January 29th
Little Ones Are Watching
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
If you have been a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or anyone responsible for the care of a child for any length of time, you will probably have no trouble relating to the following story.
Some of you here have already heard the story of my nephew, Matthew. I was very close to Matt. In fact, I helped raise him for the first months of his life while my sister and brother-in-law both worked to make ends meet. As I have said before, for a time it seemed as if I had this growth on my hip in the form of a small child named Matthew. Where you saw Uncle Danny, you normally saw Matthew, and vice-versa.
At a family dinner back in 1977, when Matthew was just 2 years old, he decided to act out at the dinner table like many 2 year-olds are prone to do. His father looked at him, and said in a very stern voice, “Boy, if you don’t straighten up, I’m gonna bust your bottom!” Matthew looked at his father, smiled, and said, “Bull.”
This response was, of course, not well received by my brother-in-law. But do you know what happened? Everyone at the table turned at looked at me. Thoroughly offended, I said, “What? Why is everyone looking at me?” “Well, came the reply, he spends more time with you than he does anyone else. Where else would he have picked up that phrase?”
To be honest with you, I really can’t remember if Matthew heard the word “bull” from me or not. It was a word our family tossed around pretty often, so who knows? But the point was made: little ones do listen. Not only do little ones listen, they watch what we do. So it is important that we, as adults, mind our manners around young people.
The letters to the Corinthians are evidence that Paul knew this truth all too well. The first letter to the church at Corinth does not outline a rigorous theological system as much as it responds to specific practical concerns. That is probably part of the reason why it so challenging to both preach and teach from Corinthians. I mean, you can theologize a lot about the Trinity, Virgin Birth, and Resurrection. But drunkenness, sexual immorality, being honest with one another, and other similar topics are pretty straightforward—and the Bible’s teachings on these subjects can be quite disturbing to us, too.
The surface topic Paul is addressing today relates to the eating of meat that has been offered to idols. I say “surface” topic because, as I have said so many times before, surface issues in the Bible often point to deeper, core issues in our lives, as we will see later.
The question before Paul today is whether or not it is OK to eat meat that has been offered to idols. You see, idol meat was all over the place in Corinth. People would offer a sacrifice to one of the Greek gods, burn some of the meat on an altar, and then eat some of it in a ritualistic meal.
The remainder of the meat usually found its way to the local meat market and to the restaurants that were located in and around the pagan temples. So, whether you ate at home, ate at a restaurant, or ate at a friend’s home, unless you were a vegetarian, chances are you were eating meat that had been sacrificed to a Greek god or goddess.
Now for some of the Corinthian Christians, this dietary challenge was not a big problem. They took the teaching of Paul seriously when he said, “no idol in the world really exists.” But for others—and especially for those new to the Christian faith—eating meat offered to idols was a big problem. These folks were serious about following Jesus Christ, and wanted to remain as pure as possible. They were concerned that eating this meat would somehow defile them and prevent them from fully following the teachings of Jesus Christ.
So, on the one hand, you have a group of people who possess a certain amount of knowledge on this subject who don’t see what the big deal is about eating meat that is sacrificed, in reality, to nothing. On the other hand, you have a group of people who aren’t so sure they agree with this “liberal” behavior. Sounds like a church fight in the making to me! What is a good Corinthian Christian to do?
Enter our Master Moderator, Paul. Paul begins his discourse by warning those with this knowledge that they should be careful. Notice he doesn’t say knowledge is bad, per se. Paul is just saying that it doesn’t really matter how much we think we know, because none of us really has the full picture. So knowledge is fine—to a point.
Paul then, however, affirms the knowledge of the Corinthian meat eaters by saying that we really know that no idol exists. And while there may be other so-called “gods” in heaven and on earth, for us, there is but one God, and one Lord, Jesus Christ. Our closeness to God is not dependant upon whether or not we eat. So, Paul is affirming the right of this group of Christians to eat meat offered to idols. BUT, Paul tells this same group of folks to take care that this liberty of theirs’ does not cause others to stumble. After all, not all Christians share all this same knowledge.
In other words, little ones are watching.
Eating (the surface issue of this passage) is actually an excellent metaphor for describing all of life. When we eat, we acknowledge our dependence upon some of the remainder of God’s creation, and therefore, our dependence upon God. Humans—and all of creation—are from God and all of human life is lived toward God. In fact, Paul appears to affirm eating as well as drinking as a metaphor for all of life in 1 Corinthians 10:31 when he says, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” So the deeper issue here for us is that whatever we decide or choose in life must ultimately be decided and chosen in the light of what we know and believe about God.
But, like the Corinthians, we too have a responsibility to use our liberty wisely, and in ways that build up the community. And while I believe this statement is true for all Christians, I believe it is especially true for those of us who identify both as Christians as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered.
