| I Corinthians 8:1-13 "Lean On Me" |
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| Written by Rev. Don Lee | |
| Saturday, 28 January 2006 | |
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Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’ Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; 3but anyone who loves God is known by him. 4 Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that ‘no idol in the world really exists’, and that ‘there is no God but one.’ 5Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords— 6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 7 It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8‘Food will not bring us close to God.’ We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling-block to the weak. 10For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 11So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. 12But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall. First, a brief statement about theology. If Mission is the “what” of what we do as a church, then theology is “why” of what we do. And contrary to what some might think, theology really does matter. There’s a deep connection between what we do and why we do it. The more we are able to articulate what we think, what we know and what we believe, the more effective our actions will become. It is said, “Transformation happens when people discover new categories, concepts, and language (or rediscover old ones!) that make sense of their experience, their lives, and their world.” The goal of theology, I believe is to figure out, more deeply, what you believe; and to be able to express it in a way that is authentic, inspired, and life-giving. Now, a little historical context: 1st century Corinth was a hotbed of Greco-Roman worship with its pantheon of gods, filling temple meat markets with the butchered meat of animals sacrificed in cultic worship. Christians, however, were forbidden by the Jerusalem Council from eating these foods (Acts 15:29 and 21:25). But in our reading Paul takes issue with the Council’s ruling claiming that if idols are nothing then there is nothing wrong with Christians consuming food used in cultic worship. And I know what you’re thinking. “What in the Sam Hill does eating chicken sacrificed to idols have to do with me and my Christian faith journey?”! I think its a question of theology, the “why” of what we do. Paul begins his argument in verse 1, “All of us possess knowledge.” True. We all seem to have some level of cognitive process. Socrates taught that wrongdoing was a consequence of ignorance, that those who did wrong knew no better. In II Corinthians 7:19 Paul will argue just the opposite, that “the good he knows he should do, he does not do.” Regardless, “knowledge” was elevated to such a high place in Greco-Roman culture people dedicated their whole lives to the study of and accumulation of knowledge. Knowledge has become the standard for perfection, the ideal of humanity’s existence. So we send our kids to college; Set goals to be life long learners (and I might add, there’s nothing wrong with that), Buy into ever new and expanding technologies that promise to improve our lives. In our scripture, Paul plays off agape (ag-ah'-pay) love against gnosis (gno'-sis) knowledge or intelligence. “Gnosis puffs up, but agape builds up.” Paul’s exaltation of love over knowledge is counter-cultural, even in our day and age. “Love is cheap,” we say. “What we really need is good intelligence!” For Paul, however, love is the power of God to change both him and his the world. Knowledge tempts us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to, and less of others then they deserve. It turns out Christians are to be big hearted, not big headed. Verse 2, Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; Knowledge, he is arguing does not give us all that is needed. “Good intelligence” is no substitute for the power of God’s love. Verse 3, “but anyone who loves God is known by him.” The ultimate knowledge, says Paul is being known intimately by God, God loving us back. Maybe the reason we do not see AGAPE overtaking the powers of this world is because; we love so little, dole out forgiveness so sparingly, and hate those who oppose us. And that if we truly took seriously Jesus’ command to love others as God has loved us, we would see the power of God as the radical change agent that it is. Thus Paul concludes in verse 13, Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall. Paul’s “I will never” emerges out of the depth of his conviction that following Jesus may require some sacrifice and ultimately, is expressed as a life lived in compassion toward others. So, given we don’t have any sacrificial chickens thawing in the frig, what practical application could this scripture have for us today? My Sunday School class has been doing a study of William Willimon’s book Sinning Like a Christian, a study of the Seven Deadly sins. He writes the following about the sin of envy, “In a Televised global world, poverty is especially degrading because the poor are constantly bombarded with images of those who are better off than themselves.” P.62 In this day and age of unbridled consumerism, I wonder if the flaunting of our affluence; our wealth, is the moral equivalent to eating sacrificial meat? One might argue that our high standard of living only serves to inspire the poor to do better. But