5th after epiphany year b - mark

Mark 1:29-39

²⁹As soon as Jesus and the disciples left the synagogue,

     they entered the house of Simon and Andrew,

          with James and John. 

          ³⁰Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever,

               and they told Jesus about her at once. 

          ³¹Jesus came and took her by the hand and lifted her up.

               Then the fever left her,

                    and she began to serve them.

³²That evening, at sundown,

     they brought to Jesus all who were sick or possessed with demons. 

          ³³And the whole city was gathered around the door. 

          ³⁴And Jesus cured many who were sick with various diseases,

               and cast out many demons;

                    and Jesus would not permit the demons to speak,

                         because they knew him. 

³⁵In the morning,

     while it was still very dark,

          Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place,

               and there he prayed. 

          ³⁶And Simon and his companions hunted for Jesus. 

               ³⁷When they found him,

                    they said to him,

                         “Everyone is searching for you.” 

               ³⁸Jesus answered,

                    “Let us go on to the neighboring towns,

                         so that I may proclaim the message there also;

                              for that is what I came out to do.” 

                    ³⁹And he went throughout Galilee,

                         proclaiming the message in their synagogues

                              and casting out demons.

Queeries for the text:
Why does Mark care so much about what time it is?
Do Jesus and the disciples just care about Simon's mother-in-law so that she'll serve them?
Why is Jesus afraid of the ones who know him saying something?
Is Jesus an introvert?
Are Simon and his companions hunting because they're afraid Jesus will leave without them?
Who is "everyone"?
Is casting out demons just assumed to be part of "proclaiming the message"?
What did the dark night sky look like to Jesus when he prayed?
Does Jesus like the dark as much as I do?
Why is Jesus always moving on?

What are your queeries?

5th after epiphany year b - isaiah

Isaiah 40:21-31

²¹Have you not known?

     Have you not heard?

          Has it not been told you from the beginning?

               Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 

²²It is God

     who sits above the circle of the earth,

          and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;

     who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,

          and spreads them like a tent to live in; 

     ²³who brings the princes to naught,

          and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. 

²⁴Scarcely are they planted,

     scarcely sown,

          scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,

               when God blows upon them,

                    and they wither,

                    and the tempest carries them off like stubble. 

²⁵To whom then will you compare me,

     or who is my equal?

          says the Holy One. 

²⁶Lift up your eyes on high and see:

     Who created these?

          The one who brings out their host and numbers them,

               calling them all by name;

               because God is great in strength,

                    mighty in power,

                         not one is missing.

²⁷Why do you say, O Jacob,

     and speak, O Israel,

          “My way is hidden from the Sovereign,

          and my right is disregarded by my God”? 

²⁸Have you not known?

     Have you not heard?

The Sovereign is the everlasting God,

     the Creator of the ends of the earth.

The Sovereign does not faint or grow weary;

     God’s understanding is unsearchable. 

     ²⁹The Sovereign gives power to the faint,

          and strengthens the powerless. 

³⁰Even youths will faint and be weary,

     and the young will fall exhausted; 

          ³¹but those who wait for the Sovereign shall renew their strength,

               they shall mount up with wings like eagles,

               they shall run and not be weary,

                    they shall walk and not faint.

Queeries for the text:
How many different ways can Isaiah say, "Hello??? Have you been living under rocks?!"
Has Isaiah seen A Bug's Life?
Not one of whom/what are missing?
Is there any point at all in trying to hide anything from God?
Is it that we won't get weary, or that we will get weak and then God will renew us?
How can we not be weary with the world we live in?

What are your queeries?

4th after epiphany year b - 1 corinthians

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Now concerning food sacrificed to idols:

     we know that “all of us possess knowledge.”

          Knowledge puffs up,

               but love builds up. 

          ²Anyone who claims to know something

               does not yet have the necessary knowledge; 

          ³but anyone who loves God

               is known by God.

⁴Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols,

     we know that “no idol in the world really exists,”

     and that “there is no God but one.” 

          ⁵Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods 

               in heaven or on earth—

                    as in fact there are many gods and many lords— 

                         ⁶yet for us there is one God, the Mother,

                              from whom are all things

                              and for whom we exist,

                         and one Lord, Jesus Christ,

                              through whom are all things

                              and through whom we exist.

