Queerying All Saints C

Suzannah Porter and Brooke McLain musically queery the RCL readings.

Who is waiting to dance with you?

How does God transform hearts?

How do you experience God in difficult times?

Where is the tension between legacies you carry and Christ's promises? 

How are we susceptible to the normalization of oppression?

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River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Daniel 7:1-3,--(4-14)--15-18
In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and a vision of his mind in bed; afterward he wrote down the dream. Beginning the account, Daniel related the following:
“In my vision at night, I saw the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea. Four mighty beasts different from each other emerged from the sea.
--
The first was like a lion but had eagles’ wings. As I looked on, its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted off the ground and set on its feet like a human and given the mind of a human. Then I saw a second, different beast, which was like a bear but raised on one side, and with three fangs in its mouth among its teeth; it was told, ‘Arise, eat much meat!’ After that, as I looked on, there was another one, like a leopard, and it had on its back four wings like those of a bird; the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it.

After that, as I looked on in the night vision, there was a fourth beast—fearsome, dreadful, and very powerful, with great iron teeth—that devoured and crushed, and stamped the remains with its feet. It was different from all the other beasts which had gone before it; and it had ten horns. While I was gazing upon these horns, a new little horn sprouted up among them; three of the older horns were uprooted to make room for it. There were eyes in this horn like those of a human, and a mouth that spoke arrogantly.

As I looked on, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took Xyr seat. Xyr garment was like glittering snow, and the hair of Xyr head was like lamb’s wool. Xyr throne was tongues of flame; its wheels were blazing fire. A river of fire streamed forth before Xym; thousands upon thousands served Xym; myriads upon myriads attended Xym; the court sat and the books were opened.

I looked on. Then, because of the arrogant words that the horn spoke, the beast was killed as I looked on; its body was destroyed and it was consigned to the flames. The dominion of the other beasts was taken away, but an extension of life was given to them for a time and season.

As I looked on, in the night vision, one like a human being came with the clouds of heaven; she reached the Ancient of Days and was presented to Xyr. Dominion, glory, and kingship were given to her; all peoples and nations of every language must serve her. Her dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and her kingship, one that shall not be destroyed.
--
As for me, Daniel, my spirit was disturbed within me and the vision of my mind alarmed me. I approached one of the attendants and asked her the true meaning of all this. She gave me this interpretation of the matter:
‘These great beasts, four in number mean four empires will arise out of the earth; then holy ones of the Most High will receive the empire, and will possess the empire forever—forever and ever.’

Queeries for the text:
What brought about this vision?
Who are the four empires?
What beasts are arrogant and need to be killed?
How does snow glitter?
Who was the Ancient of Days?
How was Daniel's mind alarmed?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 6:20-31
²⁰Then Jesus looked up at his chosen family and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the reign of God.
²¹“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
²²“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Human One. ²³Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

²⁴“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
²⁵“Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.
²⁶“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

²⁷“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ²⁹If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. ³⁰Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Queeries for the text:
Where are there false binaries?
How is being harmed a blessing?!
Who excludes, reviles, and defames others in Jesus' name?
Who is rich, full, and laughing?
Who is spoken well of?
How do we bless and pray for those who harm?
What happens when you strike the other cheek?
What happens when you're naked?
What if others want you to do differently?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 20th after Pentecost C

Suzannah Porter and Brooke McLain musically queery the RCL readings.

How does God reassure us in the midst of difficulty?

How have you witnessed God moving mountains?

What leads us to the crown of faithfulness?

How does money connect and separate us?

