Queerying Narrative Lectionary 132

Rev. Emily E. Ewing and Pace Warfield-May queery the Narrative Lectionary.

Matthew 20:1-16
“For the reign of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for their vineyard. ²After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, they sent them into the vineyard.

³When they went out about nine o’clock, they saw others standing idle in the marketplace ⁴and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.

⁵When the landowner went out again about noon and about three o’clock, they did the same. ⁶And about five o’clock they went out and found others standing around and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’

⁷They said to the landowner, ‘Because no one has hired us.’

The landowner said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’

⁸When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to their manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ ⁹When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage.

¹⁰Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. ¹¹And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, ¹²saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ ¹³But the landowner replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? ¹⁴Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. ¹⁵Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ ¹⁶So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Queeries for the text:
What is this text building on?
What is the accompanying text?
Where is this going?
How would the world be different if no one were forced to work in order to survive?
Why didn't anyone hire the 5pm laborers? What impact did finally getting hired have on them?
What happens if God is the person at 5pm with no work?
Who is the real enemy?
What does friend mean? Why did the landowner only respond to one of the workers?
What if no one was last or first?

What are your queeries?


 

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 17th after Pentecost C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 17:5-10
⁵The sent ones said to the Leader, “Increase our faith!”

⁶The Leader 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 the one you enslaved 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 them, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’?

⁹“Do you thank the person you enslaved for doing what they have been ordered? ¹⁰So you also, when you may have done all that you have been 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?
Who has faith?
What is a mustard seed like?
What grows in the sea?
Who among you has people you enslaved?
How do humans exploit labor?
Who does what was ordered? 

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 Easter 4C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Acts reading.

Acts 9:36-43
³⁶Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good action and generous giving. ³⁷At that time she became ill and died. When the community had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs.

³⁸Since Lydda was near Joppa, the Sent Ones, who heard that Peter was there, sent two who were men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” ³⁹So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them.

⁴⁰Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. ⁴²This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lover.

⁴³Meanwhile Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

Queeries for the text:
Where is Joppa?
Why does Tabitha's Greek name matter?
What are good works and generous giving?
Of what did Tabitha die? Was she pregnant?
What was Peter doing in Lydda?
Who makes the clothing now?
Which "certain Simon"? How long does Peter stay?

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J. Pace Warfield-May queeries the Revelation reading.

Revelation 7:9-17
⁹After these things, I looked, and holy shit there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in Vantablack, with palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰They cried out in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation and an end to suffering belongs to the Becoming One who is seated on the judgment bench, and to the Lamb!”

¹¹ And all the angels stood around the throne and around the ancestors and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped the Becoming One, ¹²singing, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our Becoming One forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³Then one of the ancestors addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in Vantablack, and where have they come from?” ¹⁴I said to the ancestor, "Comrade, you are the one that knows." Then the ancestor said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them Vantablack in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵For this reason they are before the throne of the Becoming One, and worship day and night within the temple, and the One who is seated on the judgment bench will keep them safe and protected. ¹⁶They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not burn them, nor any scorching heat; ¹⁷for the Lamb at the center of the judgment bench will be their shepherd, and They will guide them to springs of the water of life, and the Becoming One will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Queeries for the text:
What are these things John is referencing?
What would it be like to fear no more the heat of the sun?
What does the judgement bench have to do with salvation and an end to suffering?
What would it be like to have robes in Vantablack?

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What are your queeries?



 

Queerying Palm/Passion C

 Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 19:28-40
²⁸After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. ²⁹When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of the disciples, ³⁰saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Becoming One needs it.’”

³²So those who were sent departed and found it as Jesus had told them. ³³As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

³⁴They said, “The Becoming One needs it.” ³⁵Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.

³⁶As Jesus rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. ³⁷As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the chosen family began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, ³⁸saying, “Blessed is the ruler who comes in the name of the Becoming One! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”

³⁹Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.”

⁴⁰Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

Queeries for the text:
After Jesus had said what?
Why a colt that has never been ridden?
Where are the palms?
Who benefits from silence? 

