Queerying Ascension C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Acts reading.

Acts 1:1-11
In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning ²until the day when They were taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the Sent Ones whom They had chosen. ³After Jesus' suffering They presented Themself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to the Sent Ones during forty days and speaking about the reign of God. ⁴While staying with them, Jesus ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Caregiver.

“This,” Jesus said, “is what you have heard from me; ⁵for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

⁶So when they had come together, they asked Jesus, “Lover, is this the time when you will restore the empire to Israel?”

⁷Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Caregiver has set by Xyr own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ⁹When Jesus had said this, as they were watching, They were lifted up, and a cloud took Them out of the Sent Ones' sight.

¹⁰While Jesus was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two beings in white robes stood by them. ¹¹They said, “People of Galilee, why do you stay looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Them go into heaven.”

Queeries for the text:
What first book?
What sort of proofs did Jesus present?
What is the promise of the Caregiver?
What happens when the oppressed become the empire?
How are we witnesses?
How did Jesus ascend?
Why do we stay looking?

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J. Pace Warfield-May queeries the Psalm.

Psalm 93
The Becoming One is Qween, Xe is wearing a majestic caftan;

the Becoming One is in drag; Xe is wearing a corset of strength.

Xe has established the world so that it cannot be moved.

Your stage is established from before the dawn of time;

you are from ancient times and beyond.

The floods have risen, O Becoming One,

the waters and floods have raised their voice;

the waters and floods raise a roar of waves.

More majestic and glittering than the thunders of these mighty waves,

more majestic and glittering than the waves of the sea,

the Becoming One is majestic and glittering on high!

Your witness is beyond reproach;

holiness overflows your house,

O Becoming One, from ancient times and beyond.

Queeries for the text:
How do you imagine the Becoming One as a drag queen?
What is a corset of strength?
What does the roar of waves sound like?
What does it mean to bear witness?


What are your queeries?



 

Queerying 3rd after Pentecost B

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Mark 4:26-34
²⁶Jesus also said, “The reign of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, they do not know how. ²⁸The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹But when the grain is ripe, at once they go in with the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

³⁰Jesus also said, “With what can we compare the reign of God, or what parable will we use for it? ³¹It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; ³²yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

³³With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to the gathered followers, as they were able to hear it; ³⁴Jesus did not speak to them except in parables, but explained everything in private to the disciples.

Queeries for the text:
What did we skip?
What do we know about God's reign? 
What do farmers and gardeners know?
What conspires with the earth?
What's smaller than a mustard seed?
How great can a shrub actually be?
Why parables?  Why private explanations?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Lent 1B

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

 

 

Gospel: Mark 1:9-15

⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰And just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. ¹¹And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Child, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” ¹²And the Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness. ¹³Jesus was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

¹⁴Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, ¹⁵and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the reign of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

Queeries for the text:

Where else are things torn?

How does the Spirit guide in the wilderness? How is the wilderness a gift?

How long does 40 days last?

Which wild beasts?

What did the night sky look like?

Who are the angels today? 

Why was John arrested?

For what do we repent?

 

What are your queeries?

 

 

Queerying 22nd after Pentecost C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 20:27-38
²⁷Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus ²⁸and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. ²⁹Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; ³⁰then the second ³¹and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. ³²Finally the woman also died. ³³In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”

³⁴Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; ³⁵but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. ³⁶Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. ³⁷And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Becoming One as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. ³⁸Now God is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to God all of them are alive.”

Queeries for the text:
What did we skip?
Why ask about what you don't believe?
Why ask theoretical questions?
What if she didn't want to marry any of the men?
Which ages are we talking about?
What does it mean to be alive?
What are angels like?

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?

-----

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?

Maundy Thursday year C

Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Exodus 12:1-4 [5-10] 11-14.
The Becoming One said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:

This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months;

it shall be the first of the months of the year for you.

Speak to the whole community of Israel and say that on the tenth of this month

each of them shall take a lamb to a family, a lamb to a household.

But if the household is too small for a lamb, let him share one with a neighbor who

dwells nearby in proportion to the number of persons: you shall contribute for

the lamb according to what each household will eat.

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a yearling male;

you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

You shall keep watch over it until the fourteenth day of this month;

and all the assembled congregation of the Israelites shall slaughter it at twilight.

They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel

of the houses in which they are to eat it.

They shall eat the flesh that same night;

they shall eat it roasted over the fire,

with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs.

Do not eat any of it raw, or cooked in any way with water,

but roasted—head, legs, and entrails—over the fire.

You shall not leave any of it over until morning;

if any of it is left until morning, you shall burn it.

