Queerying Lent 2A

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

Gospel: John 3:1-17
¹Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Judeans. 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 Spirit. ⁶What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ ⁸The wind blows 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 Spirit.”

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

¹⁰Jesus answered him, “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 Them may have everlasting life. ¹⁶For God loved the world in this way: that God gave Their only Child, so that everyone who believes in Them may not perish but may have everlasting life. ¹⁷Indeed, 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:
What happened to the Pharisees?
What else happens at night?
How else can someone experience the reign of God besides sight?
Who else has a womb besides a mother?
How else is love expressed?
Who is condemned?  How might they be saved?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 7th after Pentecost C

Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Hosea 1:2-10

When the Becoming One first spoke to Hosea, the Becoming One said to Hosea, “Go, get yourself a wife of whoredom and children of whoredom; for the land will stray from following the Becoming One.”
So Hosea went and married Gomer daughter of Diblaim. She conceived and bore him a son, and the Becoming One instructed him, “Name him Jezreel; for, I will soon punish the House of Jehu for the bloody deeds at Jezreel and put an end to the monarchy of the House of Israel. In that day, I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
She conceived again and bore a daughter; and Ze said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah; for I will no longer accept the House of Israel or pardon them. (But I will accept the House of Judah. And I will give them victory through the Becoming One their God; I will not give them victory with bow and sword and battle and horses and riders.)”
After weaning Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. Then Ze said, “Name him Lo-ammi; for you are not My people, and I will not be your God.” The number of the people of Israel shall be like that of the sands of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted; and instead of being told, “You are Not-My-People,” they shall be called Children-of-the-Living-God.

Queeries for the text:
How has whoredom been misappropriated?
Where else does whoredom show up in the Tanakh?
How does the land move?
Where does whoredom exist today?
What is whoredom?
What does it mean to not recieve mercy (lo-ruhamah)?
What does this passage say about the status of women?
Would you change this passage, if you were able to write it today? How would you change it?
What do we need mercy for today?
Who am I not asking about?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 11:1-13
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”  

²Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say: Zaza, hallowed be your name. Let your reign come. ³Give us each day our daily bread. ⁴And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”  

⁵And Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to that friend at midnight and say to zir, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; ⁶for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before them.’ ⁷And ze answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ ⁸I tell you, even though ze will not get up and give you anything because you are zir friend, at least because of your persistence ze will get up and give you whatever you need.

⁹“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? ¹²Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? ¹³If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Zaza give the Holy Spirit to those who ask!”

Queeries for the text:
What's with all the certain places?
How are these words different from the versions of the Jesus' Prayer used today?  How else could we pray with this model?
What time of trial?
What quality of friends do you have to not lend bread?
What is asked for and not given?
What do we search for and not find?
What doors are still locked closed?
Would Slytherins give snakes instead of fish?
How are the disciples evil?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Holy Trinity Images

This blog was updated on 15 June 2019, after its original publishing (13 June 2019) with more images.

This week I asked folks on Facebook what images they liked for the Trinity and for the Holy Spirit.  The responses were wonderful, so I'm sharing them all together here for you.  Most of them are pictures, some are words, and some are both.  The pictures have image descriptions if you hover over them (if this is not the case, please let me know so that I can fix that!).

Jess Davis posted this image, which really embraces the relationality and solidarity of the Trinity.

Rev. Stefanie K. L. Fauth describes the Holy Spirit with: "I see the Holy Spirit as a ball of energy. Closest visual is crab nebula. Not that I think the Spirit is distant, it's just the closet visual of how I feel the energy.   "  I love outer space and really resonate with this image.  For me Space is resurrection, so whether it is a suggestion of this Crab Nebula (or Mariah's image below) or the gender of the day as a black hole, if you suggest outer space, there's a very good chance I will love it.

In looking at a variety of images, this one caught Rev. Kim Beckman's eye.  On a personal note, I particularly love the way the triangle combines with the round halo to evoke the trans pride flag.

Rev. Kim Beckman also posted this stating: "Bishop Macholz used this Pentecost picture for his cover photo this week. It moves me. There was a post by someone about Pentecost hymns in the ELW last week that noted you can either go gentle or go forceful with the Spirit and the ELW hymns mostly went gentle. I've been thinking about that a lot and how to break out of the binary, so to speak, and this image captures that for me."  Anything that breaks a binary is good and holy in my book :)

Ashley Herrikane posted this image, a common way of explaining the diversity of the person of the Trinity combined with the unity of the one essence of the Triune God.