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Gospel: Luke 21:37-22:16
³⁷Every day Jesus was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called. ³⁸And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him in the temple.

22Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. ²The religious authorities were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people. ³Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; ⁴he went away and conferred with the religious authorites and officers of the temple police about how he might betray Jesus to them. ⁵They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him money. ⁶So he consented and began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus to them when no crowd was present.

⁷Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. ⁸So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.”

⁹They asked Jesus, “Where do you want us to make preparations for it?”

¹⁰“Listen,” Jesus said to them, “when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow them into the house they enter ¹¹and say to the owner of the house, ‘The teacher asks you, “Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ ¹²The owner will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there.”

¹³So they went and found everything as Jesus had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal. ¹⁴When the hour came, Jesus took his place at the table, and the chosen family with him. ¹⁵He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the dominion of God.”

Queeries for the text:
What else happens in the temple?
What is Passover? What isn't it?
Who colludes with police? How is Satan at work?
How is antisemitism at play?
What kind of man carries water?
Who prepares room for unknown strangers?
How is it fulfilled? How is it not?

What are your queeries?


  
 

Queerying Advent 3C

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Zephaniah 3:14-20
Shout for joy, fair Zion,
cry aloud, O Israel!
Rejoice and be glad with all your heart,
fair Jerusalem!
The Becoming One has annulled the judgment against you,
She has swept away your foes.
Israel’s Sovereign, the Becoming One, is within you;
you need fear misfortune no more.
In that day,
this shall be said to Jerusalem:
Have no fear, O Zion;
let not your hands droop!
Your God the Becoming One is in your midst,
a warrior who brings triumph.
She will rejoice over you and be glad,
She will shout over you with jubilation.
She will soothe with Her love
those long disconsolate.
I will take away from you the woe
over which you endured mockery.
At that time I will make an end
of all who afflicted you.
And I will rescue the crippled sheep
and gather the strayed;
and I will exchange their disgrace
for fame and renown in all the earth.
At that time I will gather you,
and at that time I will bring you home;
for I will make you renowned and famous
among all the peoples on earth,
when I restore your fortunes
before their very eyes
—said the Becoming One.

Queeries for the text:
What is crip?
What about crip joy?
How does God love?
How can fame end?
Why must fortunes be restored?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 3:7-18
⁷John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Hagar and Sarah. ⁹Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰And the crowds asked John, “What then should we do?”

¹¹In reply John said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”

¹²Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”

¹³John said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”

¹⁴Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?”

John said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

¹⁵As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, ¹⁶John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of that one's sandals. The one who is coming will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷The winnowing fork is in hand, to clear the threshing floor and to gather the wheat into the granary; but the chaff will be burned with unquenchable fire.” ¹⁸So, with many other exhortations, John proclaimed the good news to the people.

Queeries for the text:
What's a brood of vipers?
What else comes from stones?
What happens to trees in fire?
Who has two coats? Who has none? How many coats do you have?
Who takes economic advantage today?
What other questions make their home in the heart?
What kind of sandals?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 21st after Pentecost B

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Mark 10:35-45
³⁵James and John, called the sons of Thunder, whose father was Zebedee, came forward to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”

³⁶And Jesus said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?”

³⁷And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”

³⁸But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

³⁹They replied, “We are able.”

Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; ⁴⁰but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

⁴¹When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. ⁴²So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. ⁴³But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must serve you, ⁴⁴and whoever wishes to be first among you must become enslaved to all. ⁴⁵For the Human One came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Queeries for the text:
What did we skip?
What would you ask of Jesus?
What cup does Jesus drink? With what baptism is Jesus baptized?
Who overestimates their ability?
Who is great today?
Who offers a ransom?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 5th after Pentecost A

