Love Builds Up: A Sermon for 4 Epiphany

If your bible is like the one that I use, it has section headings. The section heading for today’s reading from Paul’s 1st Letter to the Corinthians is “Food Sacrificed to Idols.”  And if you are like me, and you come to a section heading like this, you are tempted to skip over it. After all, whether or not we eat food sacrificed to idols isn’t something we as individuals or we as a parish community are wrestling with. 

The issue at stake is whether or not the Christians in the church that Paul founded in Corinth can or should eat food sacrificed to idols. Remember, at this point in history, there were no life-long Christians. If you were an adult Christian, you were either a Pagan or Jewish convert. If you were a member of Paul’s church in Corinth, you were most likely a Pagan convert. So you grew up eating food that was sacrificed to idols. 

Apparently, some of the Corinthian Christians continued to eat meat sacrificed to idols. They understood that as Christians, they were not bound to the Jewish law. And since, as Christians, they were to believe that there is only One God, worrying about food sacrificed to “idols”was simply superstitious and frivolous. They were above such petty nonsense as worrying about the type of food they were eating.

On the other hand, other Corinthian Christians felt like eating food sacrificed to idols was a sin, and should be avoided. They took a narrower view of what it meant to be a Christian, and they looked for “the letter of the law” to guide them in their decision-making. Perhaps they were less comfortable with reason, nuance, and the like. Like little children, these “young” Christians needed clear rules to guide them.

Remember, at this point, Christianity was a new religion. So these communities were still wrestling with their newfound Christian identity. In the more basic sense, they were asking “What are we and are we not allowed to do?” Many of them had not yet begun wrestling with the deeper question of “What does it mean to live a Christian life? 

So, the Corinthian church was growing divided over this one issue. But really, the presenting issue -food sacrificed to idols - was a symptom of a deeper issue and conflict. And as their leader, Paul was faced with trying to build up and repair a community that was becoming divided, which is no easy task.

Personally speaking, Paul was fine with the idea of purchasing and eating food that had been sacrificed to idols.He had a mature understanding of his Christian faith. What type of food one ate wasn’t, as the saying goes, “a matter of salvation.” But, as a leader, Paul recognized that not everybody was where he was in his understanding of Christianity in general, and on this issue in particular. So, rather than shaming those who were not as sophisticated or mature in their faith as he was, he met them right where they were. If eating meat sacrificed to idols was going to be a stumbling block to his new Christian community, then he would personally refrain from doing so, and he urged the others to do the same.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the sermon, upon first glance, this particular issue is irrelevant to us and our context. We might even skip over this section in our bible. But, while the presenting issue might be irrelevant, it is extremely relevant for any church that is made up of people. This text isn’t about meat, and it isn’t about idols - it is about what it means to be a Christian in community with one another. The question for us as Christians isn’t, “As a Christian, what am I – and what am I not - allowed to do?” Rather, the question is: “Through my baptism, I have become a member of Christ’s very own body – the Church.  What then, does it mean to be one part of a body that has many members? In other words, what does it mean to be the Church?  

In one way or another – whether intentional or not – I think all local churches wrestle with this question. Back in 2016, our Strategic Visioning Process at CtK identified Community as one of our 5 Core Values. You can see the listing of our 5 Core Values on the last page of our bulletin. You will see that it reads:

Community: While our worship is directed towards loving God, and our outreach is directed towards loving our neighbors, we also value the relationships we have within our own parish family. A sense of belonging, feeling connected, and loving and caring for one another is a large part of who we are and what makes Christ the King feel special. 

What the Apostle Paul noticed at the church in Corinth was that those less spiritually-mature members of the Corinthian church were being shamed and excluded by those who were feasting on meat. And we must keep in mind that oftentimes one’s theology is informed by their own personal preferences. Thus, it is no accident that those who had no problem with eating meat sacrificed to idols were those who could afford to buy meat. And those who refrained were those who had no choice in the matter because they couldn’t afford it. 

The way that Paul chose to handle this dispute was to seek a way to build up the community rather than divide it. Time and time again, as learned and sophisticated as Paul was, he always seemed to hold community as his number one core value. His theology of the Church – his ecclesiology – seemed to hold a high place of authority for him - perhaps the highest. And there’s a lesson to be learned for us here: The Church isn’t a community that exists for our own personal needs to be met in a vacuum. It indeed is hopefully a place where our needs do get met, but only within the context of community.  

By personally giving up eating meat so as to not serve as a stumbling block to others, Paul shows us that he put the needs of the community before his own personal preferences. Paul had a wider, deeper, longer view of Christian community. He realized that if the church in Corinth hunkered down and drew up battle lines on the issue of eating meat or not, there would never be a winner. A particular side might “win,” but the community would lose. 

I think the reason that the church survived those earliest decades was because Paul held them together with his emphasis on community over-and-above the letter of the law. Maybe he knew that in the centuries to come, there would be plenty of debating over doctrine. But before they could even make it as far as the Council of Nicaea, they would need to establish a strong sense of community first.

Of course, the question we must ask ourselves here and now is, “What issue or issues are dividing us as a congregation - or perhaps, what issue or issues might potentially divide us?” and the follow up question for us to consider is, “How might we learn from Paul’s wise teaching to his congregation in Corinth?” My hope and prayer for us here at Christ the King is that we can hold community at the center of all that we do. If we build one another up with the love of Christ, nothing or nobody can tear us down.