Why do I say that? Because people are watching us, folks. There are the people who say we can’t be Christians for no other reason than being the people God created us to be. Of course we know better. Like the Corinthians, we have a certain amount of knowledge on this subject that they may not possess. But then we tend to write these people off as “bigoted,” or “homophobic,” or as “sex negative fundamentalists.” Many times we don’t even bother trying to dialogue with these folks.
Then there are those within our community who are considering giving God another chance. Maybe these people were spiritually abused in the faith traditions of their youth, and after years of running from God, they have now decided to check out an open and affirming community of faith. Folks, what we say, what we do, where we go and how we behave when we get there, how we treat one another—in other words, how well our “talks” match our “walks”--can make the difference in the life-changing decisions that these people will eventually make. So, are we going to go the way of knowledge, and insist on exercising our liberties, disregarding the feelings of others, or are we going to go the way of love, and build up community?
For Paul, love trumps knowledge every time. In today’s world, love means getting the liberals and conservatives to talk to one another. It means taking the time to build such deeply personal relationships that church members will trust and support one another as they seek to do Christ’s work in the world. Love means dialoguing with one another to identify shared Christian principles that reach beyond the rhetoric of calling ourselves either “progressive” or “charismatic.” And most importantly, love means putting those shared principles to work both in this place and out in the world!
God wants us to be well nourished as a community of faith, and strong enough to do God’s work in the world. That is why God sent Jesus, the Bread of Life. That’s why God offers us the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. God spreads a banquet before us so that we can eat, be healthy and strong. That’s why God gives us the Table, where we can come together in this place each week, eat, and receive the strength to show each other the kind of love that is grounded in trusting personal relationships and shared Christian principles.
Speaking of the Table, many of you here know James. James is Makaylah’s big brother, and helps his Mom Annette take care of her. James also sometimes helps his Grandma Jean and Granny Linda sing up front here. Well, one day recently, the family noticed James standing over a plastic cup that was carefully covered with a white washrag. James removed the washrag, held up a plastic tomato from his Dora the Explorer Kitchen, and said, “Communion—for everybody!” James gets it. Don’t you wish more of us were like him?
Little ones are watching, folks--little ones of all ages and stations in life. With the help of God’s Holy Spirit, may we be examples of God’s inclusive love, grace, and peace in this world, so that these little ones may see how good God truly is. Amen?
God bless you and amen.
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
If you have been a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or anyone responsible for the care of a child for any length of time, you will probably have no trouble relating to the following story.
Some of you here have already heard the story of my nephew, Matthew. I was very close to Matt. In fact, I helped raise him for the first months of his life while my sister and brother-in-law both worked to make ends meet. As I have said before, for a time it seemed as if I had this growth on my hip in the form of a small child named Matthew. Where you saw Uncle Danny, you normally saw Matthew, and vice-versa.
At a family dinner back in 1977, when Matthew was just 2 years old, he decided to act out at the dinner table like many 2 year-olds are prone to do. His father looked at him, and said in a very stern voice, “Boy, if you don’t straighten up, I’m gonna bust your bottom!” Matthew looked at his father, smiled, and said, “Bull.”
This response was, of course, not well received by my brother-in-law. But do you know what happened? Everyone at the table turned at looked at me. Thoroughly offended, I said, “What? Why is everyone looking at me?” “Well, came the reply, he spends more time with you than he does anyone else. Where else would he have picked up that phrase?”
To be honest with you, I really can’t remember if Matthew heard the word “bull” from me or not. It was a word our family tossed around pretty often, so who knows? But the point was made: little ones do listen. Not only do little ones listen, they watch what we do. So it is important that we, as adults, mind our manners around young people.
The letters to the Corinthians are evidence that Paul knew this truth all too well. The first letter to the church at Corinth does not outline a rigorous theological system as much as it responds to specific practical concerns. That is probably part of the reason why it so challenging to both preach and teach from Corinthians. I mean, you can theologize a lot about the Trinity, Virgin Birth, and Resurrection. But drunkenness, sexual immorality, being honest with one another, and other similar topics are pretty straightforward—and the Bible’s teachings on these subjects can be quite disturbing to us, too.
The surface topic Paul is addressing today relates to the eating of meat that has been offered to idols. I say “surface” topic because, as I have said so many times before, surface issues in the Bible often point to deeper, core issues in our lives, as we will see later.
The question before Paul today is whether or not it is OK to eat meat that has been offered to idols. You see, idol meat was all over the place in Corinth. People would offer a sacrifice to one of the Greek gods, burn some of the meat on an altar, and then eat some of it in a ritualistic meal.
The remainder of the meat usually found its way to the local meat market and to the restaurants that were located in and around the pagan temples. So, whether you ate at home, ate at a restaurant, or ate at a friend’s home, unless you were a vegetarian, chances are you were eating meat that had been sacrificed to a Greek god or goddess.