River Needham M.A. queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67

“I am Abraham’s servant,” Eliezer began. “The Becoming One has greatly blessed my employer, and he has become rich: Xe has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, servants of many genders, camels and asses. And Sarah, my employer’s wife, bore my employer a son in her old age, and he has assigned to him everything he owns. Now my employer made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell; but you shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.’
[...]
“I came today to the spring, and I said: O Becoming One, God of my employer Abraham, if You would indeed grant success to the errand on which I am engaged! As I stand by the spring of water, let the young woman who comes out to draw and to whom I say, ‘Please, let me drink a little water from your jar,’ and who answers, ‘You may drink, and I will also draw for your camels’—let her be the wife whom the Becoming One has decreed for my employer’s son.’ I had scarcely finished praying in my heart, when Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder, and went down to the spring and drew. And I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ She quickly lowered her jar and said, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. I inquired of her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’ And I put the ring on her nose and the bands on her arms. Then I bowed low in homage to the Becoming One and blessed the Becoming One, the God of my employer Abraham, who led me on the right way to get the daughter of my employer’s brother for his son. And now, if you mean to treat my employer with true kindness, tell me; and if not, tell me also, that I may turn right or left.”
[...]
They called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will.” So they sent off their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “O sister! May you grow into thousands of myriads; May your offspring seize the gates of their foes.” Then Rebekah and her maids arose, mounted the camels, and followed the man. so the servant took Rebekah and went his way. Isaac had just come back from the vicinity of Beer-lahai-roi, for he was settled in the region of the Negeb. Isaac went out walking in the field toward evening and, looking up, he saw camels approaching. Raising her eyes, Rebekah saw Isaac. She alighted from the camel and said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” And the servant said, “That is my employer.” So she took her veil and covered herself. The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Isaac then brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he took Rebekah as his wife. Isaac loved her, and thus found comfort after his mother’s death.

Queeries for the text:

What's missing?

What parts of this pericope might be objected to today? Why?

What's wrong with the women of Canaan?

What kinds of labor are valued or devalued?

What is the significance of a nose ring?
How is consent valued?
Why does he take Rebekah to Sarah's tent?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing and River Needham, M.A. queery the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Jesus said:

¹⁶“But to what will I compare this generation? It is like young ones sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ¹⁷‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ ¹⁸For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; ¹⁹the Human One came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

²⁰Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent. ²¹“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²²But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. ²³And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ²⁴But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.”

²⁵At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Parent, Boss of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; ²⁶yes, Parent, for such was your gracious will. ²⁷All things have been handed over to me by my Parent; and no one knows the Child except the Parent, and no one knows the Parent except the Child and anyone to whom the Child chooses to reveal Xem.

²⁸“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Queeries for the text:

What's missing?

What are young ones doing without response today?

How are behaviors being policed?

What literary and rhetorical devices are at play in the woes?

What are the sins of Sodom?

What does rest feel like?

Who calls us to rest today?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Easter 5A

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Acts reading.

Acts 7:55-60
⁵⁵But filled with the Holy Spirit, Stephen gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶“Look,” Stephen said, “I see the heavens opened and the Human One standing at the right hand of God!”

⁵⁷But the religious authorities covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against Stephen. ⁵⁸Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Sovereign Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰Then Stephen knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, “Becoming One, do not hold this sin against them.” When Stephen had said this, he died.

Queeries for the text:
Who is Stephen?
What prompted this?
From what do we cover our ears?
What happens when crowds get together?  Can good come from groups?
Why are young men dangerous?
Who does Stephen sound like?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Lent 4A

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

Tanakh: 1 Samuel 16:1-13

And the Becoming One said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and set out; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have decided on one of his sons to be king.”

Samuel replied, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.”

The Becoming One answered, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Becoming One.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrificial feast, and then I will make known to you what you shall do; you shall anoint for me the one I point out to you.”

Samuel did what the Becoming One commanded. When he came to Bethlehem, the elders of the city went out in alarm to meet him and said, “Do you come on a peaceful errand?”

