?
Who is spoken well of today? Who speaks well of others?
What expectations do we place on helpers?
What did God do in Zarephath?
What did God do to Namaan?
How do some people fill with rage so quickly?
How do people pass through the midst of crowds? 

What are your queeries?


 

Queerying Advent 1C

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Jeremiah 33:14-16
See, days are coming—declares the Becoming One—when I will fulfill the promise that I made concerning the House of Israel and the House of Judah. In those days and at that time, I will raise up a true branch of David’s line, and he shall do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah shall be delivered and Jerusalem shall dwell secure. And this is what she shall be called: “The Becoming One is our Vindicator.”

Queeries for the text:
What is the context of this passage?
For what do we wait?
What prevents Jerusalem dwelling secure?
What other questions might we ask?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 21:25-36
Jesus said:
²⁵“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. ²⁶People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷Then they will see ‘the Human One coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. ²⁸Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

²⁹Then Jesus told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; ³⁰as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. ³¹So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the reign of God is near. ³²Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. ³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

³⁴“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, ³⁵like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Human One.”

Queeries for the text:
What signs are in the sun, moon, and stars?
What powers are the heavens shaking?
Who comes with power and great glory in a cloud?
How near is the reign of God? Can we help it?
Who has passed away?
What weighs down your heart?
How do you stay alert?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Reformation B

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Jeremiah 30:31-34
See, a time is coming—declares the Becoming One—when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors, when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, a covenant which they broke, though I espoused them—declares the Becoming One. But such is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel after these days—declares the Becoming One: I will put My teaching into their inmost being and inscribe it upon their hearts. Then I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No longer will they need to teach one another and say to one another, “Heed the Becoming One”; for all of them, from the least of them to the greatest, shall heed Me—declares the Becoming One.

Queeries for the text:
What possibilities for new covenants exist in the text?
What does it mean to inscribe on the heart?
Who are My people?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: John 8:31-36
³¹Then Jesus said to the Jewish people who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; ³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

³³They answered Jesus, “We are descendants of Abraham and Sarah and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”

³⁴Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is enslaved to sin. ³⁵The enslaved person does not have a permanent place in the household; the child has a place there forever. ³⁶So if the Child makes you free, you will be free indeed.

Queeries for the text:
What is Jesus' word?
How is history selective?
Who is enslaved today?
Which children don't have a permanent place in the household?
What could freedom look like?

What are your queeries?

 

Queerying Lent 5B

River Needham, MA queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Jeremiah 31:31-34

Look, the time will come, the Becoming One said, when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors, when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, a covenant which they broke, though I adopted them - says the Becoming One. But such is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel after these days—declares the Becoming One: I will put my teaching into their inmost being and inscribe it upon their hearts. Then I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer will they need to teach one another and say to one another, “Heed the Becoming One”; for all of them, from the least of them to the greatest, shall heed Me—declares the Becoming One. For I will forgive their iniquities, and remember their sins no more. 

Queeries for the text:
What is a covenant?
What covenants are important today?
Where do Jewish People write God's teaching?
What does it mean to remember sin?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

 

 

Gospel: John 12:20-33 

²⁰Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. ²¹They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Mister, we wish to see Jesus.” ²²Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 

²³Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Human One to be glorified. ²⁴Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for everlasting life. ²⁶Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Holy Parent will honor.

²⁷“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Holy Parent, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. ²⁸Holy Parent, glorify your name.” 

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 

²⁹The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Jesus.” 

³⁰Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. ³¹Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. ³²And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” ³³Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. 

Queeries for the text:

Which festival?

Who knew the game of telephone dated back to pre-electricity?

How does wheat grow?  How does it die?

What does it mean to hate?

Who has hope to be saved? Whose hour?

When has God glorified Zer name?

What does God sound like?

What did Jesus' drawing look like?

 

What are your queeries?

 

 

Queerying Christmas 2

River Needham, MA queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Jeremiah 31:7-14

For thus said the Becoming One: cry out in joy for Jacob, shout at the crossroads of the nations! Sing aloud in praise, and say: Save, O Becoming One, Your people, the remnant of Israel. I will bring them in from the northland, gather them from the ends of the earth— the blind and the lame among them, those with child and those in labor— in a vast throng they shall return here. They shall come with weeping, with compassion will I guide them. I will lead them to streams of water, by a level road where they will not stumble. For I am ever a Parent to Israel, Ephraim is My first-born.

