Queerying Easter Day C

Queery the rest of Holy Week

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel readings.

Gospel: Luke 24:1-12
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. ²They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³but when they went in, they did not find the body. ⁴While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two people in dazzling clothes stood beside them. ⁵The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the people said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? They are not here, but have risen. ⁶Remember how Jesus told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷that the Human One must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”

⁸Then the women remembered Jesus' words, ⁹and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles.

¹¹But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. ¹²But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

Queeries for the text:
Which spices had been prepared?
When else have dazzling clothes appeared? Who dazzles?
When do we look for the living among the dead?
Who are the sinners?
Who made up the church before the apostles were told?
Why wouldn't they believe women?

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Gospel: John 20:1-18
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. ²So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other in the chosen family, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lover out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid the body.” ³Then Peter and the one whom Jesus loved set out and went toward the tomb. ⁴The two were running together, but the other outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵This one bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but did not go in. ⁶Then Simon Peter came, following, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, ⁷and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. ⁸Then the other, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and saw and believed; ⁹for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that Jesus must rise from the dead. ¹⁰Then the two returned to their homes.

¹¹But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; ¹²and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. ¹³They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”

She said to them, “They have taken away my Lover, and I do not know where they have laid the body.” ¹⁴When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.

¹⁵Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?”

Supposing Jesus to be the gardener, she said, “Liege, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”

¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher).

¹⁷Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Caregiver. But go to my siblings and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Caregiver and your Caregiver, to my God and your God.’”

¹⁸Mary Magdalene went and announced to the chosen family, “I have seen the Lover”; and she told them that They had said these things to her.

Queeries for the text:
Who is the "they"?
How do you believe without understanding?
When do we not recognize loved ones?
How are names powerful?
Who made up the church before Mary announced the news to anyone else?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 22nd after Pentecost B

River Needham, MA ThM queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Job 42:1-6, 10-17
Job said in reply to the Becoming One:
I know that You can do everything,
That nothing You propose is impossible for You.
Who is this who obscures counsel without knowledge?
Indeed, I spoke without understanding
Of things beyond me, which I did not know.
Hear now, and I will speak;
I will ask, and You will inform me.
I had heard You with my ears,
But now I see You with my eyes;
Therefore, I recant and relent,
Being but dust and ashes.

[...]

The Becoming One restored Job’s fortunes when he prayed on behalf of his friends, and the Becoming One gave Job twice what he had before. All his brothers and sisters and all his former friends came to him and had a meal with him in his house. They consoled and comforted him for all the misfortune that the Becoming One had brought upon him. Each gave him some money and each one gold ring. Thus the Becoming One blessed the latter years of Job’s life more than the former. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand she-asses. He also had seven sons and three daughters. The first he named Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. Nowhere in the land were women as beautiful as Job’s daughters to be found. Their father gave them estates together with their brothers. Afterward, Job lived one hundred and forty years to see four generations of children and grandchildren. So Job died old and contented.

Queeries for the text:
What is missing from this text?
If nothing is impossible, what is possible?
What does it mean to be dust and ashes?
How much money did they give? What does the book of Job say about suffering?
Why is Job's Daughter's appearances important?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Mark 10:46-52
⁴⁶They came to Jericho. As Jesus and his chosen family and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. ⁴⁷When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Descendant of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸Many sternly ordered Bartimaeus to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Descendant of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁹Jesus stood still and said, “Call that one here.”

And they called the blind one, saying to Bartimaeus, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.”

⁵⁰So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.

⁵¹Then Jesus said to Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?”

The blind one said to Jesus, “My teacher, let me see again.”

⁵²Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately Bartimaeus regained his sight and followed Jesus on the way.

Queeries for the text:
What else happened in Jericho?
Why is Jesus named the Descendant of David?
Who do we order to be quiet?
What do we throw off to encounter Jesus?
Why did Jesus ask Bartimaeus what he wanted?
What makes us well?

What are your queeries?


 

Queerying Easter 6B

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Acts reading.