⁷It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge.

     Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now,

          they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol;

          and their conscience,

               being weak,

                    is defiled. 

     ⁸“Food will not bring us close to God.”

          We are no worse off if we do not eat,

          and no better off if we do. 

     ⁹But take care that this liberty of yours

          does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 

               ¹⁰For if others see you,

                    who possess knowledge,

                         eating in the temple of an idol,

                    might they not,

                         since their conscience is weak,

                              be encouraged 

                                   to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 

               ¹¹So by your knowledge those weak believers

                    for whom Christ died

                         are destroyed. 

               ¹²But when you thus sin against members of your family,

                    and wound their conscience when it is weak,

                         you sin against Christ. 

               ¹³Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling,

                    I will never eat meat,

                         so that I may not cause one of them to fall.

Queeries for the text:
Is knowledge an idol?  Is Paul an anti-intellectual?  
Is Paul coming out against belief as subscription to/knowledge of doctrinal beliefs?
What are the other gods?  Who are the  other lords?
How many times have people justified queerphobic words or actions with v. 9?
Where is the line between challenging someone's faith and becoming a stumbling block?
How reasonable is it to restrict ourselves for the sake of someone else's faith?
Does being our truest selves or not being our truest selves become the stumbling block?
Is not living out my full queerness becoming a stumbling block for those who still think it's a sin or those who are struggling to figure out their faith and sexuality/gender identity?
Is conversion therapy the real stumbling block?

What are your queeries?

3rd after epiphany year b - mark

Mark 1:14-20

¹⁴Now after John was arrested,

     Jesus came to Galilee,

          proclaiming the good news of God, ¹⁵and saying,

              “The time is fulfilled,

              and the dominion of God has come near;

                   repent,

                   and believe in the good news.” 

     ¹⁶As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee,

          he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—

              for they were fishermen. 

          ¹⁷And Jesus said to them,

              “Follow me

              and I will make you fish for human beings.” 

                   ¹⁸And immediately they left their nets and followed Jesus. 

     ¹⁹As he went a little farther,

          Jesus saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John,

              who were in their boat mending the nets. 

          ²⁰Immediately Jesus called them;

              and they left their father Zebedee in the boat

                   with the hired men,

                        and followed him.

Queeries for the text:

Why was John arrested?  Why does it matter?

What kind of time is Jesus talking about?

Is the Jesus the only one with a claim to the good news?

If fishing is catching and killing fish, does fishing for human beings really foreshadow the crucifixions of Jesus and many of his followers?

Why is it so easy for Jesus to get people to follow him??

How does Zebedee feel when both his sons up and leave him so quickly?

What about Mrs. Z?  How does she feel when she finds out they didn't even say good-bye?

What are your queeries?

3rd after epiphany year b - 1 corinthians

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

²⁹I mean, siblings,

     the appointed time has grown short;

     from now on,

          let even those who are married be 

               as though they were not,

          ³⁰and those who mourn 

               as though they were not mourning,

          and those who rejoice 

               as though they were not rejoicing,

          and those who buy 

               as though they had no possessions, 

          ³¹and those who deal with the world 

               as though they had no dealings with it.

                    For the present form of this world is passing away.


Queeries for the text:
How short is the time?  An inch?  A foot?  A minute?  A mile?
How do you act as though you weren't married?  No sex?  Lots of sex?  Move out?  Break family ties?  Give back the wedding presents?  
Does Paul want us to live into our truer selves with respect to consensual sexual desires and forego the pressure the dominant culture places on what counts as "appropriate"?
If we can't mourn or rejoice, how should we feel?
How do you act as if you have no possessions?
How do you not deal with this world?
What is it about the present form that is passing away?
Is the old form done yet?
Can we burn it all down now?



What are your queeries?

3rd after epiphany year b - jonah

Jonah 3:1-5, 10 (#thanksriver for help translating)

The word of the Sovereign came to Jonah a second time, saying, 

     ²“Get up,

     go to Nineveh,

          that great city,

     and cry out against it 

          the cry which I am about to tell you.” 

³So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh,

     according to the word of the Sovereign.

          Now Nineveh was an great city to God,

              a three day journey across. 