Hear the word of the Becoming One, O nations, tell it in the isles afar. Say: the one who scattered Israel will gather them, and will guard them as a shepherd their flock. For the Becoming One will ransom Jacob, redeem him from one too strong for him. They shall come and shout on the heights of Zion, radiant over the bounty of the Becoming One—over new grain and wine and oil, over sheep and cattle. They shall fare like a watered garden, they shall never languish again. Then shall maidens dance gaily, young men and old alike. I will turn their mourning to joy, I will comfort them and cheer them in their grief. I will give the priests their fill of fatness, and My people shall enjoy My full bounty —declares the Becoming One.

Queeries for the text:
Where is the crossroads of the nations?
How might disabled people receive and respond to this passage? How might different people receive and respond to this passage?

Why are level roads important?
Where else do watered gardens show up?
What does it mean to dance gaily?
How is fatness positive?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

 

 

Gospel: John 1:1-18

 

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²The Word was in the beginning with God. ³All things came into being through Her, and without Her not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴in the Word was life, and the life was the light of all people. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. 

 

⁶There was a person sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷John came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through the light. ⁸John himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. ⁹The true light, which makes everyone vivid, was coming into the world. 

 

¹⁰The true light was in the world, and the world came into being through Faer; yet the world did not know Faer. ¹¹The light came to what was Faen own, and Faen own people did not accept Faer. ¹²But to all who received the light, who believed in Faen name, the light gave power to become children of God, ¹³who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of a man, but of God. 

 

¹⁴And the Word became flesh and pitched Her tent among us, and we have seen the glory of the Word, the glory as of a parent’s only child, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵(John testified to the Word and cried out, “This was the one of whom I said, ‘The One who comes after me ranks ahead of me because She was before me.’”) ¹⁶From the Word's fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Child, who is close to the Parent’s heart, who has made God known.

 

Queeries for the text:

Who is the Word?

How are light and darkness in conflict? How do they work together?

How can light be unaccepted?

What is the will of those who are not men?

What is a child's glory?

Why does John the Testifier like riddles so much?

Where is grace and truth in law?

 

What are your queeries?

 

 

Queerying Christmas 2A

River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Jeremiah 31:7-14
 
For thus said the Becoming One: cry out in joy for Jacob, shout at the crossroads of the nations!
Sing aloud in praise and say: Save, O Becoming One, your people, the remnant of Israel.
I will bring them in from the northland, gather them from the ends of the earth —
   the blind and the lame among them, those with child and those in labor —
   in a vast throng they shall return here. They shall come with weeping,
and with compassion will I guide them. I will lead them to streams of water, by a level road
where they will not stumble. For I am ever a Parent to Israel, Ephraim is my first-born.
Hear the word of the Becoming One, O nations, and tell it in the isles afar.
Say: The one who scattered Israel will gather them, and will guard them as a shepherd her flock.
For the Becoming One will ransom Jacob, redeem him from one too strong for him.
They shall come and shout on the heights of Zion, radiant over the bounty of the Becoming One —
over new grain and wine and oil, and over sheep and cattle. They shall fare like a watered garden,
they shall never languish again. Then shall maidens dance gaily, young and old alike.
I will turn their mourning to joy, I will comfort them and cheer them in their grief.
I will give the priests their fill of fatness, and my people shall enjoy my full bounty —
declares the Becoming One.

Queeries for the text:
What is the crossroads of the nations?
Which remnant of Israel is Jeremiah talking about here?
How does the way we talk about people with disabilities matter?
Why are they weeping when they return?
Where else are Shepherds in the Prophets?
Where else does mourning turn to something joyful?
Why is fatness important? What connotations came with fatness?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: John 1:[1-9] 10-18

[¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²The Word was in the beginning with God. ³All things came into being through Them, and without Them not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴in the Word was life, and the life was the light of all people. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
  ⁶There was a person sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸John himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. ⁹The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.]
  ¹⁰The true light was in the world, and the world came into being through Them; yet the world did not know Them. ¹¹The light came to what was Their own, and Their own people did not accept Them. ¹²But to all who received the light, who believed in Their name, the light gave power to become children of God, ¹³who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
  ¹⁴And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen the glory of the Word, the glory as of a parent’s only child, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵(John testified to the Word and cried out, “This was the one of whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me ranks ahead of me because they were before me.’”) ¹⁶From the Word's fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Child, who is close to the Parent’s heart, who has made God known.

Queeries for the text:
Who is the Word?
How does Word become flesh?
What is true light?
What is the law?
How do we testify?

What are your queeries?