 

 

First Reading: Acts 10:44-48

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. ⁴⁵The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, ⁴⁶for they heard them speaking as foreigners and extolling God. Then Peter said, ⁴⁷“Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” ⁴⁸So Peter ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

 

Queeries for the text:

What was Peter "still speaking" about?  To whom?

How much of a klutz is the Holy Spirit?

How do foreigners speak?

Upon whom are you astounded that the Holy Spirit has been poured out?

Who tries to withhold water?

How is reception of the Holy Spirit different for each person?

 

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Guest queerier, Pace Warfield-May, queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: John 15:9-17
[Jesus said]
⁹"As the Caretaker has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you will abide and dwell in my love, just as I have kept my Caretaker's commandments and abide and dwell in Zer love. ¹¹I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

¹²This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵I do not call you subs any longer, because the sub does not know what the dom is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Caretaker. ¹⁶You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Caretaker will give you whatever you ask Zer in my name. ¹⁷I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Queeries for the text:
What does queer friendship look like?
How does slave/master language cause harm?
What do power dynamics have to do with friendship?
What commands do friends give each other?
What does complete joy look like?

What are your queeries?

Queerying 2nd after Epiphany B

River Needham, MA queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: 1 Samuel 3:1-10
Young Samuel was in the service of the Becoming One under Eli. In those days the word of the Becoming One was rare; prophecy was not widespread. One day, Eli was asleep in his usual place; his eyes had begun to fail and he could barely see. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Becoming One where the Ark of God was. 

The Becoming One called out to Samuel, and Samuel answered, “I’m coming.” He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” 

But Eli replied, “I didn’t call you; go back to sleep.” So Samuel went back to lay down. 

Again the Becoming One called, “Samuel!” 

Samuel rose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” 

But Eli replied, “I didn’t call, my son; go back to sleep.”

—Now Samuel had not yet experienced the Becoming One; the word of the Becoming One had not yet been revealed to him.— 

The Becoming One called Samuel again, a third time, and he rose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” 

Then Eli understood that the Becoming One was calling the boy. And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down. If you are called again, say, ‘Speak, Becoming One, for Your servant is listening.’” And Samuel went to his place and lay down. 

The Becoming One came, and stood there, and She called as before: “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”

Queeries for the text:

Why was the word of the Becoming One rare? Why is the word of the Becoming One rare today? Where do we receive the word of the Becoming One today?
When were they sleeping? Why?
Who can sleep in God's temple? Which communities are they permitted in?

What is the significance to being called three times?
Does the Becoming One have a body? How?
 

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

 

Gospel: John 1:43-51

⁴³The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. Jesus found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

 

⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one about whom Moses in the Torah and also the prophets wrote: Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” 

 

⁴⁶Nathanael said to Philip, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” 

 

Philip said to Nathanael, “Come and see.” 

 

⁴⁷When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, Jesus said of Nathanael, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 

 

⁴⁸Nathanael asked Jesus, “Where did you get to know me?” 

 

Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 

 

⁴⁹Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Divine One! You are the Ruler of Israel!” 

 

⁵⁰Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹And Jesus said to Nathanael, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the messengers of God ascending and descending upon the Human One.”

 

Queeries for the text:

The next day after what?

Where do we assume goodness comes from? Can anything good come out of any nation?

Where else do fig trees show up?

How do titles convey meaning? How can they contradict meaning?

What's so great about a fig tree?

Where else do messengers of God ascend and descend?

 

What are your queeries?

 

 

Queerying 3rd after Pentecost A

River Needham M.A. queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Genesis 21:8-21

The child grew up and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

Sarah saw the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham playing.

She said to Abraham, “Cast out that slave-woman and her son, for the son of that slave shall not share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”

The matter distressed Abraham greatly, for it concerned a son of his.

But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed over the boy or your slave; whatever Sarah tells you, do as she says, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be continued for you.

As for the son of the slave-woman, I will make a nation of him, too, for he is your seed.”

Early next morning Abraham took some bread and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar. He placed them over her shoulder, together with the child, and sent her away. And she wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

When the water was gone from the skin, she left the child under one of the bushes,

and went and sat down at a distance, a bowshot away; for she thought, “Let me not look on as the child dies.” And sitting thus afar, she burst into tears.