This is how you shall eat it:

your loins girded,

your sandals on your feet,

and your staff in your hand;

and you shall eat it hurriedly:

it is a passover offering to the Becoming One.
For that night I will go through the land of Egypt

and strike down every first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast;

and I will mete out punishments to all the gods of Egypt,

I the Becoming One.

And the blood on the houses where you are staying shall be a sign for you:

when I see the blood I will pass over you,

so that no plague will destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

This day shall be to you one of remembrance: you shall celebrate it as a festival to

the Becoming One throughout the ages;

you shall celebrate it as an institution for all time.

Queeries for the text:
Does time rebegin in this text? How does time change in this text?
What do cooperative economics look like in this text? In different cultures? Today?
Why were the preparation instructions not a required part of the assigned reading?
Why is cooking it with water explicitly verboten?
Are there any meals we eat hurriedly today? Why do we hurry?
Who are the gods of Egypt? Why does the Becoming One need to mete out punishments to them? What do they do?
What is the significance of blood? Why does God upend the social structure, where Egyptians benefit from the slavery of the Israelites? What might this imply for our social structure today?
Are there any additional plagues? Does this complicate God's instruction? Who was Batyah? Why is she important?
What is the significance of passover to Christians?

-----

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Now before the festival of the Passover,

Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world

and go to the Loving Parent.

Having loved his own who were in the world,

Jesus loved them to the end.

²The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas

son of Simon Iscariot to betray him.

And during supper ³Jesus,

knowing that the Loving Parent had given all things into his hands,

and that he had come from God and was going to God,

⁴got up from the table,
took off his outer robe,
and tied a towel around himself.

⁵Then Jesus poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.

⁶Jesus came to Simon Peter, who said to him,

“Master, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus answered,

“You do not know now what I am doing,

but later you will understand.”

⁸Peter said to Jesus,

“You will never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered,

“Unless I wash you,

you have no share with me.”

⁹Simon Peter said to him,

“Master, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”

¹⁰Jesus said to Simon Peter,

“One who has bathed does not need to wash,

except for the feet,

but is entirely clean.

And you are clean,

though not all of you.”

¹¹For Jesus knew who was to betray him;

for this reason he said,

“Not all of you are clean.”

¹²After Jesus had washed their feet,
had put on his robe,
and had returned to the table,
he said to them,

“Do you know what I have done to you?

¹³You call me Teacher and Master—and you are right,

for that is what I am.

¹⁴So if I, your Master and Teacher, have washed your feet,

you also ought to wash one another’s feet.

¹⁵For I have set you an example,

that you also should do as I have done to you.

¹⁶Very truly, I tell you,

slaves are not greater than their master,

nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them.

¹⁷If you know these things,

you are blessed if you do them.”

³¹“Now the Human One has been glorified,

and God has been glorified in them.

³²If God has been glorified in the Human One,

God will also glorify the Human One in Godself
and will glorify them at once.

³³Little children,

I am with you only a little longer.

You will look for me;

and as I said to the Judeans so now I say to you,

‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’

³⁴I give you a new commandment,

that you love one another.

Just as I have loved you,

you also should love one another.

³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,

if you have love for one another.”

Queeries for the text:
What's missing?
Why is John's gospel always hating on Judas?
What was under Jesus' outer robe?  How big was the towel?
Why would Jesus wash everyone's feet?
Do we ever really know what Jesus is doing?
What kind of master and slave are we talking about?  Was Jesus kinky?  A power bottom?
How has the Human One been glorified?  How is God glorified in humanity?
What can it look like to love one another?  What about those outside of the community?  How do we fail at Jesus' new commandment?

What are your queeries?

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?

-----

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?

10th after pentecost year b - john

Special thanks to River Needham for their collaboration on questions yet again!

John 6:1-21
After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, 
     also called the Sea of Tiberias.
     ²A large crowd kept following him, 
          because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick.
     ³Jesus went up the mountain 
     and sat down there with his disciples.
          ⁴Now the Passover, 
               the festival of the Jewish people, 
                    was near.
     ⁵When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, 
          Jesus said to Philip, 
               “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?”
                    ⁶Jesus said this to test Philip, 
                         for Jesus knew what he was going to do.
          ⁷Philip answered Jesus, 
               “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread 
                    for each of them to get a little.”
          ⁸One of Jesus' disciples, 
               Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, 
                    said to him,
                         ⁹“There is a child here 
                              who has five barley loaves and two fish. 
                                   But what are they among so many people?”
          ¹⁰Jesus said, 
               “Make the people sit down.” 
                    Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; 
                         so they sat down, 
                              about five thousand in all.
          ¹¹Then Jesus took the loaves, 
               and when he had given thanks, 
                    he distributed them to those who were seated; 
               so also the fish, 
                    as much as they wanted.
               ¹²When they were satisfied, 
                    Jesus told his disciples, 
                         “Gather up the fragments left over, 
                              so that nothing may be lost.”
                                   ¹³So they gathered them up, 
                                   and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, 
                                        left by those who had eaten, 
                                             they filled twelve baskets.
          ¹⁴When the people saw the sign that Jesus had done, 
               they began to say, 
                    “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.” 

