February 7, 2013 – Ezekiel 22

I thought it was interesting that with the blood shed they became guilty, but it was with the making of idols that they became defiled.  Defiled seems so much worse that mere guilt alone.  A guilty person can be redeemed and we are all guilty of sin.  Defiled seems to have a permanence to it.  I know that God can wipe any defilement away, but it just had a sense of something more than just guilt, and it came not from blood shed, but idol worship. 

Dross – Something regarded as worthless.  “house of Israel has become dross to me.” 

“violate my law and desecrate what I consider holy; they do not distinguish between what is holy and common”.  I read that  and immediately thought about the way the world treats sex.  Catholic teaching is that this act is a holy and special thing shared between a married couple in a very unique way.  The world sees it as common, treats it as unholy, tramples on it and uses it do degrade and promote a life of sin.  Is there a better example of treating something holy as common.  And the sinners in the chapter are the priest that do this to the holy thing.  There could be something said about the priest and the sex abuse scandal and how they made something unholy that was sacred to God.  I was thinking more along the lines of who the priest of the world are that promote the commonality of sex in our lives.  Those that promote pornography, celebrities who sell themselves as sex objects, those that promote the less restrictions on abortions so the sex is even more common.  These are the “priest” of the world who are making something holy common.