Sermon

St. Philip's Episcopal Church, Durham, NC

1/29/06 - 4 Epiphany

The Rev. Scott A. Benhase 

But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 1 Corinthians 8:9

Our lesson from St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians can be somewhat confusing out of context. A cursory reading may make it sound like Paul is simply an avid vegetarian encouraging us all to be vegetarians as well. If you are a vegetarian, bless your heart, but I do not think that is what Paul is concerned with in his letter. His concern is far more important than what we eat. His concern is about the wholeness of Christian community and how we as Christians witness through our community to the truth of Jesus Christ.

Let me set this in the context of the Corinthian Church. At the time Paul wrote this letter, the Church in Corinth was in a mess. Paul had founded the church some years ago and was staying in touch with it through his fellow missionaries mainly through letters and first-hand reports. What he was hearing greatly distressed him. The church had broken into factions. We learn early on in the letter that members of the church had taken sides around various leaders. Some sided with Paul.

Others said they were followers of another evangelist who had been resident with them; a man named Apollos. Others claimed allegiance to Peter, since he was the chief Apostle. Still others tried to stay above the fray, God bless them, and they said they followed only Jesus.  These four factions were at each other tooth and nail. All sorts of issues divided them. And one of the critical issues was what to do about the tension between the food purity laws they inherited from Judaism and the cultural reality in the cosmopolitan city of Corinth.

Now here is where it gets interesting. Some of the factions were saying that since they were now liberated from the Jewish Law and justified by faith in Jesus alone, they could go ahead and eat anything they wanted, including the prime rib they picked up at the local pagan shrine. But others said that eating meat sacrificed to idols was just the same as worshipping those idols. Anyone who did was blaspheming. So, on one side you had the liberals who said they were free to do as they pleased because Jesus set them free. And after, the pagan gods did not mean anything. On the other side you had the conservatives who said the religious law must be obeyed and the traditions kept. Anyone who didn't keep these laws and traditions should be thrown out of the church.

Does any of this sound familiar? Can you think of any conflicts we're having in the church or the culture today that sound like this? The church has always had conflicts like this. The Preacher of Ecclesiastes had it right when he said "there is nothing new under the sun."

How does Paul deal with this conflict? We get part of the answer to that question in today's Epistle Lesson, but to get the whole picture we'd have to read most of 1 Corinthians. Paul tells both sides that they are missing the point.  To those who were obsessed with exercising their freedom to eat what they like, he says that their freedom to choose is not the most important thing. Rather, looking out for the weaker members of the church is what's important.  To those who held so rigidly to the religious dietary laws, Paul says that they're trading their freedom in Christ for slavery to food. He says they ought to recognize that they're not bound by such restrictions and focus on building up love in the church.

Paul is not endorsing libertine behavior nor is he supporting church relationships grounded only in the rigidity of the tradition. Paul is demanding a much more mature practice of discipleship from the Corinthians. He says the members of the Church have every right in the world to go to the pagan shrines and eat the meat that was sacrificed there. After all, those shrines were the best steak houses in Corinth. One could always be assured of a good cut of meat at those places. People who offered sacrifices at these shrines would not bring some diseased animal to offer to the gods. They always brought their best to offer in sacrifice. So, the best restaurants in the city were always connected to these shrines where animal sacrifices took place.

But Paul says that just because one has the right to do something doesn't mean it is the right thing to do. Not every exercise of freedom is a good thing. Sometimes we need to intentionally deny ourselves certain rights in order to care for others. As long as we see our rights as paramount, then we will never understand the Gospel. This, of course, is difficult for us to hear living as we do in a rights obsessed culture. We have a tendency to believe that our freedom of choice on everything from breakfast cereal to barbecue is what's most important. And on one level Paul would agree with us. "Yes," he would say, "you are free, probably freer than you realize. There is no law holding you back." Paul, however, would also add: "But take care that this freedom of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak." In other words, we have every right to be unencumbered by the rigidity of such traditions, but Christian freedom; Christian liberty is not about being unencumbered. Rather, such liberty is about the freedom to love God and our neighbor as ourselves. Every other understanding of liberty becomes nothing more than selfishness and self-centeredness.

Let me give you some examples of what I am talking about. As some of you know, there are few things I enjoy more than a fine single malt whiskey. It is made from the finest ingredients in God's creation. There is nothing wrong and a whole lot right in enjoying such a divine drink. But I won't drink it around my friends of the Baptist persuasion, or any other Christian who finds drinking alcohol offensive. Let me repeat: I have every right to a drink of single malt whiskey whether I am with such folk or not. But if so doing it causes a sister or brother to stumble in their faith, then I just won't do it. Christian community is more important than my freedom around food or drink.

Awhile back we had an excellent acolyte here at St. Philip's. His service was impeccable. He, however, presented himself in the punk vernacular. He had the spiked colored hair. He wore the black leather collars and wrist bands. There studs in most of his clothes and he various body piercings.  Boy, I heard about it from various parishioners. They were outraged that we allowed him to present himself in such a way even though his vestments covered most of the alleged offensiveness. When people complained to me I replied that at least he dyed his hair in liturgically correct colors for the season. Still, they had a point. His appearance was distracting some people. So, I sat him down and told him that he was free to dress as he pleased, but I asked him to consider what his freedom was doing to others. If they way he presented himself was so important to him, then I would understand. But if it was not, then he should consider toning it down for the sake these folk who found it offensive. He thought about it, and you know what? He changed his appearance. Here was a teenager who had more maturity in his discipleship than some of his elders who were "weak" in the way St. Paul used the word.

All this is about our common witness. It is about the wholeness of the Christian community and how we as Christians witness through our community to the truth of Jesus Christ. Christian liberty is all about our freedom to be slaves of Christ. And that means caring more about our sisters and brothers than the exercise of our individual rights. Just because we have the right to do something doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. Not every exercise of freedom is a good thing. Sometimes we must deny ourselves certain rights in order to care for others. As long as we see our rights as paramount, then we'll never understand the Gospel. Amen.

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