          ⁴Jonah began to enter Nineveh,

              a one day journey;

              and he cried out,

                   “Forty days until Nineveh is destroyed.”

⁵And the people of Nineveh believed God! 

     They proclaimed a fasting period,

     and they put on sackcloth,

          from the greatest of them to the least. 

... 

     ¹⁰God saw their deeds,

          that they had turned from their evil ways,

              and God repented from the evil  

                   that God had said would be done to them.

                   And God did not do it.

Queeries for the text:

What did Jonah do the first time the word of God came to him?

Does Jonah still smell like a big fish?

How will the people of Nineveh respond to the fish smell? (#thanksrevjoshua)

Does Jonah even want the people of Nineveh to repent?

Is Jonah's the shortest sermon ever?

Did Jonah even finish walking through the city or just stop one day in?

Is it possible to be a worse prophet than Jonah?

How often does God change Her mind?

Why did the cattle get left out of the Revised Common Lectionary?

What are your queeries?

2nd after epiphany year b - 1 samuel

1 Samuel 3:1-20

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Sovereign under Eli.

     The word of the Sovereign was rare in those days;

          visions were not widespread.

     ²At that time Eli,

          whose eyesight had begun to grow dim

               so that he could not see,

                    was lying down in his room;

                        ³the lamp of God had not yet gone out,

     and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Sovereign,

          where the ark of God was.

⁴Then the Sovereign called,

     “Samuel! Samuel!”

and Samuel said,

     “Here I am!”

     ⁵and ran to Eli, and said,

          “Here I am,

               for you called me.”

But Eli said,

     “I did not call;

          lie down again.”

               So Samuel went and lay down.

⁶The Sovereign called again,

     “Samuel!”

Samuel got up and went to Eli,

     and said,

          “Here I am,

               for you called me.”

But Eli said,

     “I did not call, my child;

          lie down again.”

⁷Now Samuel did not yet know the Sovereign,

     and the word of the Sovereign had not yet been revealed to him.

⁸The Sovereign called Samuel again,

     a third time.

     And Samuel got up and went to Eli,

          and said,

               “Here I am,

                    for you called me.”

Then Eli perceived that the Sovereign was calling the child.

     ⁹Therefore Eli said to Samuel,

          “Go, lie down;

               and if they call you,

                    you shall say,

                        ‘Speak, Sovereign,

                             for your servant is listening.’”

So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰Now the Sovereign came and stood there,

     calling as before,

          “Samuel! Samuel!”

And Samuel said,

     “Speak,

          for your servant is listening.”

¹¹Then the Sovereign said to Samuel,

     “See, I am about to do something in Israel

          that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle.

          ¹²On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken

               concerning his house,

                    from beginning to end.

               ¹³For I have told Eli that I am about to punish his house forever,

                    for the iniquity that he knew,

                        because his sons were blaspheming God,

                        and he did not restrain them.

               ¹⁴Therefore I swear to the house of Eli

                    that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated

                        by sacrifice or offering forever.”

¹⁵Samuel lay there until morning;

     then he opened the doors of the house of the Sovereign.

     Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.

          ¹⁶But Eli called Samuel and said,

               “Samuel, my son.”

Samuel said,

     “Here I am.”

¹⁷Eli said,

     “What was it that the Sovereign told you?

          Do not hide it from me.

               May God do so to you and more also,

                    if you hide anything from me of all that God told you.”

¹⁸So Samuel told Eli everything

     and hid nothing from him.

Then Eli said,

     “It is the Sovereign;

          let God do what seems good to God.”

¹⁹As Samuel grew up,

     the Sovereign was with him

     and let none of his words fall to the ground.

          ²⁰And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew

               that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Sovereign.

Queeries the text:

Are the word of God and visions rare today or do we just institutionalize or ostracize the people to whom they come?

What kind of "word of the Sovereign" has to be revealed to you before you recognize God's voice?  Isn't God's voice also God's word?

How annoyed are Samuel and Eli with each other before they figure out what's going on?

How many times have we been confused when God is calling us?

Did Eli know he was in trouble?

Was God only appearing by voice the first three times so that Samuel would wake Eli up and clue him in on what was going on?

Why does God always seem to give prophets news people don't want?

When words fall to the ground, do they become seeds?  

What are your queeries?