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?

-----

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?

-----

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 ascending pentecost music

Ascension and Pentecost are almost upon us and I've cultivated another playlist! 

As with past playlists, the music comes from a variety of styles, queerying the boundaries that we have set up between what is deemed "religious," "secular," and even "profane."  This is definitely a labor of love for me as I am not very musically oriented and I am very grateful to friends and colleagues who have suggested songs for this list.

Ascension and Pentecost are unique days in the church year.  On Ascension we remember after Jesus' resurrection when they promised the coming of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost) to the apostles and then ascended into heaven, as told in Acts 1:1-11.  You'll probably notice this most clearly in the titles of the songs.  On Pentecost, we celebrate the birthday of the church, when the Holy Spirit blew into the locked and fearful room of the disciples like wind and fire and blessed them with the gift to preach the Good News in many languages (inspiring others to think they were drunk), as told in Acts 2:1-21.  Many of my favorite themes for Pentecost are made clear in the titles of the songs, though not exclusively there! 

While this playlist is quite intentional, it is also always a work in progress.  So, similar to Holy Week, but unlike Lent, it would probably be better if not set to shuffle, so that you can move with the playlist from Ascension into Pentecost.  If you want to listen to the songs associated with each day separately, check out this Ascension playlist and this Pentecost playlist, which you are welcome to put on shuffle or leave in order!  Because it is an ongoing work in progress, I am always open to more suggestions, so let me know if you have any songs that I should add to the list or questions about what is on the list or why!

In case you missed the other links, check out the playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/user/22zoaq4yqbmnlyw5dfzp4mfty/playlist/1n7a7MsnTqmrdAaFfGfjMX

Queerying Easter Music

The season of Easter is upon us and I've cultivated another playlist!

As with past playlists, the music comes from a variety of styles, queerying the boundaries that we have set up between what is deemed "religious," "secular," and even "profane."  This is definitely a labor of love for me as I am not particularly musically oriented and I am very grateful to friends and colleagues who have suggested songs for this list.

The themes of Easter that I focused on for this playlist are: death, evil, and sin not having the final word; love and new life; hope; embodiment; surprising grace; stubborn resilience, even in the presence of death and destruction; God's reign on earth; the queerness and rainbow of resurrection; butterflies; arrival, emptiness, and empty tombs.  Some of these themes are more prevalent than others, but all of them were in my heart when cultivating.

While the playlist is quite intentional, the order isn't.  So, unlike Holy Week, but similar to Lent, it would probably be better if set to shuffle.  As always, it is an ongoing work in progress, so let me know if you have any suggestions to add to the list or questions about what is on the list or why!

In case you missed the other links, check out my Easter playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/user/22zoaq4yqbmnlyw5dfzp4mfty/playlist/2ULIs6ZlieDYzFSGabGu2C

Queerying Holy Week Music

Holy Week is here!

As with past playlists, I've made a playlist for Holy Week.  This playlist has a mix of music that is familiar to me from going up in the church as well as music I've found throughout my life and music that friends have suggested.  I've also split the days into their own playlists, which are not in any particular order.  These playlists will be linked below as each day is mentioned.

Unlike my Lent playlist, this playlist is intentionally ordered.  It begins with Palm Sunday, preparations and a procession of Hosannas into what could be the bad theology of the crowd who thinks Jesus will be the military messiah instead of the suffering servant or street theater critiquing and resisting Pilate's military parade into Jerusalem.

As Palm Sunday winds down, tensions rise in Jerusalem leading into Maundy Thursday, the disciples' reluctant footwashing at the hands of their Lord, the Last Supper and institution of communion, and Jesus' commandment to love.  All of this tinged with both tension and sorrow, though the disciples do not always understand it.

After supper, Jesus heads with his followers into the dark and Gethsemane where he prays (and they fall asleep) until the soldiers arrive with Judas.  We dive deep into Good Friday as Jesus is taken into custody, the disciples scatter.  During Jesus' sham of a trial, Pilate, Herod, and the religious authorities of the time send Jesus back and forth.  Pilate doesn't want to kill Jesus, but also doesn't want a riot on his hands.  Herod wants magic tricks.  The religious authorities are threatened (as religious authorities throughout time continue to be) by this one who resists oppression and collusion with the Empire.  During this "trial," Peter denies Jesus and finally Jesus is handed over to be crucified.