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River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Joel 2:23-32
O children of Zion, be glad,
Rejoice in the Becoming One your God.
For Xe has given you the early rain in kindness,
Now Xe makes the rain fall as formerly—
The early rain and the late—
And threshing floors shall be piled with grain,
And vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.
“I will repay you for the years
Consumed by swarms and hoppers,
By grubs and locusts,
The great army I let loose against you.
And you shall eat your fill
and praise the name of the Becoming One your God
who dealt so wondrously with you—
my people shall be shamed no more.
And you shall know
That I am in the midst of Israel:
That I the Becoming One am your God
And there is no other.
And My people shall be shamed no more.”
After that,I will pour out My spirit on all flesh;
Your children of many genders shall prophesy;
Your old people shall dream dreams,
And your young ones shall see visions.
I will even pour out My spirit
Upon slaves of all genders in those days.
Before the great and terrible day of the Becoming One comes,
I will set warning signs in the sky and on earth:
Blood and fire and pillars of smoke;
The sun shall turn into darkness
And the moon into blood.
But everyone who invokes the name of the Becoming One shall escape;
for there shall be a remnant on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
as the Becoming One promised. Anyone who invokes the Becoming One
will be among the survivors.

Queeries for the text:
What rain do we need?
Where do we need rain?
Who do we trust for provision?
Who dreams today? When do we look for visions?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 18:9-14
⁹Jesus also told this riddle to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous while despising others: ¹⁰“Two people went up to the temple to pray, one a religious leader and the other an Empire collaborator.

¹¹The religious leader, standing to himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: those who exploit others, those who are corrupt in their relationships, those who cheat, or even like this Empire collaborator. ¹²I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my possessions.’

¹³But the Empire collaborator, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

¹⁴I tell you, on the way home, this one is justified alongside that one; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Queeries for the text:
Who trusts in themselves to be righteous?
Who despises others?
How is comparison helpful? Unhelpful?
How is gratitude called for?
How do you seek to atone for your sins?
Who justifies whom? 

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 16th after Pentecost C

Suzannah Porter and Brooke McLain musically queery the RCL readings.

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

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

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

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

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River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

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

[...]

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

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

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

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

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

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What are your queeries?

Queerying 15th after Pentecost C

Suzannah Porter and Brooke McLain musically queery the RCL readings.

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

How will humans need redemption for blessings being squandered now?

How do you pray for people who abuse their power?

How does prioritizing financial security prevent faithful living?

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River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

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

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

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

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

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What are your queeries?



 

Queerying 14th after Pentecost C

Suzannah Porter and Brooke McLain musically queery the RCL readings.

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

What are we running from when we engage in sin?

How does God's mercy released you from regrets?

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

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River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

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

[...]

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

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

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

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

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

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

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

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

What are your queeries?



 

Queerying 13th after Pentecost C

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

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

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

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

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

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

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River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

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

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

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

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

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

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

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

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

What are your queeries?

Queerying 12th after Pentecost C

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Jeremiah 2:4-13

Hear the word of the Becoming One, O House of Jacob,
Every clan of the House of Israel!
Thus said the Becoming One:
What wrong did your ancestors find in me
that they abandoned me
and went after delusion and were deluded?
They never asked themselves, “Where is the Becoming One,
Who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
Who led us through the wilderness,
A land of deserts and pits,
A land of drought and darkness,
A land no human had traversed,
Where no human being had dwelt?”

I brought you to this country of farm land
To enjoy its fruit and its bounty;
But you came and defiled my land,
you made my possession abhorrent.
The priests never asked themselves, “Where is the Becoming One?”
The guardians of the teaching ignored me;
The rulers rebelled against me,
and the prophets prophesied by Baal
and followed what can do no good.

Oh, I will go on accusing you
—declares the Becoming One—
and I will accuse your children’s children!
Just cross over to the isles of the Kittim and look,
Send to Kedar and observe carefully;
see if anything like this has ever happened:
Has any nation changed its gods
Even though they are no-gods?
But my people have exchanged their glory
for what can do no good.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
be horrified, utterly dazed!
—says the Becoming One.

For my people have done a twofold wrong:
They have forsaken me, the fount of living waters,
and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns,
which cannot even hold water.

Queeries for the text:
Who abandoned whom?
What does the power analysis say?
Where are Kittim and Kedar?
Where else are living waters?