¹⁵When Jesus realized that they were about to come 
     and take him by force to make him king, 
          he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
     ¹⁶When evening came, 
          Jesus' disciples went down to the sea,
          ¹⁷got into a boat, 
          and started across the sea to Capernaum. 
               It was now dark, 
               and Jesus had not yet come to them.
          ¹⁸The sea became rough 
               because a strong wind was blowing.
                    ¹⁹When they had rowed about three or four miles, 
                         they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, 
                              and they were terrified.
                    ²⁰But Jesus said to them, 
                         “Here I AM; 
                              do not be afraid.”
                                   ²¹Then they wanted to take Jesus into the boat, 
                                        and immediately the boat reached the land 
                                             toward which they were going. 

Queeries for the text:
How many sides are there for Jesus to keep crossing over?
How does Passover's nearness matter?
How do we suffer from a theology of scarcity?
What do we lose with all of the fragments left over that we do not gather up?
If these children of Israel have already eaten, who gets these crumbs?
How can 12 baskets fit in 5 loaves?  How much fish was left over?
What does it mean to be a public leader who also exists in private, withdrawn spaces?
Why did the disciples leave without Jesus and then get scared when he caught up to them?  What else did they expect?
Does Jesus always come in dark, rough times?  Was the Holy Spirit just being extra persistent? 
What does space mean when Jesus can manipulate both water and shore?
Did Jesus ever actually get into the boat?

What are your queeries?



Sermon:
Today's sermon drew on this queerying of the text as well as today's second reading: Ephesians 3:14-21.  I've noticed the places where this gospel queery has impacted my sermon, but if you want to know more of my insights into those connections, please let me know!!

The visual for today's sermon.

If you'd like to listen to the sermon, the whole service was once again recorded and you are welcome to listen to it.  The second reading begins at 16:10.  The gospel reading begins at 17:44.  My sermon begins at 21:20.


 

8th after pentecost year b - mark

Special thanks to River Needham for their queerying collaboration this week!
 
Mark 6:14-29

14King Herod heard of the disciples’ preaching,

    for Jesus’ name had become known.

    Some were saying,

         “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead;

              and for this reason these powers are at work in him.”

    15But others said,

         “It is Elijah.”

    And others said,

         “It is a prophet,

              like one of the prophets of old.”

    16But when Herod heard of it, he said,

         “John, whom I beheaded,

              has been raised.”

17For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John,

    bound him,

    and put him in prison on account of Herodias,

         his brother Philip’s wife,

              because Herod had married her.

         18For John had been telling Herod,

              “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

    19And Herodias had a grudge against him,

         and wanted to kill him.

              But she could not,

                   20for Herod feared John,

                        knowing that he was a righteous and holy man,

                   and he protected him.

    When Herod heard John,

         he was greatly perplexed;

              and yet he liked to listen to him.

         21But an opportunity came when Herod

              on his birthday

                   gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers

                        and for the leaders of Galilee.

              22When his daughter Herodias came in and danced,

                   she pleased Herod and his guests;

                   and the king said to the girl,

                        “Ask me for whatever you wish,

                             and I will give it.”

                        23And he solemnly swore to her,

                             “Whatever you ask me,

                                  I will give you,

                                       even half of my kingdom.”

                   24She went out and said to her mother,

                        “What should I ask for?”

                   She replied,

                        “The head of John the baptizer.”

25Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested,

    “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

         26The king was deeply grieved;

              yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests,

                   he did not want to refuse her.

27Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard

    with orders to bring John’s head.

    The soldier went and beheaded him in the prison,

         28brought his head on a platter,

              and gave it to the girl.

                   Then the girl gave it to her mother.

         29When his disciples heard about it,

              they came and took his body,

                   and laid it in a tomb.

Queeries for the text:
Is Mark a Time Lord, experiencing everything as "a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey...stuff"?
How does life continue after death?
Is Jesus restricted to being just one of the roles people name? Does Jesus have to be any of them?
Is Herodias, the wife of Philip then Herod, trying to pull a Zeresh? 
How can celebration and death coexist?
Does Herodias, the daughter of Herodias and Herod, have PTSD from this experience?
Could Herod have put John's whole body on a giant platter alive instead of killing him?
Was Herodias' second marriage consensual?
Is it possible to be more dysfunctional than this family?

What are your queeries?