Jesus journeys to the cross, literally carrying the instrument that will torture and kill him.  As he is crucified, fulfilling humanity's demands for death in response to love, the women bear witness to his suffering and his humanity and an unlikely soldier of the Empire proclaims Jesus as God's child.  Jesus connects his loved ones to each other and joins with the oppressed, marginalized, murdered, and suffering throughout history.

Once Jesus is in the tomb, we are left with our grief, our sorrow, our uncertainty through Holy Saturday.  And then in the early morning, as the sun is coming up, we gather with the women at the tomb to find that Jesus is risen!  This playlist gives you just a glimpse of the resurrection at the end.  There will be another playlist for Easter, so check back next week!

My playlists are never set in stone.  Like a good Lutheran, the canon on my seasonal playlists remains open.  Feel free to suggest additional songs or ask me why I picked certain ones (it may just be the title...or the actual lyrics.  Rarely, though occasionally, will the answer be the tune...I just don't know how to music like that).  Check out the playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/user/22zoaq4yqbmnlyw5dfzp4mfty/playlist/6lJ6c1ap85gnQTvoS9DdeA

Queerying Lent Music

The season of Lent is upon us and I've cultivated (and have had some technical difficulties in which Spotify removed all of my recently added songs, so am still cultivating) another playlist!

As with past playlists, the music comes from a variety of styles, queerying the boundaries that we have set up between what is deemed "religious," "secular," and even "profane."  This is definitely a labor of love for me as I am not particularly musically oriented and I am very grateful to many friends who have suggested songs for this list.

The themes of Lent that I focused on for this playlist are: the cycles of life and death, mortality, repentance, reconciliation, covenants or promises, refocusing or commitment, and the theology of the cross.

While the first song on the playlist is quite intentional, the playlist itself is not listed intentionally.  So, unlike Epiphany, but similar to Christmas, it would probably be better if set to shuffle.  As always, let me know if you have any suggestions to add to the list or questions about what is on the list or why!

In case you missed the other links, check out my playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/user/22zoaq4yqbmnlyw5dfzp4mfty/playlist/2CEejF692Xg5u3sBmsLfuH 

Queerying Epiphany Music

Epiphany and the season after it are upon us!  As with Christmas, I've made a playlist!  There are some songs that are familiar to me, having grown up in the church.  Songs like We Three Kings and the First Noel will show up a few different times in this playlist.  In this playlist there are also other songs, some I found on my own and some that were suggested by friends.  

Unlike my Christmas playlist, this playlist is intentionally organized.  It begins from the perspective of the wise ones, or magi, includes their whole journey and the fall-out in the Slaughter of the Holy Innocents, and moves into Jesus' Baptism and the season after Epiphany, a season characterized by more light coming into the world as well as glimpses of God's glory being made manifest in the ordinary of life.  The playlist ends with Transfiguration, which we celebrate the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. 

My playlists are never set in stone.  Like a good Lutheran, the canon on my seasonal playlists remains open.  Feel free to suggest additional songs or ask me why I picked certain ones (it may just be the title...or the actual lyrics.  Rarely, if ever, will the answer be the tune...I just don't know how to music like that).  Check out the playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/user/22zoaq4yqbmnlyw5dfzp4mfty/playlist/4AcxpqhIOZnxmkq0uDHOvE

Queerying Christmas Music

Over the last several years, I have begun to cultivate playlists based on the seasons of the church year.  One of the things I love about doing that is that I get to incorporate explicitly religious songs and hymns (Angels We Have Heard on High and Mary Had a Baby, for example) as well as what is considered more "secular" music that speaks to the themes and season (Circle of Life and One of Us, for example). 

In this way, the playlists queer the binary that we have set up between what is holy and what is profane, what is sacred and what is secular.  This Christmas playlist embraces the power of music to speak to the truth of our humanness, the incarnation, and life at Christmas.  So, I invite you to listen to this playlist in these 11 days more of Christmas and if you have any suggestions for more songs that would fit for this Christmas playlist, please let me know!

In case you didn't catch the links, check out the playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/user/22zoaq4yqbmnlyw5dfzp4mfty/playlist/6O0lCZ4mkKuqwLqELsltaF

What are your suggestions for queerying Christmas music?