Queerying 23rd after Pentecost A

This week we queery in loving memory of the Rev. Dr. Cheryl Pero, who died this past week after a short illness.

After nearly three months away, and passing her Ph.D. qualifying examinations, River Needham M.A., returns and queeries the Tanakh reading this week. 

Tanakh: Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25

Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Schechem. He summoned Israel’s elders and commanders, magistrates and officers; and they presented themselves before God. Then Joshua said to all the people, “Thus said the Becoming One, the God of Israel: In olden times, your ancestors—Terah, father of Abraham and father of Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and worshiped other gods. But I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates and led him through the whole land of Canaan and multiplied his offspring.
[...]
“Now, therefore, revere the Becoming One and serve Hir with undivided loyalty; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the Becoming One. Or, if you are loath to serve the Becoming One, choose this day which ones you are going to serve—the gods that your forefathers served beyond the Euphrates, or those of the Amorites in whose land you are settled; but I and my household will serve the Becoming One.” 

In reply, the people declared, “Far be it from us to forsake the Becoming One and serve other gods! For it was the Becoming One our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, the house of bondage, and who wrought those wondrous signs before our very eyes, and guarded us all along the way that we traveled and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. And then the Becoming One drove out before us all the peoples—the Amorites—that inhabited the country. We too will serve the Becoming One, for Xe is our God.” 

Joshua, however, said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Becoming One, for Xe is a holy God. Xe is a jealous God; Xe will not forgive your transgressions and your sins. If you forsake the Becoming One and serve alien gods, Xe will turn and deal harshly with you and make an end of you, after having been gracious to you.” 

 

But the people replied to Joshua, “No, we will serve the Becoming One!” 

 

At which point, Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have by your own act chosen to serve the Becoming One.” 

 

“Yes, we are!” they responded. “Then put away the alien gods that you have among you and direct your hearts to the Becoming One, the God of Israel.” 

 

And the people declared to Joshua, “We will serve none but the Becoming One our God, and we will obey none but Hir.”

Queeries for the text:
What is missing from this text?
How might the ancestral gods be read differently?
How does this text read in an election year?

Why is jealousy portrayed as an acceptable reason for violence?
Where does God act violently?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel:  Matthew 25:1-13

Jesus said:

"Then the dominion of heaven will be like this. Ten attendants of the wedding party took their lamps and went to meet the betrothed. ²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; ⁴but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 

⁵As the betrothed was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. ⁶But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the betrothed! Come out to meet them.’ 

⁷Then all those attendants got up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 

⁹But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 

¹⁰And while they went to buy it, the betrothed came, and those who were ready went with them into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. 

¹¹Later the other attendants came also, saying, ‘Liege, liege, open to us.’ 

¹²But they replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ 

¹³Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

Queeries for the text:

How might a collectivist culture read this text?

How might a capitalist culture read this text?

How might a single person read this text?

How might a polyamorous person read this text?

What other options do the attendants have?

What are we waiting for?

Who do we not know?

Who doesn't know us?

What are your queeries?

Queerying Easter 2A

Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Acts reading.

Acts 2:14a, 22-32
¹⁴But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd in Jerusalem,

²²“You people of Israel, listen to what I have to say:
Jesus of Nazareth, one attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— ²³this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. ²⁴But God raised them up, having freed them from death, because it was impossible for them to be held in its power. ²⁵For David says concerning them, ‘I saw the Becoming One always before me, for They are at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; ²⁶therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will live in hope. ²⁷For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your Holy One experience corruption. ²⁸You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

²⁹“You people and kindred, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that They would put one of his descendants on the throne. ³¹Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, ‘They were not abandoned to Sheol, nor did their flesh experience corruption.’ ³²This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. ...

Queeries for the text:
What's missing?
When is this taking place?
How does God's "definite plan and foreknowledge" of the crucifixion comfort?  How does it disturb?
How might antisemitism be read into this text?  How does Peter's second naming of the crowd challenge that interpretation?
What is the difference between Sheol and Hades?
Is David saying the same thing two different ways?
Whose hands are outside the law?

What are your queeries?

Remembering Pulse: Words at a Vigil

Below are my words from the Pulse Vigil that took place this evening at The Blazing Saddle in Des Moines.  I was one of three speakers and simultaneous translation and interpretation were provided in Spanish and ASL, so I only have the English below.

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Buenas noches.  Good evening.

I'm Pastor Emily Ewing and I'm the Social Justice Pastor at Trinity las Américas United Methodist Church.  My pronouns are they/them/theirs, elle.

Today, my queerly beloved, we gather on land originally inhabited by the Ioway, Sauk, and Meskwaki peoples to remember violence perpetrated on the land of the Seminole people.

The attack on Pulse night club on Latinx night was a decidedly “American” attack—born from a country that weds the dominant religious ideology and white supremacy.  This country combines the evils of racism and queer- and transphobia and in recent years has been even more explicitly encouraging them.