"Yes,” he replied, “I have come to sacrifice to the Becoming One. Purify yourselves and join me in the sacrificial feast.” He also instructed Jesse and his sons to purify themselves and invited them to the sacrificial feast. When they arrived and he saw Eliab, he thought: “Surely the Becoming One’s anointed stands before Them.” But the Becoming One said to Samuel, “Pay no attention to his appearance or his stature, for I have rejected him. For not as man sees does the Becoming One see; man sees only what is visible, but the Becoming One sees into the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass before Samuel; but he said, “The Becoming One has not chosen this one either.” Next Jesse presented Shammah; and again he said, “The Becoming One has not chosen this one either.” Jesse presented seven of his sons before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Becoming One has not chosen any of these.” Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the boys you have?” He replied, “There is still the youngest; he is tending the flock.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send someone to bring him, for we will not sit down to eat until he gets here.” So they sent and brought him. He was ruddy-cheeked, bright-eyed, and handsome. And the Becoming One said, “Rise and anoint him, for this is the one.” Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Becoming One gripped David from that day on. Samuel then set out for Ramah.

Queeries for the text:
What do we fear?
Who do we ignore in society?
Who gets ignored, forgotten and canceled?
What work does society not value?
What is man?  What is human?
What external characteristics are valued by nature, or by humans?
What else happened in Ramah?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: John 9:1-41

As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²Jesus' disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

³Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. ⁴We must work the works of Them who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. ⁵As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶When Jesus had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, ⁷saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then the man went and washed and came back able to see.
 
⁸The neighbors and those who had seen the man before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.”

The man kept saying, “I am the man.”

¹⁰But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”

¹¹He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.”

¹²They said to the man, “Where is he?”

He said, “I do not know.”

¹³They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. ¹⁴Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened the man's eyes. ¹⁵Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “Jesus put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.”

¹⁶Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. ¹⁷So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”

The man said, “Jesus is a prophet.”

¹⁸The Judeans did not believe that the man had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight ¹⁹and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”

²⁰His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; ²¹but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” ²²His parents said this because they were afraid of the Judeans; for the Judeans had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. ²³Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

²⁴So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”

²⁵He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

²⁶They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

²⁷He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?”

²⁸Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.”

³⁰The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. ³¹We know that God does not listen to sinners, but They do listen to one who worships them and obeys their will. ³²Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. ³³If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

³⁴They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.

³⁵Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found the man, he said, “Do you believe in the Human One?”

³⁶He answered, “And who are they, Captain? Tell me, so that I may believe in them.”

³⁷Jesus said to him, “You have seen them, and the one speaking with you is the one.”

³⁸He said, “Governor, I believe.” And he worshiped Jesus.

³⁹Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.”

⁴⁰Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?”

⁴¹Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”

Queeries for the text:
Why do people so often need someone to blame?
What happened when someone was isolated in that time?  What happens when someone is isolated today?
How are God's works revealed in the ones others cast off?
What is up with a pool named Sent?
Why won't the neighbors believe the truth?
What happens when people are afraid?
How might a disabled person understand this story?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 6th after Pentecost C

Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Amos 8:1-12
This is what my Becoming God showed me: there was a basket of figs.
Ze said, “What do you see, Amos?”
“A basket of figs,” I replied.

Then, the Becoming One said to me: “The hour of doom has come for My people Israel; I will not pardon them again. The singing women of the palace shall howl on that day—declares my Becoming God: So many corpses left lying everywhere! Hush!”

Listen to this, you who devour the needy, annihilating the poor of the land,  saying, “If only the new moon were over, so that we could sell grain; the sabbath, so that we could offer wheat for sale, using an ephah that is too small, and a shekel that is too big, tilting a dishonest scale, and selling grain refuse as grain! We will buy the poor for silver, the needy for a pair of sandals.”

The Becoming One swears by the pride of Jacob: “I will never forget any of their doings.”

Shall not the earth shake for this, and all that dwell on it mourn? Shall it not all rise like the Nile and surge and subside like the Nile of Egypt?

And in that day —declares my Becoming God— I will make the sun set at noon, I will darken the earth on a sunny day.

