Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B
Old Testament Deuteronomy 18:15–20
Psalm Psalm 111:1-10
New Testament 1 Corinthians 8:1–13
Gospel Mark 1:21–28[1]
11 … so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died.[2] 12 When you sin against your brothers and sisters in Christ like this and cause them to do what they feel is wrong, you are also sinning against Christ.[3] 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. [4] What I say and do matters. What you say and do matters.
To eat or not to eat, to speak or not to speak, what are we to do? Better yet, “knowledge puffs up” but love builds up. So if we do or not do, that may be a problem. If we have knowledge of what to do or not, then are we puffed up?
Dang, if this can’t be confusing. In our text today from 1 Corinthians, the NRSV Bible gives a header to this chapter as “Food Offered to Idols”. Is this about food or is this about something bigger? First we need to set the context in, which the letter was written. If we look at the text without understanding its context, we can’t find how this applies to us today.
Corinth of today is close to the ruins of Corinth in the Bible, both are situated in Greece. When Paul writes this letter to the church in Corinth, pagan practices were still very common. Sacrifices to the pagan idols occurred in the temples, which were normally restaurants. Those that performed the sacrifice would have the meat as the center of their feast. [5] The meat that was not used by the worshipers would be used in the restaurant.[6] Anything remaining was sold in the markets for all to purchase.
Can you see where the conundrum comes in? If you eat at the restaurant, you may be eating food that was part of the sacrifice, or a part of the animal that was not directly involved but still is related to the animal that was sacrificed. If you buy meat in the market, the same problem exists. What I say and do matters. What you say and do matters.
We, just like Paul and the people of the church of Corinth, realize that there is only one God and any sacrifice to an idol, is not really a sacrifice at all to any god. With that knowledge, we are free to eat of the food used in or part of the sacrifice. Yet, if we do, and others that are weak in their conscience, their faith, non believers or anyone that could be harmed spiritually by our actions, our knowledge becomes arrogance and our knowledge puffs us up. What I say and do matters. What you say and do matters.
I am sure that many of us here have had opportunities to partake in meat that was used in a sacrifice, right? No, I am sure that is NOT the case. How does this then apply to us today? Can you think of a situation where you have the knowledge that participation does not harm to your faith, yet if someone with weaker faith sees your actions, it may cause them to question their own faith? What I say and do matters. What you say and do matters.
In other words, if we say or do something as a Christian, that shocks another‘s conscience in such a way that pulls them away from their faith, in anyway, our knowledge becomes arrogance and puffs us up.
Let me give you a real life example, from my own family. When my wife and I got married, I had owned a board game called, Ouija Board. Now, at the time, I was an atheist, bordering on being an agnostic. Kris was raised in the Roman Catholic faith. She absolutely put her foot down about having the Ouija Board in the house.
Some might believe that you can speak with spirits through the Ouija Board, while others see it simply as a game of interest and nothing more. I was of the latter belief, and to be honest I am still today. That being said, if I were to use the board, as a “board game” and other’s who know me to be Christian, became aware of my actions, I risk the chance of shocking their conscience. What I say and do matters. What you say and do matters.
Here are a couple of other examples. Three is always a good number, or at least for our God, three in one. Anyway, if you or I would mediate and perhaps use a chanting from Buddhism or a Yoga pose in our mediation, we know that if we are doing this to prepare ourselves in a way as to help us have a better center to be more “in tuned” in prayer with God, all is fine. Except, if this becomes a stumbling block for another person’s faith. Are we Buddhist? Do we follow Hindu practices in Yoga? We need to be very clear. What I say and do matters. What you say and do matters.
Out of love for our God, and for others, even though we have knowledge that some practices do not effect our beliefs, we might abstain or explain our actions to others. This is not a matter of judging others or others judging us. It is a matter of not hurting someone’s faith for the sake or our own knowledge. It is a matter of respect and love for what God has given others and us. It is a matter of what we say and do, matters.
Although we were saved over 2,000 years ago through the death and resurrection of Jesus, I had a pastor tell me one day; “I would rather be questioned why I helped, “to many” people, be with God in heaven, rather than how many people I pushed away from God in heaven. Jesus did the work and does the work for us. However, what I say and do matters. What you say and do matters.
I am sure that you might have heard the saying that, perception is nine tenths of reality. How other perceive becomes and is their reality. So if others see our actions as shocking to their conscience, we have not loved them as we are called to love them.
As we leave today, remember to walk the walk, to talk the talk. What we say and do matters. It matters to God, it matters to ourselves and it matters to all that we encounter.
[1] Revised Common Lectionary (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009).
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 1 Co 8:11.
[3] The Everyday Bible: New Century Version (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2005), 1 Co 8:12.
[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 1 Co 8:13.
[5] Tom Wright, Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 98.
[6] Tom Wright, Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 98.