God heard the cry of the boy, and an angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heeded the cry of the boy where he is.

Come, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.”

Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water, and let the boy drink.

God was with the boy and he grew up; he dwelt in the wilderness and became a bowman.

He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Queeries for the text:
[Note: These questions are pointedly toward white people.]

What do the Midrashim say about Hagar?

How is this story important to Islam?

Who do you most relate to in this text? Why do you feel a connection with them?

Who do those outside of us say that we are?
Who do we cast out? How do we cast them out?

How are we our kindred's keeper?

Who dies from the temper tantrums of white women?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Matthew 10:24-39

Jesus said:

²⁴“A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; ²⁵it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of the household!

²⁶“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. ²⁷What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. ²⁸Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰And even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

³²“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; ³³but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

³⁴“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. ³⁷Whoever loves a parent more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves an offspring more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

Queeries for the text:

What is the difference between teacher and master?

How is this text problematic?

What happens when people with power request secret keeping?

How many hairs are there to count?

From where do we get our value?

What sort of peace does Jesus resist?

How are family dynamics complicated?

How do we define people? How do we define God?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Lent 3A

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

Tanakh: Exodus 17:1-7

From the Wilderness of Sin the whole Israelite community continued by stages as the Becoming One would command. They encamped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarreled with Moses. “Give us water to drink,” they said; and Moses replied to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you try the Becoming One?”And the people thirsted there for water; and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” Moses cried out to the Becoming One, saying, “What shall I do with this people? Before long they will be stoning me!” Then the Becoming One said to Moses, “Pass before the people; take with you some of the elders of Israel, and take along the rod with which you struck the Nile, and set out. I will be standing there before you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock and water will issue from it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. The place was named Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and because they tried the Becoming One, saying, “Is the Becoming One present among us or not?”

Queeries for the text:
What is the significance of the Wilderness of Sin?
Where do we lack water?
Why do we lack water?
How are we grumbling instead of looking for water?
For what do we thirst?
For what do you thirst?
What risks are you taking? What safety have you left to follow God's call?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: John 4:5-42

⁵So Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. ⁷A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” ⁸(Jesus' disciples had gone to the city to buy food.)

⁹The Samaritan woman said to Jesus, “How is it that you, a Jewish man, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jewish people do not share things in common with Samaritans.)

¹⁰Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked them, and they would have given you living water.”

¹¹The woman said to Jesus, “Captain, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? ¹²Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?”

¹³Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.”

¹⁵The woman said to him, “Captain, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.”

¹⁷The woman answered him, “I have no husband.”

Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; ¹⁸for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!”

¹⁹The woman said to him, “Captain, I see that you are a prophet. ²⁰Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.”

²¹Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²²You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. ²⁴God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

²⁵The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.”

²⁶Jesus said to her, “I am Them, the one who is speaking to you.”

²⁷Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” ²⁸Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ²⁹“Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” ³⁰They left the city and were on their way to him.

³¹Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

³²But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”

³³So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?”

³⁴Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to complete Their work. ³⁵Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. ³⁶The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for everlasting life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. ³⁷For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

³⁹Many Samaritans from that city believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony, “They told me everything I have ever done.”

⁴⁰So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they asked him to stay with them; and Jesus stayed there two days. ⁴¹And many more believed because of his word. ⁴²They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

Queeries for the text:
What happened at Jacob's well?  Why isn't Genesis the Tanakh reading for this day?
Why is the woman coming to get water in the heat of the day?
What assumptions are made about Jesus' sexuality in this passage?  What about the woman's sexuality?
What happens if the "the one you have now" is not your husband, because they're not a man?
What is living water?
What astonishes you?
Why do the Samaritans from that city need more proof than a woman's word?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Lent 1A

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

Tanakh: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

The Becoming God took the human and placed them in the garden of Eden, to till it and tend it. Then the Becoming God commanded the human, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat; but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of it, you shall die.” Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild beasts that the Becoming God had made. The serpent said to the woman, “Did God really say: You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?” The woman replied to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the other trees of the garden. It is only about fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said: ‘You shall not eat of it or touch it, lest you die.’” And the serpent said to the woman, “You are not going to die, but God knows that as soon as you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like divine beings who know good and bad.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for eating and a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable as a source of wisdom, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they perceived that they were naked and they sewed together fig leaves and made themselves loincloths.

