Holding Both Beautiful and Brutal

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.

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?