the vast majority of those we call poor will never obtain the level of prosperity that we’ve obtained. Why? Because it’s not a level playing field out there, and in most cases, the poor do not have the same tools available to them that we have. Few of us here grew up in abject poverty. And there’s a reason why poverty is much more common among ethnic minorities…and I take issue with the generalization that it’s laziness! Some of the most driven people I know are black athletes, Asian small business owners, and Hispanic daylaborers. Laziness is a cross-cultural phenomenon. Using it as a major reason for poverty is just “smoke and mirrors” and keeps us from dealing with the truth, that there are systems in place that function to keep the majority in power and existing hierarchies status quo. I am not arguing that we Christians shouldn’t have nice things. I am arguing that we followers of Jesus ought to care enough about people to do something to help them. If the system is broke, it needs to be fixed. Verse 12 says, “But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.” Syneidesis is the Greek word for conscience. Paul says, listen not just to your own syneidesis but to the syneidesis of others. Why? Because that’s what love does, it cares, even when it doesn’t agree. The other day a driver merged into my lane as I was driving west on Hebron Parkway, almost hitting my car in the process. When we stopped at the light, she motioned to me. I rolled down my window and she blasted me for my poor driving. Then she rolled up her window and drove off. And I said, “Hallelujah, an opportunity for grace!” After I cooled down, I had one of those “AHA” moments. This is what I realized. I’m never going to change that driver. Nor is it my job to change her. That’s God’s job. My job is to drive cautiously, to forgive carelessly, and to love powerfully. So I’ve got work to do! 17th Century Carmelite Monk, Brother Lawrence believed that the shortest path to God was a constant exercise of love- doing everything “for the love of God.” P.25 He called this “Practicing the Presence of God.” Here’s what I want you to do. The next time someone does something to make you angry, I want you to say to yourself… “For the love of God!” And then keep saying it until you get it! It brings to mind a recent Upper Room devotional where the author, asked her prayer group to join her in praying for God to change her boss into a kind person. A member of the group she greatly respected replied, “I can’t pray that prayer. But I will pray for you to love her just as she is.” The author concludes, “Months later, when [my boss] was transferred, many sighed with relief; but I felt sadness. The unbelievable had happened! God had helped me love someone I found unlovable.” Paul is saying in I Corinthians 8, “Our theology matters!” If we believe that agape is the power of God to change the world, then we need to start loving the people in our lives, especially those we may not have a lot in common with or who we find hard to love. That includes our enemies. Why? Why should I love my enemies? For the love of God! If you’ve been following the news you know that this last week Hamas, won 76 of 132 parliament seats in Wednesday’s election in the occupied territories, creating what is being described as a dizzying power shift in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It’s unclear to me what Hamas’ victory will mean for the Palestinians and the possibility of peace in the Middle East. The Islamic militants of Hamas have said there will be no recognition of Israel, no negotiations and no renunciation of terror. Israel and the U.S. have also stated that they will not negotiate with terrorists, even democratically elected ones. So where will it end? I believe there are two options: Peace or Annihilation. My faith tells me that love is our only hope for peace. Not smarter bombs or better intelligence. Peace will come only when we can find a way to bridge our shared humanity and to fulfill our God-created identity as God’s children. As in the words of an old rabbinic tale, “When can you tell that night has ended and day has begun?” The answer? It is when you can look into the face of any stranger and see your brother or sister, until then it is still night. I want to close by reading you the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:43-48, from the Message Translation: “43"You're familiar with the old written law, "Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, "Hate your enemy.' 44 I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, 45for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best--the sun to warm and the rain to nourish--to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. 46 If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. 47If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. 48"In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You are kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you. Prayer: Lord, help us to take responsibility for someone other than ourselves. Help us to walk with you, not alone, but in the company of others. Enable us to look at perfect strangers and, in your name, call them sisters and brothers. Give us the insight to see the needs of others as claims upon our lives. Lord, help us to take responsibility for someone other than ourselves. Amen. |
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