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ETA: There was a mix-up this week and next week's gospel was queeried this week! Hopefully it didn't mess too many people up.
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 parents, spouse and children, siblings, 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?
Who hates life?
How do humans hate life?
How are building cost estimates inaccurate?
Who actually builds towers?
How is peace negotiated?
What harm does war cause?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 11th after Pentecost C

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Jeremiah 1:4-10
The word of the Becoming One came to me:
Before I created you in the womb, I selected you;
Before you were born, I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet concerning the nations.

I replied:
Ah, Becoming God!
I don’t know how to speak,
For I am still a boy.

And the Becoming One said to me:
Do not say, “I am still a boy,”
But go wherever I send you
And speak whatever I command you.
Have no fear of them,
For I am with you to deliver you
—declares the Becoming One.

The Becoming One put out a hand and touched my mouth, and said to me:
Now I put my words into your mouth.
See, I appoint you this day
Over nations and kingdoms:
To uproot and to pull down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
To build and to plant.

Queeries for the text:
How did the word of the Becoming One come?
Who is still a boy?
What are Christians afraid of?
What needs to be destroyed and rebuilt, overthrown and planted?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

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

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

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

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

What are your queeries?

Queerying 10th after Pentecost C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 12:49-56
Jesus said:
⁴⁹“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! ⁵¹Do you think that I have come to remove conflict from the earth? No, I tell you, but rather to engage the conflict already present! ⁵²From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; ⁵³they will be divided: parent against child and child against parent, elder against youth and youth against elder, in-laws against newlyweds and newlyweds against in-laws.”

⁵⁴Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. ⁵⁵And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. ⁵⁶You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Queeries for the text:
What comes with fire?
What can conflict lead to?
How are generations divided?
How accurate are weather predictions?
What is the present time?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 9th after Pentecost C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 12:32-40
Jesus said:
³²“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Caregiver’s good pleasure to give you the reign. ³³Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴For where your wealth is, there your heart also will find itself.

³⁵“Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; ³⁶be like those who are waiting for their enslaver to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. ³⁷Blessed are those people who are enslaved whom the enslaver finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. ³⁸If the enslaver comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those people who are enslaved.

³⁹“But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, they would not have let their house be broken into. ⁴⁰You also must be ready, for the Human One is coming at an unexpected hour.”

Queeries for the text:
Who has a little flock?
When else does Jesus promise us influence over our hearts?
How do you dress for action?
What happens if we are not hypervigilant?
Who else has their lamps lit?
Do enslavers ever serve people who are enslaved?
Who stays out all night for weddings?
When do thieves come?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 8th after Pentecost C

Pace Warfield-May queeries the reading from Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23
1:2 Meaningless, meaningless, says the Teacher, absolutely meaningless! All is meaningless.

[...]

¹²I, the Teacher, when caretaker over Israel in Jerusalem, ¹³ applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all things under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with. ¹⁴ I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is meaningless like a paper bag blowing in the wind.

[...]

^2:18I hated all my work in which I had labored under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those who come after me ¹⁹--and who knows whether they will be wise or foolish? Yet they will take over all for which I labored and worked hard on and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is meaningless.

²⁰So I turned and gave in to deep despair concerning all the work and labors under the sun, ²¹ because sometimes one who has labored and studied with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all their labor to be exploited and enjoyed by another who did not work for it at all. This also is meaningless and a great evil.

²²What do we mere mortals get from all the labor and strain with which we labor under the sun? ²³ For all their days are full of pain and heartache, and their work is frustrating and tiresome; even at night their minds are not free to rest. This also is meaningless.

Queeries for the text:
What's missing?
What is the exploitation of labor?
What makes this exploitation meaningless and a great evil?
What causes you to feel despair?
What things feel meaningless, frustrating, or tiresome?
What can be holy and helpful about feelings of despair and meaninglessness?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 12:13-21
¹³Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”

¹⁴But Jesus said to them, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?”

¹⁵And Jesus said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”

¹⁶Then Jesus told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. ¹⁷And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’
²⁰But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your possessions demanded of you your life. And the things you have hoarded, whose will they be?’
²¹So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

Queeries for the text:
Who has a family inheritance to receive?
Who judges and arbitrates?
Who has abundant possessions?
How does land produce?
Who is raising bigger barns?
What is the purpose of abundance?
Who stores food for many years?
How do possessions claim our lives?
Whose will your possessions be? 

