The scriptures read are Ezekiel 7-8, Psalm 73 and 1 John 3.
Ezekiel 7. We're hit with a whole lot of images that say that time is up. Judgment is here for the people of Judah, their arrogance, their idolatry, their violence.
Ezekiel 8. Carried to Jerusalem in a vision, Ezekiel sees in the Temple of God various idols being worshiped and even people bowing to the sun. God condemns this and also violence. The two go together--abandoning God and mistreating those created in his image.
Psalm 73. A folk approach to this psalm.
1 John 3. We are God's children and when Jesus comes, we will become like him. Even now, following Christ means giving up habitual sins. You can't indulge in sin and think you're living out God's life. You can't live in Christ and not love your brothers and sisters.
The seeds of murder and violence are found in hate. Jesus gave his life for us out of self-sacrificial love. Being like him means a life of self-sacrificial love, not indifference to those in need.
God's love in our hearts "shut[s] down debilitating self-criticism." It frees us up to ask him boldly for what we need and to love one another.
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