Rev. Kim Beckman shared this image.  Along with the obvious name on the front of the uniform, the joy and relationship, even while distinct and made up of a diversity of people on the team, points toward the diversity of God's essence.

This was sent to me in a private message, reflecting on both the Vatican's recent transphobia, and images of the divine from a Christian perspective.  The English translation for the top is "Some stories have two dads" and the bottom right is "I am not your joke." This queering of family is deeply fitting for Christianity at its heart.

This image was added by Matt Bear-Fowler and Elle Dowd.  It is my favorite icon of the Trinity and I would love to own it someday.  It is queer in so many ways and deeply representative of the diversity of God.

Mariah Himes posted this and the one below stating, "I think of the holy spirit as big and beautiful and complex and deep as the universe, as well as gentle and soft and real as animal friends. I like to think she’s multifaceted 🙂"  The holding together of these two images is delightfully queer, resisting a binary or forced decision.

Mariah Himes posted this and the one above it stating, "I think of the holy spirit as big and beautiful and complex and deep as the universe, as well as gentle and soft and real as animal friends. I like to think she’s multifaceted 🙂"  The way these two images are held together breaks the binaries and boxes so often created.

Tucker O'Leary posted this one stating "This is one of my favorites. It’s an icon I have in my office with a whole explanation on the back."  The explanation on the back reads: "Crow Trinity: This Crow Trinity highlights the Great Spirit as the Sacred Eagle whose wings enfold the mystical unity of the elder and the Son.  The Christ wears a warrior shirt of native tanned hide, glass beads, porcupine quills and ermine skins.  The ermine skins indicate that the man wearing this shirt is an old-time warrior who has captured his enemy's gun.  Contemplating the Christ within the symbolism of the warrior shirt we see him victorious in disarming death of its ultimacy. / Traditional iconography gives witness to the human face of the Sacred.  This icon, imaged in the features of America's indigenous peoples, reveals anew that sacred power.  It celebrates the soul of the Native American as the original spiritual presence on this continent, and as a prophetic sign, it celebrates the reconciliation of the spiritual vision of Native and Christian peoples of this land."  This image makes explicit the beautiful connection of the Trinity with all of Creation.

Rev. Tyler D. Rasmussen posted this one, stating "I was thinking of someone who described the Trinity as 'Papa, Kiddo, and Spook' and tried to find an image of that, but instead I found this and it made me laugh.  (which apparently is Nimrod, and Babylonian god, but has occasionally be confused for the Trinity)."  The pink triangle evokes the pink triangles that were used to label gay men and transgender people especially during the Holocaust and which have become a symbol of the LGBTQ community.

Rev. Aaron Decker posted, "From Bernard of Clairvaux, preaching on Song of Songs 1.2a: The first person of the Trinity is the one who kisses, and the second person is the one who is kissed, and the kiss itself is the Holy Spirit. So, like, any good picture of a kiss would do nicely."  So, I chose this picture of a kiss-in in Russia from an article in The Advocate magazine which points towards the intimate connection of the whole Trinity as one Triune God.

Rev. Marie Sager posted Andrei Rublev's Icon of the Trinity with this link, explaining its history.  This image is taken from Abraham and Sarah's hospitality to strangers, later discovered to be angels, in Genesis and reminds us of the way that hospitality is essential to the experience of a Triune God.

Resonating with the above icon, additionally, Rev. John Michael Longworth describes the Trinity, stating "Inspired by Rubelev's Trinity, I imagine a cuddle threesome that always has a spot for a fourth."

Rev. Kim Beckman also posted this stating "I found this one on a site Aleteia thru google and it makes me smile! Trinity, Fridolin Lieber, Early 20th century." The baby angel heads, especially the ones used as footstools, make me laugh, reminding me of the delight with which God experiences Creation.

Mairi McGilvrie posted the above video of a rare Rainbow Blanket Octopus swimming, colors undulating in the water.  Mairi states, "This is my holy spirit image of the day! It just seemed to fit the question you asked! Beautiful peaceful rainbow octopus. That is the holy spirit playing dress up for me today"  To this I add that octopi are also clever, tricky as can be, and nearly impossible to capture or contain, also much like the Holy Spirit.