I will turn your festivals into mourning, all your songs into dirges; I will put sackcloth on all loins, tonsures on every head. I will make it mourn as for an only child, all of it as on a bitter day.

A time is coming—declares my Becoming God—when I will send a famine upon the land: not a hunger for bread or a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of the Becoming One.

So that they shall possess the rest of Edom and all the nations once attached to my name —declares the Becoming One who will bring this to pass.

Queeries for the text:
Where else do figs show up?
What measures are used today?
What is the pride of Jacob?
When is noon?
How do only children come up culturally?
For what do we repent today?
For what do we repent today?
For what do we repent today?
What are the words of the Becoming One today? What might they mean?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 10:38-42
³⁸Now as the Jesus and the disciples went on their way,

Jesus entered a certain village,

where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.

³⁹She had a sister named Mary,

who sat at the Boss’ feet
and listened to what he was saying.

⁴⁰But Martha was distracted by her many tasks;

so she came to Jesus and asked,

“Boss, do you not care that my sister has left me

to do all the work by myself?

Tell her then to help me.”

⁴¹But the Boss answered her,

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;

⁴²there is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part,

which will not be taken away from her.”

Queeries for the text:
Which "certain village" did Jesus enter?
Why was it Martha's house?  Did she and Mary not share it?  Were they sisters or "sisters"?
Which tasks distracted Martha?  Which tasks distract us?
Is there anything about which Jesus doesn't care?
Did Martha already ask for Mary to help her?
What worries Martha?  What worries us?  Why?
What is the better part for us?  Is it guaranteed the way Jesus guarantees Mary's better part?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 4th after Pentecost C

Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: 2 Kings 5:1-14
Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was important to his ruler and high in his favor, for through Naaman the Becoming One had granted victory to Aram. But the man, though a great warrior, was a leper. Once, when the Arameans were out raiding, they carried off a young girl from the land of Israel, and she became an attendant to Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “I wish Master [Namaan] could come before the prophet in Samaria; he would cure Naaman of his leprosy.” Naaman went and told his ruler just what the girl from the land of Israel had said.

Then the king of Aram said, “Go to the king of Israel, and I will send along a letter.” Namaan set out, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. He brought the letter to the king of Israel. It read: “Now, when this letter reaches you, know that I have sent my courtier Naaman to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” When the king of Israel read the letter, he rent his clothes and cried, “Am I God, to deal death or give life, that this fellow writes to me to cure a man of leprosy? Just see for yourselves that he is seeking a pretext against me!”

When Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, he sent a message to the king: “Why have you rent your clothes? Let him come to me, and he will learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and halted at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go and bathe seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.” But Naaman was angered and walked away. “I thought,” he said, “he would surely come out to me, and would stand and invoke the Becoming One his God by name, and would wave his hand toward the spot, and cure the affected part. Are not the Amanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? I could bathe in them and be clean!” He stalked off in a rage. But his servants came forward and spoke to him. “Sir,” they said, “if the prophet told you to do something difficult, would you not do it? How much more when he has only said to you, ‘Bathe and be clean.’” So he went down and immersed himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had bidden; and his flesh became like a little boy’s, and he was clean.

Queeries for the text:
Where was Aram? When did this story take place? Were there ruling powers even over these kings when this story took place? How would that change the power analysis in this story?
What does it mean for a child to be enslaved? What kinds of labor do u.s.ians expect from children today?
What is the significance of the prophet in Samaria? What does it imply about when this took place or when it was written?
How do we expect healing and labor from people without recognizing the great cost that often comes with being a healer?
Why was the King of Israel so upset at the King of Aram's demand? What does this tell us about the power dynamics at play?  Who has the geo-political power?
Why does Elisha have a better relationship with the Monarchs than Elijah? What parts of the story have been omitted that helped that happen?
In which other traditions is water a gift from the divine(9-11)?  Does that giftedness change if God is not invoked in the cleansing bath?
If you were retelling this story in a modern setting, what details would you change, and how? Which ones would you keep the same, and why?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
After this the President appointed seventy others
and sent them on ahead of him in pairs

to every town and place where he himself intended to go.