What are your queeries?

Queerying 6th after Pentecost C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 10:38-42
³⁸Now as Jesus and his chosen family 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 Leader’s feet and listened to what he was saying.

⁴⁰But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to Jesus and asked, “Leader, 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 Leader 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:
What kind of "sisters" were they?
Who listens at Jesus' feet today?
How are you distracted?
Who provides hospitality today?
Whose labor is un(der)appreciated?
Who needs help? Who is expected to labor without recognition?
What worries and distracts you?
What is the better part?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 3rd after Pentecost C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 9:51-62
⁵¹When the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. ⁵²And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; ⁵³but they did not receive Jesus, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.

⁵⁴When some of his chosen family, James and John saw it, they said, “Leader, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”

⁵⁵But Jesus turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶Then they went on to another village.

⁵⁷As they were going along the road, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸And Jesus said to them, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Child of Humanity has nowhere to lay Their head.” ⁵⁹To another Jesus said, “Follow me.”

But she said, “Leader, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰But Jesus said to her, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the reign of God.”

⁶¹Another said, “I will follow you, Leader; but let me get closure with those at my home.”

⁶²Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the reign of God.”

Queeries for the text:
How long will Jesus take to get to Jerusalem?
Who are Samaritans?
Why do James and John want to enact violence?
What else do foxes have?
Who has nowhere to lay their heads?
What's wrong with closure?
What happens when a hand is to the plow and the person looks back?

What are your queeries?


 

Queerying 2nd after Pentecost C

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Isaiah 65:1-9
I responded to those who did not ask,
I was at hand to those who did not seek Me;
I said, “Here I am, here I am,”
To a nation that did not invoke My name.
I constantly spread out My hands
To a disloyal people,
Who walk the way that is not good,
Following their own designs;
The people who provoke My anger,
Who continually, to My very face,
Sacrifice in gardens and burn incense on tiles;
Who sit inside tombs
And pass the night in secret places;
Who eat the flesh of swine,
With broth of unclean things in their bowls;
Who say, “Keep your distance! Don’t come closer!
For I would render you consecrated.”
Such things make My anger rage,
Like fire blazing all day long.
See, this is recorded before Me;
I will not stand idly by, but will repay,
deliver their sins into their bosom,
and the sins of their fathers as well
—said the Becoming One—
For they made offerings upon the mountains
And affronted Me upon the hills.
I will count out their recompense in full,
Into their bosoms.
Thus said the Becoming One:
As, when new wine is present in the cluster,
One says, “Don’t destroy it; there’s good in it,”
So will I do for the sake of My servants,
And not destroy everything.
I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
From Judah heirs to My mountains;
My chosen ones shall take possession,
My servants shall dwell thereon.

Queeries for the text:
Who is speaking in this passage?
What does it mean to say "Here, I am"?
Who does/does not have agency?
Why does God DARVO? Who else does?
Where does this fall in the cycle of abuse?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 8:26-39
²⁶Then Jesus and his chosen family arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷As Jesus stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had gone naked, and he did not live in a house but in the graveyard. ²⁸When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Child of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”— ²⁹for Jesus had commanded the contaminated spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; the community kept him under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but breaking the imprisonment, the demon would drive him into the unpopulated areas.)

³⁰Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?”

He said, “Brigade”; for many demons had entered him. ³¹They begged Jesus not to order them to go back into the abyss.

³²Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. ³³Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

³⁴When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. ³⁵Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. ³⁶Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been restored.

³⁷Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned to Galilee.

³⁸The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with Jesus; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So the man went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

Queeries for the text:
Who are the Gerasenes?
Who bears the shame of nudity?
Who else has been driven by a spirit into the uninhabited places?
How do communities harm those who react in unexpected ways?
What else is a brigade?
Why would swine be feeding?
Why does exorcising the Empire scare people?
Where are you called to declare what God has done?

What are your queeries?