Now for some of the Corinthian Christians, this dietary challenge was not a big problem. They took the teaching of Paul seriously when he said, “no idol in the world really exists.” But for others—and especially for those new to the Christian faith—eating meat offered to idols was a big problem. These folks were serious about following Jesus Christ, and wanted to remain as pure as possible. They were concerned that eating this meat would somehow defile them and prevent them from fully following the teachings of Jesus Christ.
So, on the one hand, you have a group of people who possess a certain amount of knowledge on this subject who don’t see what the big deal is about eating meat that is sacrificed, in reality, to nothing. On the other hand, you have a group of people who aren’t so sure they agree with this “liberal” behavior. Sounds like a church fight in the making to me! What is a good Corinthian Christian to do?
Enter our Master Moderator, Paul. Paul begins his discourse by warning those with this knowledge that they should be careful. Notice he doesn’t say knowledge is bad, per se. Paul is just saying that it doesn’t really matter how much we think we know, because none of us really has the full picture. So knowledge is fine—to a point.
Paul then, however, affirms the knowledge of the Corinthian meat eaters by saying that we really know that no idol exists. And while there may be other so-called “gods” in heaven and on earth, for us, there is but one God, and one Lord, Jesus Christ. Our closeness to God is not dependant upon whether or not we eat. So, Paul is affirming the right of this group of Christians to eat meat offered to idols. BUT, Paul tells this same group of folks to take care that this liberty of theirs’ does not cause others to stumble. After all, not all Christians share all this same knowledge.
In other words, little ones are watching.
Eating (the surface issue of this passage) is actually an excellent metaphor for describing all of life. When we eat, we acknowledge our dependence upon some of the remainder of God’s creation, and therefore, our dependence upon God. Humans—and all of creation—are from God and all of human life is lived toward God. In fact, Paul appears to affirm eating as well as drinking as a metaphor for all of life in 1 Corinthians 10:31 when he says, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” So the deeper issue here for us is that whatever we decide or choose in life must ultimately be decided and chosen in the light of what we know and believe about God.
But, like the Corinthians, we too have a responsibility to use our liberty wisely, and in ways that build up the community. And while I believe this statement is true for all Christians, I believe it is especially true for those of us who identify both as Christians as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered.
Why do I say that? Because people are watching us, folks. There are the people who say we can’t be Christians for no other reason than being the people God created us to be. Of course we know better. Like the Corinthians, we have a certain amount of knowledge on this subject that they may not possess. But then we tend to write these people off as “bigoted,” or “homophobic,” or as “sex negative fundamentalists.” Many times we don’t even bother trying to dialogue with these folks.
Then there are those within our community who are considering giving God another chance. Maybe these people were spiritually abused in the faith traditions of their youth, and after years of running from God, they have now decided to check out an open and affirming community of faith. Folks, what we say, what we do, where we go and how we behave when we get there, how we treat one another—in other words, how well our “talks” match our “walks”--can make the difference in the life-changing decisions that these people will eventually make. So, are we going to go the way of knowledge, and insist on exercising our liberties, disregarding the feelings of others, or are we going to go the way of love, and build up community?
For Paul, love trumps knowledge every time. In today’s world, love means getting the liberals and conservatives to talk to one another. It means taking the time to build such deeply personal relationships that church members will trust and support one another as they seek to do Christ’s work in the world. Love means dialoguing with one another to identify shared Christian principles that reach beyond the rhetoric of calling ourselves either “progressive” or “charismatic.” And most importantly, love means putting those shared principles to work both in this place and out in the world!
God wants us to be well nourished as a community of faith, and strong enough to do God’s work in the world. That is why God sent Jesus, the Bread of Life. That’s why God offers us the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. God spreads a banquet before us so that we can eat, be healthy and strong. That’s why God gives us the Table, where we can come together in this place each week, eat, and receive the strength to show each other the kind of love that is grounded in trusting personal relationships and shared Christian principles.
Speaking of the Table, many of you here know James. James is Makaylah’s big brother, and helps his Mom Annette take care of her. James also sometimes helps his Grandma Jean and Granny Linda sing up front here. Well, one day recently, the family noticed James standing over a plastic cup that was carefully covered with a white washrag. James removed the washrag, held up a plastic tomato from his Dora the Explorer Kitchen, and said, “Communion—for everybody!” James gets it. Don’t you wish more of us were like him?
Little ones are watching, folks--little ones of all ages and stations in life. With the help of God’s Holy Spirit, may we be examples of God’s inclusive love, grace, and peace in this world, so that these little ones may see how good God truly is. Amen?
God bless you and amen.
posted by Rev. Danny Spears at 6:59 PM
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