Queeries for the text:
How big would the garden of Eden need to be to support two humans today?
What are your favorite dangerous plants?
What gets omitted in this pericope?
How does this text speak to human biases in picking and translating texts?
Can serpents talk or reason?
How is good and bad decided?
What is wrong with being naked?
How are fig leaves sewn together?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ²Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards was famished. ³The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Child of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

⁴But Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

⁵Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶saying to him, “If you are the Child of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘God will command Their angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

⁷Jesus said to the tempter, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Becoming One your God to the test.’”

⁸Again, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; ⁹and the devil said to Jesus, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

¹⁰Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Becoming One your God, and serve only Them.’” ¹¹Then the devil left Jesus, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Queeries for the text:
Why would the Spirit lead to temptation?
What comes from the mouth of God?
What is visible from the pinnacle today?
What would you trade for food?
What would you trade for proof?
What would you trade for power?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Advent 4A

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeried the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Matthew 1:18-25

¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When Jesus' mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

¹⁹Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. ²⁰But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of God appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will bear a child, whom you are to name Jesus, for this one will save the people from their sins.”

²²All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by God through the prophet: ²³“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a child, whom they shall name Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” ²⁴When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of God commanded him; Joseph took Mary as his wife, ²⁵but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a child; and Joseph named the child Jesus.

Queeries for the text:
What does it mean to be righteous?
What would have happened if Joseph had dismissed Mary?
Why does verb tense matter?
What kind of name is Jesus?
What does virgin actually mean?
What did the prophet actually say?
How did Joseph take Mary?

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 2nd after Pentecost C

Periodic Queerier, River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: 1 Kings 19:1-4 [5-7] 8-15
When Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he had put all the prophets to the sword, Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “Thus and more may the gods do if by this time tomorrow I have not made you like one of them.”
Frightened, Elijah fled at once for his life.
Elijah came to Beer-sheba, which is in Judah, and left his servant there; Elijah himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. Elijah came to a broom bush and sat down under it, and prayed that he might die.
“Enough!” he cried. “Now, O Becoming One, take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” He lay down and fell asleep under a broom bush. 
Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 

He looked about; and there, beside his head, was a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water! He ate and drank, and lay down again.
The angel of the Becoming One came a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.”

He arose and ate and drank; and with the strength from that meal he walked forty days and forty nights as far as the mountain of God at Horeb.
There he went into a cave, and there he spent the night.
Then the word of the Becoming One came to him. Ze said to him, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
He replied, “I am moved by zeal for the Becoming One, the God of Angel Armies, for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and put Your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they are out to take my life.”
“Come out,” Ze called, “and stand on the mountain before the Becoming One.”
And lo, the Becoming One passed by.
There was a great and mighty wind, splitting mountains and shattering rocks by the power of the Becoming One; but the Becoming One was not in the wind.
After the wind—an earthquake; but the Becoming One was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake—fire; but the Becoming One was not in the fire.
And after the fire—a soft murmuring sound.
When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his mantle about his face and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
Then a voice addressed him: “Why are you here, Elijah?” He answered, “I am moved by zeal for the Becoming One, the God of Angel Armies; for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and have put Your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they are out to take my life.”
The Becoming One said to him, “Go back by the way you came, and on to the wilderness of Damascus.

Queeries for the text:
Who was Jezebel?
Where else do prophets call out for God to take their life?
Why do we think the angel is not a necessary part of the story? Where else do we edit out people? Does the meaning of the text change with or without the italicized portion?
What meaning does the number 40 have?
What does it mean to come out?
Where is God in natural disasters?
How does God speak today?
Where all did Elijah travel?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 8:26-39
²⁶Then Jesus and the disciple arrived at the country of the Gerasenes,

which is opposite Galilee.

