Sermon 28 Jan 18

In Tamworth we have a five-corner intersection, that can be a very dangerous place to find yourself. There are blind spots if you are turning certain ways & as you approach the intersection from the east it appears, to newcomers, that you should stop, even though there is no indication of a stop sign, thus at times it causes near misses should a person be driving to closely.

Similarly, in the Christian life we have been given great freedom, to live our lives as we see fit; with of course certain potential dangers intersections that can be dangerous if we are not careful.

I am referring today to the epistle text, which does lend itself to our focus last week on relationships.

Now Corinth was an important and wealthy Greek city. The Apostle Paul spent 18 months there on his Second Missionary Journey and established a church there. (Acts 18) gives us considerable detail about Paul’s work in Corinth during that time.

In chapters 1-6, of 1 Corinthians Paul dealt with problems brought to his attention by people from Corinth in their letters to him.

The question that Paul addresses today is whether it is acceptable for Christians to eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols. In Corinth, much of the meat available for human consumption had been sacrificed to idols. As a rule, part of the meat was burned on the altar, part was reserved for the priests, part was consumed by the people making the sacrifices, and the rest was available for sale. Of the meat available for purchase, some would be served, restaurant-style, in temples. The rest would be sold in meat markets throughout the city. While it was clear that meat served in temples had been sacrificed to idols, it would be more difficult—often impossible—to determine the origin of meat for sale in meat markets.

There were two aspects to the problem for Christians. One was whether they were allowed to eat meat served within the temple boundaries. The other was whether it was appropriate to purchase meat that had been sacrificed to idols and to eat it at home. Eating meat within the temple realm could be a particular problem, because a newcomer or rookie to the Christian faith seeing more experienced/seasoned Christians eating meat at a temple could certainly conclude that the experienced Christians were involved in idol-worship (8:10). Eating meat at home, even though it might have been sacrificed to idols, would be less accountable in that way. However, if someone happens to interpret it that way, Paul says that the one eating the meat should reconsider, put an end to this behaviour. (8:13; 10:28-31).

Corinth at this time in history was a typical/classic pagan town, where it would have been difficult for Christians living there to live in a way that was totally distinct from the world around them? That really is the case just about anywhere we live. We are influenced by those around us and by our surroundings. If anything today, we are less influenced by Christian society, as that is continuing to decrease Christians ,now  representing 67.3% of the population of Canada, followed by people having no religion with 23.9%^[ of the total population .

I might suggest than, that the role of Christians is more important as the number of Christians is weakening.

What does a Christian look like today?  What separates us from the next person you may pass by on the street? How do we identify ourselves? By this I don’t mean we wear a sign, but one way we witness is the stance we take on issues, the way we offer and do things with others and are there for each other these actions are ways we make our beliefs visible.

What are some actions that could be harmful to us or to other who witness our behaviour: examples  might be

• Flirtatious behavior might be innocent but could lose its innocence in the presence of a vulnerable person who would misunderstand it. On the news for about two weeks, on a near daily basis there has been numbers of women, so far, that have spoken about sexual advances made by men in prominent positions. Again, what was the intent, what did the actions and words say & adhere too.  You can’t take it back or do it over. What is done is done and the result of it can be life altering for both sides and their families and so on.

• Careless attitudes toward money might attract a weaker vulnerable person to do something dishonest.

• Careless words might create a breach in a relationship—or might cause other problems. While we might believe that freedom of speech permits us to say whatever we feel like saying, James says, “1:26 Do any of you think you are religious? If you do not control your tongue, your religion is worthless, and you deceive yourself.”

Alcohol is another vulnerable topic. What we do or around someone who has a drinking problem and what we do around someone who has a drink to be social, requires we treat each situation accordingly.

There are Christians who feel strongly that the consumption of any alcoholic beverages is inconsistent with Christian discipleship. So again, we take these considerations into account. There are other situations where the principle would apply. The whole marijuana legalization and how that will work its way into our lives. How do we demonstrate its legalization from a Christian perspective? That leads me also to Assisted Dying – being legal now in Canada. How do we interpret and address this law from a Christian perspective? As Ecclesiastes 3:2 says: A time to be born, and a time to die.  We didn’t choose when to be born, do we have a right to choose when we will die? What is the suffering is intolerable?

Sometimes we just go with the flow in life and follow the crowd or the voice of someone we respect, but where then does our faith our beliefs fit into our day to day actions and words and choices.

Last example – what if we find ourselves in the presence of young children or youth? How do we alter our words and discussions for example? In many homes when young children are going to be living there what do parents do? They adapt their environment, their home to make it safe Some examples here might be: Inserts into electrical outlets to protect them from electrical shocks. Picking up all small objects on which they might choke, fence in a play area, sharp items put away, and always on the alert.

Paul would call the stronger person to consider the vulnerability of the weaker person and to defer to the weaker person’s sensibilities. The principle of love for the other person outdoes the principle of the personal freedom that comes with faith in Christ.

Paul calls us to that same kind of sensitivity to other people, both children and adults—anyone who might misunderstand our actions or our language—anyone who might be tempted to follow our behavior in ways that might do them harm—anyone whose faith might be damaged by seeing us do things that they might believe to be questionable morally.

1 Cor 8:1-3 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. ² Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. ³ But whoever loves God is known by God.

Paul’s principle of love requires that we be alert and sensitive to those who we may influence, rightly or wrongly.

His message here is that knowledge is a good thing but be careful how you use it.

“Knowledge can inflate us with pride. This is Paul’s answer to the Corinthian statement, “we all have knowledge.” While knowledge in the service of others can be good, people who use their knowledge to establish their advantage over other people cannot expect to experience a good consequence. They are likely to get an inflated opinion of themselves that does nothing to help anyone.

But while knowledge puffs up, “love builds up”—enlightens—blesses—blesses both the one who loves and the one who is loved. Given a choice between knowledge and love, we would do much better to choose love. If we are blessed with knowledge, we need to mix it generously with love before putting it into use.

Jesus heals the man with the unclean spirit today in our gospel text. As Christian’s as disciples of Christ, we are given the opportunity again and again to renew ourselves in God’s Spirit and refresh ourselves in the Way the Truth and the life. May our lives be lived in love and faith and abounding in God’s grace.  Thanks be to God. Amen.

Sermon Writer Commentary 1 Cor. 8:1-13

Working Preacher Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 8:1-13: Arnold J. Hultgren, Frank L. Crouch, Israel Kamudzandu, Valerie Nicolet Anderson.