Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Queerying 8th after Pentecost C

Periodic queerier, River Needham, queeries the Tanakh reading.


Tanakh: Hosea 11:1-11
God Said:
I fell in love with Israel when he was still a child; I have called him my son ever since Egypt. Thus were they called, but they went their own way; they sacrifice to Ba'als and offer to carved images. I have pampered Ephraim, taking them in my arms; but they have ignored my healing care. I drew them with human ties, with cords of love; but I seemed to them as one who imposed a yoke on their jaws, though I was offering them food. No! They return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria is their king. Because they refuse to repent, a sword shall descend upon their towns and consume their limbs and devour them because of their designs. For my people persists in its defection from me; when it is summoned upward, it does not rise at all. How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah, render you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart, all my tenderness is stirred. I will not act on my wrath, will not turn to destroy Ephraim. For I am God, not human, the Holy One in your midst: I will not come in fury. The Becoming One will roar like a lion, and they shall march behind Hir; when Ze roars, Hir children shall come fluttering out of the west. They shall flutter from Egypt like sparrows, from the land of Assyria like doves; and I will settle them in their homes —declares the Becoming One

Queeries for the text
:
Where else is God jealous?
What do we know about jealousy today?
How do religious expression and intimate partner violence interact?
Who can you turn to if you are experiencing intimate partner violence?
What happened to Admah and Zeboiim?
What cycle stages are happening toward the end of the passage?
What flutters?

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Rev. Emily E. Ewing queeries the Gospel reading.



Gospel: Luke 12:13-21
13Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”
14But Jesus said to them,
“Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?”
15And Jesus said to the crowd,
“Take care!
Be on your guard against all kinds of greed;
for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”
16Then Jesus told them a parable:
“The land of a rich man produced abundantly.
17And he thought to himself,
‘What should I do,
for I have no place to store my crops?’
18Then the rich man said,
‘I will do this:
I will pull down my barns and build larger ones,
and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
19And I will say to my soul,
‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years;
relax, eat, drink, be merry.’
20But God said to the rich man,
‘You fool!
This very night your life is being demanded of you.
And the things you have prepared,
whose will they be?’
21So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves
but are not rich toward God.”

Queeries for the text:
Why would(n't) a sibling share the inheritance?
When do we set the wrong people up to be judge?
How many kinds of greed are there?
Why is it "his crops" when the land is the one to produce?
Is a famine coming?  Is the rich man planning for climate change?
Why does size matter to the rich man?  Is bigger actually better?
Can goods last for many years?
Why is the rich man talking to his own soul?  Is he Voldemort?
What is demanding his life?
Where do our treasures go?


What are your queeries?



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