To end these wonderful images, Wendy Heilman posted this stating "Maybe this is not exactly what u r looking for??? Lol"

Sheri Kutsch-Stanton posted this, naming it as "Native Spirit..."  This image makes explicit the connection of the Spirit to Creation within the frame of Native Spirituality and Tradition.

Rev. Tyler Rasmussen, in looking for the hymn "Come, Join the Dance of Trinity," found the following images:

Batter My Heart, Three-Person'd God by John Donne

Batter my heart, three-person’d God, for you

As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;

That I may rise and stand, o’erthrow me, and bend

Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.

I, like an usurp’d town to another due,

Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end;

Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,

But is captiv’d, and proves weak or untrue.

Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov’d fain,

But am betroth’d unto your enemy;

Divorce me, untie or break that knot again,

Take me to you, imprison me, for I,

Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,

Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

 

This image and poem evoke the complexity and diversity of the Trinity within a framework of beauty and intimate relationship.

This image shows both the warm joy of the dance of navigating relationships and the connection of the Trinity as each person appears to blend into each other.

Trinity by Mark Jennings emphasizes the interconnection and overlap of the Triune God.

Dance of the Trinity evokes the movement and motion inherent in the Triune God.

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If you're wondering why none of these are Harry Potter references, it's because I've got an entire podcast devoted to that, so check out our podcast and find out what Pastor Kay and I come up with for Holy Trinity images!

What are your images for the Trinity?  For the Holy Spirit?  For the divine?

Queerying 5th after Epiphany year C

Periodic Queerier, River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Isaiah 6:1-13
In the year that King Uzziah died, I beheld my Becoming One seated on a high and lofty throne;

and the skirts of Faer robe filled the temple.

Seraphs stood in attendance on Faer.

Each of them had six wings: with two she covered her face,

with two she covered her feet,

and with two she would fly.

And one would call to the other, “Holy, holy, holy!

The Becoming one, ruler of Angel Armies!

Faens 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 human of unclean lips

and I live among a people of unclean lips;

yet my own eyes have beheld

the Faerie Queen, the Becoming One, ruler of Angel Armies.”

Then one of the seraphs flew over to me with a live coal,

which she had taken from the altar

with a pair of tongs.

She 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 the Becoming One, my ruler saying,

“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”

So, I said, “Here am I; send me.”

Then, Fae said, “Go, say to that people:

‘Hear, indeed, but do not understand;

See, indeed, but do not grasp.’

Dull that people’s mind, stop its ears, and seal its eyes—

lest, seeing with its eyes,
and hearing with its ears,

it also grasp with its mind, and repent and save itself.”

I asked, “How long, my ruler?”
Fae replied: “Till towns lie waste without inhabitants and houses without people,

and the ground lies waste and desolate—

for the Becoming One will banish the population—

and deserted sites are many in the midst of the land.

“But while a tenth part yet remains in it, it shall repent. It shall be ravaged like the terebinth and the oak, of which stumps are left even when they are felled: its stump shall be a holy seed.”

Queeries for the text:
Who is King Uzziah?
How big is a skirt to fill the entire temple? What might this say about faer body?
Where else does woe show up in the Tanakh?
What might a seraphim look like?
What other religions have a faerie queen?
Do the Angel Armies participate in war? Is peace on earth possible?
What does coal do when it touches land?
Is the Becoming One ableist in Faer prophecy?
What does the Becoming One's exiling of Faer people say about Faer?
What is terebinth?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 5:1-11
Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret,

and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God,

²he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake;

the fishers had gone out of them

and were washing their nets.

³Jesus got into one of the boats,

the one belonging to Simon,

and asked him to put out a little way from the shore.

Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

⁴When Jesus had finished speaking,

he said to Simon,

“Put out into the deep water

and let down your nets for a catch.”

⁵Simon answered,

“Master, we have worked all night long

but have caught nothing.

Yet if you say so,

I will let down the nets.”

⁶When they had done this,

they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.

⁷So they signaled their partners in the other boat

to come and help them.

And they came and filled both boats,

so that they began to sink.

⁸But when Simon Peter saw it,

he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying,

“Go away from me, Lord,

for I am a sinful man!”

⁹For Simon and all who were with him were amazed

at the catch of fish that they had taken;

¹⁰and so also were James and John,

sons of Zebedee,

who were partners with Simon.

Then Jesus said to Simon,

“Do not be afraid;

from now on you will be catching people.”

