Queerying 4th after Pentecost B

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: 1 Samuel 17:32-49

David said to Saul, “Let no person's courage fail them. Your servant will go and fight that Philistine!”

But Saul said to David, “You cannot go to that Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth!”

David replied to Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep, and if a lion or a bear came and carried off an animal from the flock, I would go after it and fight it and rescue it from its mouth. And if it attacked me, I would seize it by the beard and strike it down and kill it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and that uncircumcised Philistine shall end up like one of them, for he has defied the ranks of the living God.

The Becoming One,” David went on, “who saved me from lion and bear will also save me from that Philistine.” “Then go,” Saul said to David, “and may the Becoming One be with you!”

Saul clothed David in his own garment; he placed a bronze helmet on his head and fastened a breastplate on him.

David girded his sword over his garment. Then he tried to walk; but he was not used to it. David said to Saul, “I cannot walk in these, for I am not used to them.” So David took them off.

He took his stick, picked a few smooth stones from the wadi, put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag and, sling in hand, he went toward the Philistine.

The Philistine, meanwhile, was coming closer to David, preceded by his shield-bearer.

When the Philistine caught sight of David, he scorned him, for he was but a boy, ruddy and handsome.

And the Philistine called out to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?” The Philistine cursed David by his gods; and the Philistine said to David, “Come here, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.”

David replied to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come against you in the name of the Becoming God of Angel Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel, whom you have defied.

This very day the Becoming One will deliver you into my hands. I will kill you and cut off your head; and I will give the carcasses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. All the earth shall know that there is a God in Israel.

And this whole assembly shall know that the Becoming One can give victory without sword or spear. For the battle is the Becoming One's, and Femme will deliver you into our hands.”

When the Philistine began to advance toward him again, David quickly ran up to the battle line to face the Philistine.

David put his hand into the bag; he took out a stone and slung it. It struck the Philistine in the forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.

Queeries for the text:
What makes things scary? What are the big scary things in your life?
What is a wadi?

Why did the Philistine die?

How does God make Femmes will come to be?

Where is God's preferential option?

Where do we celebrate death today?
 

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Mark 4:35-41
³⁵On that day, when evening had come, Jesus said to his chosen family, “Let us go across to the other side.”

³⁶And leaving the crowd behind, they took Jesus with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. ³⁷A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.

³⁸But Jesus was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and his chosen family woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

³⁹Jesus woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. ⁴⁰He said to his chosen family, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”

⁴¹And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Queeries for the text:
On which day?
When does Jesus call us to cross to the other side?
Who do we take just as they are?
When is weather dangerous?
What have you slept through?
Who is perishing?
Why are we afraid?  Where is our faith?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Holy Trinity B

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I beheld my Queen seated on a high and lofty throne; and the skirts of Femmes robe filled the Temple. Seraphs provided Femme with service. Each of them had six wings: with two they covered her face, with two he covered their genitals, and with two she would fly. 

 

One would call to the other, “Holy, holy, holy! The Queen of Angel Armies! Femmes presence fills all the earth!” The doorposts would shake at the sound of the one who called, and the house kept filling with smoke. 

I cried, “Woe is me; I am lost! For I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my own eyes have beheld the Queen, God of Angel Armies.” 

Then one of the seraphs flew over to me with a live coal, which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. They touched it to my lips and declared, “Now that this has touched your lips, Your guilt shall depart and your sin be purged away.” 

Then I heard the voice of my Queen saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” 

I said, “Here am I; send me.”

Queeries for the text:
Who is my Queen?
What does it mean to be high and lofty?

Who provides service?

What's filling the house with smoke?

How are our lips unclean?

What about our lips is unclean?

What sins must be purged?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

 

 

Gospel: John 3:1-17

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jewish people. ²He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” 

 

³Jesus answered Nicodemus, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the reign of God without being born from above.” 

 

⁴Nicodemus said to Jesus, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the parent’s womb and be born?” 

 

⁵Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the reign of God without being born of water and breath. ⁶What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the breath is breath. ⁷Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ ⁸The breath breathes where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the breath.” 

 

⁹Nicodemus said to Jesus, “How can these things be?” 

 

¹⁰Jesus answered Nicodemus, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 

 

¹¹“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. ¹²If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Human One. ¹⁴And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Human One be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever believes in that one may have eternal life. 

 

¹⁶“For God so loved the world that Femme gave Femmes only Child, so that everyone who believes in Them may not perish but may have everlasting life. 

 

¹⁷“Indeed, God did not send the Child into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Them.”

 

Queeries for the text:

Have we read this before?

Which signs does Jesus do?

What kind of biblical interpretation did Nicodemus do?

What is born of water?

What is breath, wind, and spirit?

Whose testimony is refused?

How might the world be saved?

What's the rest of the story? 

Why does today matter?

 

What are your queeries?

 

 

 

 

 

Queerying Easter 6B

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Acts reading.

 

 

First Reading: Acts 10:44-48

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. ⁴⁵The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, ⁴⁶for they heard them speaking as foreigners and extolling God. Then Peter said, ⁴⁷“Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” ⁴⁸So Peter ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

 

Queeries for the text:

What was Peter "still speaking" about?  To whom?

How much of a klutz is the Holy Spirit?

How do foreigners speak?

Upon whom are you astounded that the Holy Spirit has been poured out?

Who tries to withhold water?

How is reception of the Holy Spirit different for each person?

 

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Guest queerier, Pace Warfield-May, queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: John 15:9-17
[Jesus said]
⁹"As the Caretaker has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you will abide and dwell in my love, just as I have kept my Caretaker's commandments and abide and dwell in Zer love. ¹¹I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

¹²This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵I do not call you subs any longer, because the sub does not know what the dom is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Caretaker. ¹⁶You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Caretaker will give you whatever you ask Zer in my name. ¹⁷I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Queeries for the text:
What does queer friendship look like?
How does slave/master language cause harm?
What do power dynamics have to do with friendship?
What commands do friends give each other?
What does complete joy look like?

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?