²⁷As Jesus stepped out on land,

a person of the city who had demons met him.

For a long time they had worn no clothes,
and they did not live in a house but in the tombs.

²⁸When they saw Jesus,

they fell down before him
and shouted at the top of their 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 unclean spirit
to come out of the person.

(For many times it had seized them;
they were kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles,

but they would break the bonds
and be driven by the demon into the wilds.)

³⁰Jesus then asked them,

“What is your name?”

They said,

“Legion”;

for many demons had entered them.

³¹The demons 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 Jesus gave them permission.

³³Then the demons came out of the person
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.
and when they came to Jesus,

they found the person from whom the demons had gone

sitting at the feet of Jesus,

clothed and in their right mind.

And they were afraid.

³⁶Those who had seen it told them

how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed.

³⁷Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes

asked Jesus to leave them;

for they were seized with great fear.

So Jesus got into the boat and returned.

³⁸The one from whom the demons had gone begged

that they might be with Jesus;

but Jesus sent them away, saying,

³⁹“Return to your home,
and declare how much God has done for you.”

So they went away,

proclaiming throughout the city

how much Jesus had done for them.

Queeries for the text:
Why did people let the person live without clothes in a tomb?
Who else is bound?  With chains and shackles?
Who else is driven into the wilds?
What does "Legion" represent?
Who is Legion today?
What's the difference between the abyss and drowning in a lake?
Why does someone in their right mind spark fear?
Why and how are we afraid of healing? How do we encounter healing?
Why does Jesus send the person away?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Easter 6C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Acts reading.

Acts 16:9-15
⁹During the night Paul had a vision:

there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying,

“Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

¹⁰When Paul had seen the vision,

we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia,

being convinced that God had called us

to proclaim the good news to them.

¹¹We set sail from Troas
and took a straight course to Samothrace,
the following day to Neapolis,
¹²and from there to Philippi,

which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia
and a Roman colony.

We remained in this city for some days.

¹³On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river,

where we supposed there was a place of prayer;

and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there.

¹⁴A certain woman named Lydia,

a worshiper of God,

was listening to us;

she was from the city of Thyatira
and a dealer in purple cloth.

The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.

¹⁵When she and her household were baptized,

she urged us, saying,

“If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord,

come and stay at my home.”

And she prevailed upon us.

Queeries for the text:
Where was Paul and who was with him?
Who is "us" in Macedonia? Did Paul actually help them?
What did the journey look like?
Why does it matter that the cloth was purple?
Where is Thyatira?
How does Lydia have a household?
How hard did Lydia prevail to provide hospitality?
What colonies exist today?
If a man had summoned Paul, why did the group talk to women?  Would they have listened if a woman had summoned them?  What about someone who was trans, intersex, and/or gender expansive?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Easter 3C

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Acts and Gospel readings.

Acts 9:1-6 [7-20]
Meanwhile Saul,

still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of Jesus,

went to the high priest
²and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus,

so that if Saul found any who belonged to the Way, of any gender,

he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

³Now as Saul was going along and approaching Damascus,

suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,

“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

⁵Saul asked,

“Who are you, Sovereign?”

The reply came,

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

⁶But get up and enter the city,
and you will be told what you are to do.”

[⁷The ones who were traveling with Saul stood speechless

because they heard the voice but saw no one.

⁸Saul got up from the ground,

and though his eyes were open,

he could see nothing;

so they led Saul by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

⁹For three days Saul was without sight,

and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias.

The Sovereign said to him in a vision,

“Ananias.”

Ananias answered,

“Here I am, Sovereign.”

¹¹The Sovereign said to Ananias,

“Get up and go to the street called Straight,

and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul.

At this moment he is praying,

¹²and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in
and lay his hands on Saul so that he might regain his sight.”

¹³But Ananias answered,

“Sovereign, I have heard from many about this man,

how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem;

¹⁴and here he has authority from the chief priests

to bind all who invoke your name.”