The ways this country has historically and still today perpetuated and even created newly horrific forms of racism, queerphobia and transphobia, especially under the name of Christianity and “religious freedom” are sin.  Racism is sin.  White supremacy is sin.  Queerphobia is sin.  Transphobia is sin.  Heterosexism and cisgenderism are sin.

They harm everyone.

Just as immigration and the evils of ICE and Border Patrol don’t just impact those living along the borders, what happened at Pulse is not restricted to Orlando.  White supremacists and neo Nazis have been physically disrupting Prides this year.  In recent months we have heard again of Black trans women being killed in Dallas, of yet another Latina trans woman dying in detention while seeking asylum, and this is all to say nothing of the murders that don’t make our news.

And so we gather.

Again and again we gather.

We gather to support and encourage each other.

We gather to remember the lives we have lost—the ones unjustly taken from us.

We gather to challenge the powers and principalities that seek to do harm—to oppress, divide, and diminish especially the most marginalized among us.

In my Lutheran tradition, when someone is baptized or confirmed—recommitting themselves to their faith journey—we celebrate and we also make space to renounce the forces that divide and harm us and the world.  So, if you are willing, please join me when appropriate by responding to my questions with “I renounce them.”  Not every renunciation will apply to each one of us gathered here, but especially when it comes to systems and powers that you benefit from or that you want tonight to commit to challenging, please join in the renunciation.  The decision is entirely yours to do as you feel moved.

Do you, my queerly beloveds, renounce queerphobia, homophobia, and biphobia?

I renounce them.

Do you renounce racism, white supremacy, and xenophobia?

I renounce them.

Do you renounce transphobia, cisgenderism, and the gender binary?

I renounce them.

Do you renounce all forms of religious bigotry, religious extremism, and religious supremacy?

I renounce them.

Do you renounce the shame that others impose and use to condemn?

I renounce them.

Do you renounce the powers and principalities that attempt to divide and conquer us?

I renounce them.

Recommitting ourselves to the work of justice, of love, and of peace takes all of us—calling each other in when we mess up, supporting and carrying each other when we cannot go it alone, ensuring the most vulnerable among us are safe and centered in the work we do, and also celebrating both when there are victories and when the victory is simply that we are still here to fight another day—celebrating even in the face of those who would seek to harm us.

So, to you my queerly beloveds,

who come from the rich, nourishing dirt of the earth

and the brilliant, sparkling stardust scattered throughout the cosmos

you, who bear the divine image, love, and wonder in all of who you are,

and in all of who you are becoming:

May you remember and work to honor those no longer with us—

from the early resisters, rioters, and brick throwers

like Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson

to those whose lives were taken at Pulse
to those who are killed still today—

may your living do them justice and honor them

May you know that you are loved—oh so very loved—

that you are lovable,
and that you are capable of so much love.

May you know sacred spaces throughout your life—

from queer bars to faith communities,
from parks and coffee shops to gardens and shelters.

May you always know that you belong,

that you are valid,

and that your existence in the world is important.

Amen.

Lent 5 year C

Gospel: John 12:1-8
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany,

the home of Lazarus,

whom he had raised from the dead.

²There they gave a dinner for him.

Martha served,

and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him.

³Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard,

anointed Jesus’ feet,

and wiped them with her hair.

The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴But Judas Iscariot,

one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said,

⁵“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii

and the money given to the poor?”

⁶(He said this not because he cared about the poor,

but because he was a thief;

he kept the common purse

and used to steal what was put into it.)

⁷Jesus said,

“Leave her alone.

She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.

⁸You always have the poor with you,

but you do not always have me.”

Queeries for the text:
When was Lazarus raised?
What does nard smell like?  How can it be beneficial?  How can it be harmful?
Why did Mary use her hair?
What's the equivalent of 300 denarii?
Why does John's gospel work so hard to make Judas seem evil?
How do we balance allocating personal resources?  Community resources?
Did Mary know she was anointing Jesus for burial?
Who should be, but is not being anointed for burial today?
How do we always have the poor with us?  How do we not?  What is Jesus referencing?

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?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

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

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

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

the fishers had gone out of them

and were washing their nets.

³Jesus got into one of the boats,

the one belonging to Simon,

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

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

⁴When Jesus had finished speaking,

he said to Simon,

“Put out into the deep water

and let down your nets for a catch.”

⁵Simon answered,

“Master, we have worked all night long

but have caught nothing.

Yet if you say so,

I will let down the nets.”

⁶When they had done this,

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

⁷So they signaled their partners in the other boat

to come and help them.

And they came and filled both boats,

so that they began to sink.

⁸But when Simon Peter saw it,

he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying,

“Go away from me, Lord,

for I am a sinful man!”

⁹For Simon and all who were with him were amazed

at the catch of fish that they had taken;

¹⁰and so also were James and John,

sons of Zebedee,

who were partners with Simon.

Then Jesus said to Simon,

“Do not be afraid;

from now on you will be catching people.”

¹¹When they had brought their boats to shore,

they left everything and followed Jesus.

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

What are your queeries?