²Jesus said to them,

“The harvest is plentiful,

but the laborers are few;

therefore ask the CEO of the harvest

to send out laborers into the harvest.

³Go on your way.

See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.
⁴Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals;

and greet no one on the road.

⁵Whatever house you enter,

first say, ‘Peace to this house!’

⁶And if anyone is there who shares in peace,

your peace will rest on that person;

but if not, it will return to you.

⁷Remain in the same house,

eating and drinking whatever they provide,

for the laborer deserves to be paid.

Do not move about from house to house.

⁸Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you,

eat what is set before you;
⁹cure the sick who are there,
and say to them, ‘The nation of God has come near to you.’

¹⁰But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you,

go out into its streets and say,

¹¹‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet,

we wipe off in protest against you.

Yet know this: the nation of God has come near.’

¹⁶“Whoever listens to you listens to me,
and whoever rejects you rejects me,

and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

¹⁷The seventy returned with joy, saying,

“President, in your name even the demons submit to us!”

¹⁸Jesus said to them,

“I watched the Prosecutor fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.

¹⁹See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions,

and over all the power of the enemy;

and nothing will hurt you.

²⁰Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this,

that the spirits submit to you,

but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Queeries for the text:
What's missing?  What does Sodom have to do with hospitality?
Why 70?  Why pairs?
Did Jesus end up going everywhere he intended?
What would u.s. culture be like if hospitality were so reliable?
Why can't they greet anyone on the road?
How much peace is available to share?  What about freedom?
How much are the laborers paid?
What does it mean to wipe dust from feet?
Does the reign of God come near whether or not we welcome it?
Why are the 70 still so excited about the power?  Where are our priorities?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Easter 7C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Acts reading.

Acts 16:16-34
¹⁶One day, as we were going to the place of prayer,

we met a slave girl who had a spirit of divination

and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling.

¹⁷While she followed Paul and us,

she would cry out,

“These ones are slaves of the Most High God,

who proclaim to you a way of salvation.”

¹⁸She kept doing this for many days.

But Paul, very much annoyed,

turned and said to the spirit,

“I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.”

And it came out that very hour.

¹⁹But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone,

they seized Paul and Silas
and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities.

²⁰When they had brought them before the magistrates,

they said, “These men are disturbing our city;

they are Jewish ²¹and are advocating customs

that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.”

²²The crowd joined in attacking them,

and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing
and ordered them to be beaten with rods.

²³After they had given them a severe flogging,

they threw them into prison
and ordered the jailer to keep them securely.

²⁴Following these instructions,

he put them in the innermost cell
and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,

and the prisoners were listening to them.
²⁶Suddenly there was an earthquake,

so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken;

and immediately all the doors were opened
and everyone’s chains were unfastened.

²⁷When the jailer woke up
and saw the prison doors wide open,

he drew his sword and was about to kill himself,

since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped.

²⁸But Paul shouted in a loud voice,

“Do not harm yourself,

for we are all here.”

²⁹The jailer called for lights,
and rushing in,

he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

³⁰Then he brought them outside and said,

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹They answered,

“Believe on the Lord Jesus,
and you will be saved,

you and your household.”

³²They spoke the word of the Lord to him

and to all who were in his house.

³³At the same hour of the night

he took them and washed their wounds;

then he and his entire family were baptized without delay.

³⁴He brought them up into the house
and set food before them;

and he and his entire household rejoiced

that he had become a believer in God.

Queeries for the text:
Which place of prayer?  Where?
Why is telling the truth annoying to Paul?  What does the girl who is enslaved feel?
How do we profit off of slavery?
What agency does the girl who was enslaved have?  What happens to her when she is no longer "useful"?
Which customs were unlawful for Romans?
What happened to a fair trial?
Who else sings and prays in prison?
How do you believe "on" something or someone?
Did the others in the household also become believers?  Does it matter?
What ever happened to the girl?

What are your queeries?