¹⁵But the Sovereign said to Ananias,

“Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen

to bring my name before Gentiles and rulers
and before the people of Israel;

¹⁶I myself will show Saul how much he must suffer

for the sake of my name.”

¹⁷So Ananias went and entered the house.

He laid his hands on Saul and said,

“Brother Saul,

the Sovereign Jesus,

who appeared to you on your way here,

has sent me so that you may regain your sight

and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

¹⁸And immediately something like scales fell from Saul's eyes,

and his sight was restored.

Then he got up and was baptized,

¹⁹and after taking some food,

Saul regained his strength.

For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus,

²⁰and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying,

“Jesus is the One born of God.”]

Queeries for the text:
Who breathes threats and murder against faithful people today?
How do we persecute Jesus today?
How much evil is done while thinking it is for God?
How is blindness a gift for Saul?
Why would anyone want a street (or anything) called Straight?
How much must Saul suffer for the sake of the Holy Name?
When do we begin to call him Paul?
When have we encountered the Divine?  Do we recognize it?  Do we name it as such?

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Gospel: John 21:1-19
After these things

Jesus showed themself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias;

and they showed themself in this way.

²Gathered there together were Simon Peter,

Thomas called the Twin,
Nathanael of Cana in Galilee,
the sons of Zebedee,
and two others of the disciples.

³Simon Peter said to them,

“I am going fishing.”

They said to him,

“We will go with you.”

They went out and got into the boat,

but that night they caught nothing.

⁴Just after daybreak,

Jesus stood on the beach;

but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

⁵Jesus said to them,

“Children, you have no fish, have you?”

They answered Jesus,

“No.”

⁶Jesus said to them,

“Cast the net to the right side of the boat,

and you will find some.”

So they cast it,

and now they were not able to haul it in

because there were so many fish.

⁷That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter,

“It is the Sovereign!”

When Simon Peter heard that it was Jesus,

he put on some clothes, for he was naked,

and jumped into the sea.

⁸But the other disciples came in the boat,

dragging the net full of fish,

for they were not far from the land,

only about a hundred yards off.

⁹When they had gone ashore,

they saw a charcoal fire there,

with fish on it, and bread.

¹⁰Jesus said to them,

“Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”

¹¹So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore,

full of large fish,

a hundred fifty-three of them;

and though there were so many,

the net was not torn.

¹²Jesus said to them,

“Come and have breakfast.”

Now none of the disciples dared to ask Jesus,

“Who are you?”

because they knew it was the Sovereign.

¹³Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them,

and did the same with the fish.

¹⁴This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples

after being raised from the dead.

¹⁵When they had finished breakfast,

Jesus said to Simon Peter,

“Simon son of John,

do you love me more than these?”

Simon Peter said to Jesus,

“Yes, Sovereign;

you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him,

“Feed my lambs.”

¹⁶A second time Jesus said to him,

“Simon son of John,

do you love me?”

Simon Peter said to Jesus,

“Yes, Sovereign;

you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him,

“Tend my sheep.”

¹⁷Jesus said to Simon Peter the third time,

“Simon son of John,

do you love me?”

Peter felt hurt because Jesus said to him the third time, “Do you love me?”

And Peter said to Jesus,

“Sovereign, you know everything;

you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him,

“Feed my sheep.

¹⁸Very truly, I tell you,

when you were younger,

you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished.

But when you grow old,

you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will fasten a belt around you
and take you where you do not wish to go.”

¹⁹(Jesus said this to indicate

the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.)

After this Jesus said to him,

“Follow me.”

Queeries for the text:
How many times will Jesus show themself to the disciples?
Why did Simon Peter want to go fishing?
Do the fishing disciples always follow instructions and advice from strangers they don't recognize?
How does the Beloved Disciple know it's Jesus?
Why is Simon Peter in such a rush to get to Jesus?
Why does the disciple whom Jesus loves wait for the boat to get to short to see Jesus?
Why does Jesus want more fish if some was already on the fire?
Why 153?
How many times must Jesus appear for the disciples to get it?
Why does Jesus ask Simon Peter three times?

What are your queeries?