So Who’s Right?
A sermon preached by
Tammy Nelson at
San Leandro Community Church
For Epiphany 4
Based on 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
We humans seem to be hardwired with a need to be right, a need for knowledge. Just look at the T.V. There are so many games shows that pit people against each other to see who knows the most, who is rightest if you will. My personal favorite is Jeopardy. But that need to be right, that desire to be the most knowledgeable can get out of hand. Rather than a friendly game of trivial pursuit, we can end up in situations of major tension and anger. And this need to be right isn’t just something that can affect our jobs, our free time, or our families (not that that isn’t bad enough). This desire to be proven right also insinuates itself into the heart of congregational life as well.
Our scripture for today is a good example of what happens when believers know what is right and won’t back down. There is a tension between two parts of the church in Corinth. One group, “those in the know” feel like they shouldn’t have to give up personal freedom, in this case eating meat that had previously sacrificed to idols, for the consciences of those they considered “weak” in faith.
In Corinth, as in Rome which we talked about back in September, all the meat that was sold in the city was a product of the religious industry. After sacrifices were made to the gods, the animals were butchered and sold in the marketplace. Many people considered the eating of this meat to be a minor act of worship. It was sort of like how Christians today sometimes joke about doing something in order to get God points, but they don’t actually believe doing these certain things will bring them closer to God. Then there are others who believe that these certain acts of devotion will absolutely help them gain favor with God. Praying the rosary or going to confession come to mind.
In Corinth, there were some Christians who were “enlightened” enough to know that there is only one God and eating the meat sacrificed to idols did nothing positive or negative in the spiritual realm. Other Christians had not yet come to this realization. They refused to eat the meat and of course they would look with suspicion on those Christians who did eat the sacrificial meat. In return, the “enlightened” ones looked down on those who refused to eat meat because they knew the truth.
In a way, it is comforting to understand that factions have been a part of church life since its inception. It is also disturbing, because how are we, 2000 years removed from the events in the life of Jesus, supposed to live into Jesus’ prayer that we may all be one, if those who were among the first believers had such difficulty? Why is being right so important to us, and what’s more, how do we temper that need so that it does not hamper our relationships?
The first thing we need to remember is that we are all beloved children of God. Yes, even “those” people. (whomever “those” people are for you) Whenever we interact with each other, we should treat each other with respect and more importantly, love. As the good book says, “love can cover a multitude of sins.” Love is not the same as tolerating someone. Tolerating a person indicates that we feel superior to that person in some way. Tolerating someone gives us a sense of power over that person, however subconscious that may be.
Loving someone means having patience with them when we don’t see eye to eye. It is being kind to them even when we have disagreements. Love is not allowing your frustrations and anger to simmer to a boil by rehashing perceived wrongs. Love is not making snide remarks about your brother or sister, the vegetarian (feel free to insert the descriptive term of your choice here).
Love is being able to let go. Let go of expectations, of grudges, of that feeling, “but I am in the right.”
And since we are all beloved children of God, remember that you don’t have a monopoly on the word of God. God can and does speak to other people who don’t necessarily agree with you in putting faith into practice. God meets each of us where we are and speaks to us in ways that we can understand. The important thing is that we are all growing closer to living out the life Jesus emulated for us. When you try so hard to change a person’s mind, when you lash out in anger or belittle someone’s faith, you will be doing more harm than good.
In our text today, Paul states that he would rather never eat meat again than cause one of God’s children to stumble even though he knows there are no “god” points associated with it. His love for his brothers and sisters in Christ overrides his need to be right. (and if you know anything about Paul, that is no small task!)
Now, I’m not saying that we need to let people walk all over us, or allow things that might lead to harm for a brother or sister to remain unchecked. But what I am saying is we need to stop and think before we speak or act. We need to seriously consider whether our words or actions will be something that builds up the body of Christ or whether it is something meant to build up our own sense of power or control.
But wait a minute, you might be asking, your sermon title asks, so who’s right? Aren’t you going to tell us? The answer, as irritating as it may seem is that they are both right. Life is like that. What is right for one person or group is not what is right for others. And that’s okay. Because Paul is also right, love trumps all.