Lent 1 year C

Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.

Tanakh: Deuteronomy 26:1-11

When you enter the land the Becoming One your God is giving as a heritage,

and you possess it and settle in it,

you shall take some of every first fruit of the soil,

which you harvest from the land that the Becoming One your God is giving

you, put it in a basket and go

to the place where the Becoming One your God will establish Her

name.

You shall go to the priest in charge at that time and say to them,

“I acknowledge this day before the Becoming One your God that

I have entered the land that the Becoming One swore

to our parents to assign us.”

The priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down in front of the altar

of the Becoming One your God.

You shall then recite as follows before the Becoming One your God:

“My father was a fugitive Aramean.

He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there;

but there he became a great and very populous nation.

The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us;

they imposed heavy labor upon us.

We cried to the Becoming One, the God of our parents, and the Becoming One

heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression.

The Becoming One freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand,

by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents.

She brought us to this place and gave us this land,

a land flowing with milk and honey.

Therefore I now bring the first fruits of the soil

which You, O Becoming One, have given me.”

You shall leave it before the Becoming One your God

and bow low before the Becoming One your God.

Then, you shall enjoy, together with the Levite and the stranger in your midst,

all the bounty that the Becoming One your God has bestowed upon you

and your household.

Queeries for the text:
What is colonization? Who are colonizers today? Who are colonizers historically?
Does God instruct the colonization of the land? What does this suggest about God?
What fruits grow in this area? How long would it have taken to grow the fruit?
What happened to the previous inhabitants? What about in the colonies that exist today?
Who were the Arameans? Where do they exist today?
Why are the Egyptians cast in such a poor light? How does this influence the way we think today?
Does bounty have to come at the expense of other people? Why does God require those in our midst to be celebrated? Who is left out?
Is God's blessing zero-sum?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.

Gospel: Luke 4:1-13
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,

returned from the Jordan

and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,

²where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.

Jesus ate nothing at all during those days,

and when they were over,

he was famished.

³The devil said to Jesus,

“If you are the Holy Child of God,

command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

⁴Jesus answered the devil,

“It is written,

‘One does not live by bread alone.’”

⁵Then the devil led Jesus up

and showed him in an instant all the dominions of the world.

⁶And the devil said to him,

“To you I will give their glory and all this authority;

for it has been given over to me,

and I give it to anyone I please.

⁷If you, then, will worship me,

it will all be yours.”

⁸Jesus answered him,

“It is written,

‘Worship the Becoming One your God,

and serve only Her.’”

⁹Then the devil took Jesus Jerusalem,

and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him,

“If you are the Holy Child of God,

throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰for it is written,

‘God will command the angels concerning you,

to protect you,’

¹¹and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

¹²Jesus answered the devil,

“It is said, ‘Do not put the Becoming One your God to the test.’”

¹³Having finished every test,

the devil departed from Jesus until an opportune time.

Queeries for the text:
Can you be "full of" and "led by" the same thing?
Why would the Spirit lead Jesus into temptation?
How hangry was Jesus after 40 days without food?
How did the devil tempt Jesus throughout the 40 days, before the bread temptation?
Who is the devil?
What does "one live by"?
Who gave the glory and authority of the dominions of the world to the devil?
What is the context for the devil's verses?
When is an opportune time?
What temptations do we face?

What are your queeries?