¹¹When they had brought their boats to shore,

they left everything and followed Jesus.

Queeries for the text:
Where is lake of Gennesaret?
How far is "a little way"?
Why did Simon Peter fall at Jesus' knees instead of Jesus' feet?
How do you teach in a boat to people on the shore?
What did Jesus say to the crowd?  Did Jesus ask before just hopping into the boat?
Did they normally fish in deep water?
How many fish do you need to make a boat sink?
Are Simon and Simon Peter the same person?
Why does Simon/Simon Peter want Jesus to go away?  What is he ashamed of?
Is catching humans a good thing?
Who took over the abandoned boats?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 3rd after Epiphany - year C

Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries the reading from the Tanakh.

Tanakh: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 (8:1-10 printed, omitted portions in italics)

The entire people assembled as one human in the square before the Water Gate,

and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the scroll of the Teaching of Moses

with which the Becoming One had charged Israel.

On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the Teaching before the congregation,

butches and femmes and all who could listen with understanding.

She read from it, facing the square before the Water Gate,

from the first light until midday,

to the femmes and the butches and those who could understand;

the ears of all the people were given to the scroll of the Teaching.

Ezra the scribe stood upon a wooden tower made for the purpose, 

and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah at her right,

and at her left Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, Meshullam.

Ezra opened the scroll in the sight of all the people,

for she was above all the people;

as she opened it, all the people stood up.

Ezra blessed the Becoming One, the great God,

and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," with hands upraised.

Then they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the Becoming One

with their faces to the ground.

Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad,

Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites explained the Teaching to the people, 

while the people stood in their places.

They read from the scroll of the Teaching of God, translating it and giving the sense;

so they understood the reading.

Nehemiah the Tirshatha, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites

who were explaining to the people said to all the people,

"This day is holy to the Becoming One your God: you must not mourn or weep,"

for all the people were weeping as they listened to the words of the Teaching.

Ze further said to them, "Go, eat choice foods and drink sweet drinks and

send portions to whoever has nothing prepared, for the day is holy to our divine ruler.

Do not be sad, for your rejoicing in the Becoming One is the source of your strength."

Queeries for the text:
What is the Water Gate? What other elements are important?
What was the Teaching of Moses?
Who are butches and femmes?
What is understanding?
How can you learn without ears?
How can you see without eyes?
Why were verses 4 and 7 omitted from this lesson?
Why was mourning prohibited?
Where else are choice foods mentioned?
What was Moses's teaching before Nehemiah read this?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the reading from the Gospel.

Gospel: Luke 4:14-21
¹⁴Then Jesus,

filled with the power of the Spirit,

returned to Galilee,

and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country.

¹⁵Jesus began to teach in their synagogues

and was praised by everyone.

¹⁶When Jesus came to Nazareth,

where he had been brought up,

he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day,

as was his custom.

He stood up to read,

¹⁷and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.

Jesus unrolled the scroll

and found the place where it was written:

¹⁸“The Spirit of Holy One is upon me,

because God has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

God has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Holy One’s favor.”

²⁰And Jesus rolled up the scroll,

gave it back to the attendant,

and sat down.

The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.

²¹Then he began to say to them,

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

Queeries for the text:
Where was Jesus returning from?
What does Luke mean by "everyone"?
Did Jesus choose which Sabbath on purpose?  Did Jesus change the expected reading?
What is good news to the poor?
What is release to the captives?
Do the blind want recovery of sight?
What is freedom for the oppressed?
What is the year of God's favor?
Does Jesus practice street theater of the oppressed?
How has this scripture been fulfilled?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Epiphany

Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries today's reading from the Tanakh.

Tanakh - Isaiah 60:1-6

Arise, shine, for your light has dawned;

The Presence of the Becoming One has shone upon you!

Behold! Darkness shall cover the earth, And thick clouds the peoples;

But upon you the Becoming One will shine, and
Their presence be seen over you.

And nations shall walk by your light, Kings, by your shining radiance.

Raise your eyes and look about: the nations have all gathered and come to you.

Some of your children shall be brought from afar,

Other children like babes on shoulders.

As you behold, you will glow; your heart will throb and thrill— for the wealth of the sea shall pass on to you, the riches of nations shall flow to you.
Dust clouds of camels shall cover you, dromedaries of Midian and Ephah.
They all shall come from Sheba; They shall bear gold and frankincense, and shall herald the glories of the Becoming One.

