Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
February 1, 2009
The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Sermon: "February 1, 2009: Food offered to idols"
The Rev. Dr. Vicki L. Smith, Rector
The Epistle: Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him.
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." Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth-- as in fact there are many gods and many lords-- yet 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.
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. "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. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For 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? So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 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.1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Feb. 1, 2009: Food offered to idols From the two year old’s “Me do it,” to the 8 year old’s “you aren’t the boss of me” to the adult’s “don’t tell me what to do” we have a strong sense of independence. Especially as Americans, we are very conscious of and concerned about our rights. Ours is the country, after all, that has a Bill of Rights, and informs even accused criminals that they “have the right to remain silent.” Our laws are based on those rights and our interactions are governed by them.
It is exactly to people like us that this puzzling piece of First Corinthians is addressed. While the question of “food offered to idols” is time bound, Paul’s message is timeless.
In Corinth, the problem of whether or not to eat food offered to idols was a very real one. Food left over from the pagan sacrifices was abundant and inexpensive but some Christians felt that it was tainted by its use as a sacrifice and therefore they shouldn’t eat it. Other Christians said that since there is only one God and idols are not real that it was ok to eat the food left over from sacrifices, that it was ultimately no different than any other food.
Paul pretty much comes down on both sides of the argument. He says that because the idols are not real gods, the food isn’t tainted. “We are no worse off if we don’t eat, and no better off if we do” he says. You may remember that the apostle Peter had a vision that all food was clean and early Christians no longer needed to keep kosher. This is much same argument—the food is clean regardless of its use in a pagan ceremony.
But Paul goes on to say that whether we believe the food is tainted or not, we should not cause problems for someone with a weak conscience just because we have the right to eat whatever we want. He is challenging the people of Corinth, and all Christians ever since, to think not in terms of rights, but in terms of relationships. He is challenging us to acknowledge the impact our choices may have on others and to think more of others and less of whatever we may feel entitled to.
That is a challenge for us as modern day American Christians. We don’t like having our choices limited by someone else. We don’t like being told that we shouldn’t do something even though we can. Paul is pointing out to us that our emphasis on our rights can lead to selfishness and neglect, perhaps even abuse, of other people. Just because we are allowed to do something doesn’t mean that we should.
Paul is asking us to lo think beyond our rights and entitlements to our relationships, to how our behaviors and our choices impact others around us and in our world.
Certainly it is our right to consume as many of the earth’s resources as we have the money to buy, but is it right for us to do that if it mean’s there’s won’t be enough food, or electricity or water for someone else?
We are all God’s children, an interconnected global human community. Paul is telling us that sometimes we must choose not to exercise our rights; sometimes, because we are Christians called to love our neighbors as ourselves, we must choose to voluntarily limit ourselves for the sake of another. We, who are strong, who have many rights and resources, are sometimes asked to make difficult choices and even sacrifices, for the sake of others.
A little later in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes: “All things are lawful but not all things are beneficial. All things are lawful but not all things build up. Do not seek your own advantage but that of the other.” (10:23). That’s an expansion on “knowledge puffs up but love builds up.”
We are Christians, our primary concern is not what is lawful but what builds up—what builds up our families and our church, what builds up our community and our country, ultimately, what builds up the kingdom of God.
Laws are important and crucial for our society but we are called to a higher ethic, an ethic of responsibility and relationship rather than rights; an ethic of consideration and attention to the needs of others, an ethic of mindfulness, an ethic of the strong caring for the weak, even sacrificing for another, an ethic not of “what can I do” and “what can I have” but “what ought I to do” and “what can I share?”
What takes the sting out of all this is that we choose it. We choose to step back that another may come forward. We choose to take less that another may have enough. We choose limits and restrictions on ourselves so that another’s freedom may be sustained. We choose, out of love, out of commitment to Christ, to put others first and ourselves second.
We may not struggle with food offered to idols but Paul’s call to an ethic of responsibility and relationship rings across the ages, right down to our ears this morning. We are made free in Jesus, we live in a free and open democracy and we have more rights and privileges than almost anyone else in the world but we choose to be like Jesus, we choose to limit ourselves for the sake of another; to love our neighbor not just as ourselves, but more than ourselves. “Do not seek your own advantage” says Paul, “but that of the other.”