October 7, 2026

Holding Both Beautiful and Brutal

Victoria Loorz | Read Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23

(Image by: Pixabay)

Lectionary Week

October 5–11, 2026

Scripture Overview

As much as we might like to focus on the easy parts of ancient stories, the golden calf and the parable of the wedding guests this week are particularly difficult, full of betrayal, retribution, and violence. Avoiding those parts can cause us to lose sight of the wisdom at the core. The psalm positions the story of the golden calf alongside God’s everlasting love, but still acknowledges the peoples’ failure and God’s wrath that is tempered only through Moses’ intervention. This complicated collection of stories is punctuated by Paul’s letter to the Philippians, naming the need for a mindset of love and gratitude no matter the situation. As a result, we are invited to hold the uncomfortable alongside the beautiful in these stories and in our lives.

Questions and Suggestions for Reflection

Read Exodus 32:1-14. When have you or your faith community gotten it wrong? When have you interceded with God on others’ behalf?
Read Psalm 106:1-6,19-23. How has forgetting that you can be wrong hurt you or your faith community? How has admitting that you were wrong strengthened you or your faith community?
Read Philippians 4:1-9. What does the reality of rejoicing always in all situations look like in your life?
Read Matthew 22:1-14. Why is it so important to be wearing the right clothing at the wedding?

Respond by posting a prayer.

What begins as a psalm praising God and requesting the Lord’s favor quickly turns specifically to the confession of sins committed by the Israelites. It is not the Israelites in the desert confessing to God, however. This psalm was written generations later during a traumatic time of profound despair, likely...

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God, we pray for the courage to look honestly at our collective failures, to own them, and to see your loving presence in all things once again. Amen.

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