Queeries for the text:
What light has dawned?
What is the Presence of the Becoming One?
What is darkness?
Where else does The Becoming One shine?
What is this Shining Radiance?
Can you be brought from afar on shoulders? What does this imply about those traveling?
Where else do hearts throb and thrill?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries today's gospel reading.

Gospel - Matthew 2:1-12
In the time of King Herod,

after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,

magi from the East came to Jerusalem,

²asking, “Where is the child who has been born ruler of the Jews?

For we observed their star at its rising,

and have come to pay them homage.”

³When King Herod heard this,

he was frightened,

and all Jerusalem with him;

⁴and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people,

he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

⁵They told him,

“In Bethlehem of Judea;

for so it has been written by the prophet:

⁶‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”

⁷Then Herod secretly called for the magi

and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared.

⁸Then he sent them to Bethlehem,

saying, “Go and search diligently for the child;

and when you have found him,

bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”

⁹When they had heard the king,

the magi set out;

and there, ahead of them,

went the star that they had seen at its rising,

until it stopped over the place where the child was.

¹⁰When they saw that the star had stopped,

the magi were overwhelmed with joy.

¹¹On entering the house,

they saw the child with Mary his mother;

and they knelt down and paid him homage.

Then, opening their treasure chests,

they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹²And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,

they left for their own country by another road.

Queeries for the text:
What are magi and which one is Jesus' star?
Why was all Jerusalem frightened with King Herod?
Why didn't Herod know where the Messiah was to be born?  Which prophet wrote that?
Why did Herod call the magi back secretly?
Why does Herod assume the baby will be a boy?
What does it feel like to be overwhelmed with joy?
When did the Holy Family get a house?
How many magi were there?  How did they make it across so many lands?  Why gold, frankincense, and myrrh?
What warnings are dreams bringing today?
How can we take another road?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Advent 2 Year C

This week all three Advent queeries are gathered in one spot!

Today's text from the Tanakh was queeried by periodic queerier River Needham.

 

 
Tanakh - Malachi 3:1-4
Behold, I am sending my messenger to clear the way before me, and the ruler whom you seek shall come to faer Temple suddenly. As for the angel of the covenant that you desire, they are already coming. But who can endure the day of faer coming, and who can hold out when fae appears? For fae is like a smelter’s fire and like fuller’s lye. Fae shall act like a smelter and purger of silver; and fae shall purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they shall present offerings in righteousness. Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasing to the Becoming One as in the days of yore and in the years of old.

Queeries for the text:
Who is the ruler this text seeks?
What is an angel of the covenant?
What covenant? Who desires it?
Where else is silver in the Minor Prophets?
Why just Levi's descendants?
Why are Judah and Jerusalem placed in opposition?
Why is it important to separate Jesus from this text?

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Today's special guest queery of Philippians is brought to you by Katy Wallace with collaboration from Rev. Emily Ewing.

Philippians 1:3-11
³I thank my God every time I remember you, ⁴constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, ⁵because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.
⁷It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus.

⁹And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight ¹⁰to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, ¹¹having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

Queeries for the text:
What does sharing in the gospel look like?
What is the good work brought to completion and who began it?
How does imprisonment impact grace?
What is God witnessing in Paul's longing?  What does God witness in us?
How does God's compassion show up throughout the bible?
What does it mean to share in the defense and confirmation of the gospel?  How does it relate to love and longing?
How does love overflow with knowledge?
What does it mean to be pure and blameless?
What does a harvest of righteousness look like?

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Today's queery from the Gospel is brought to you by Rev. Emily E. Ewing.

Luke 3:1-6
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius,

when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,

and Herod was ruler of Galilee,

and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis,

and Lysanias ruler of Abilene,

²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,

the word of God came to John

son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

³John went into all the region around the Jordan,

proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,

⁴as it is written

in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

“The voice of one crying out

in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Becoming One,

make straight the paths of God.

⁵Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways made smooth;

⁶and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

Queeries for the text:
Why does Luke care so much about the people in power?
Who else was John son of?
What did Zechariah have to say about his son?
What was John already doing in the wilderness?
Why is the Jordan so important?
What public testimonies of repentance like John's baptism are happening now?
How is Isaiah calling us to increase accessibility in communities?
What if God doesn't want to be straight?  What if God is crooked?
What is the salvation of God like?
Where is Peace?

What are your queeries?