Preached on February 1, 2009 at The First Congregational Church of Tallmadge, Ohio, UCC.
I Corinthians 8:1-13
Dedicated to Madison Russ, on the day of her baptism; and always to the glory of God.
Everything is God’s. God created everything. It is a part of our creed, a central tenant of our faith. Genesis starts with the words “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,” and the gospel of John starts this way: “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God...all things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.” Paul reminds the church in Corinth that everything comes from Christ. So everything is God’s.
Let’s think for a minute about what that means. For one thing, it means that we don’t have to worry about the idea of competing Gods working in the universe. When we discover the beauty of the Muslim poet Rumi, when we see the majesty of a Buddhist shrine, or when we see the loving devotion of Hindi men and women who care for the poor, our faith tells us that these examples of skill and artistry and compassion are all gifts from God, given through the one we know as Jesus Christ.
But this is about more than whether or not are other Gods at work. This is also about the things that we make into our gods, looking to them for meaning and transcendence. For instance, our culture and the church have too often made the mistake of thinking that we must choose between the truth of science and the truth of religion, as if science is a competing version of truth and meaning. But this is a false choice. Since everything is God’s, then all truth comes from God. In that light, we can acknowledge scientific truth as God’s truth, discovered by human intelligence and perseverance, which are also gifts from God. Our knowledge of evolution does not cancel out faith and the witness of scripture, but rather adds to our knowledge of the wonder and glory of God’s deeds.
We also sometimes make the mistake of arguing about whether spirituality exists inside organized religion or is to be found more purely in nature, in that sense of balance and harmony one finds whether hiking in the woods, strolling on the water’s edge, or walking a golf course. I say that those experiences are gifts of God. Those are some of the things we gather in worship to give thanks for, in this religion of ours, which is not really as organized as its critics suggest. Our faith gives thanks for all these good things. There is a Jewish saying that after we die we will be held to account for all the good things in life that we failed to enjoy. Joy is a serious calling, and it binds us together.
Sometimes we have the experience of feeling bound together and a sense of belonging most powerfully in the cheering crowd, when the stadium erupts in shared applause, and the hair stands up on your neck, or at a concert, when you feel that the music lifts your spirit to a place where you feel joined to every soul in the concert hall. Those experiences are a gift from God. Anytime we feel a sense of belonging, of oneness to others, it is a glimpse of the truth that we are bound together in God.
Everything is God’s. This is why Paul told the people of Corinth that there was no theological problem with eating food that had been offered to other gods in the temples of the Roman world. That food is a gift from God, known to us in Jesus Christ, and eating it will not by any magical religious ritual pull you away from the God from whom all blessings flow. That food comes from God, so there is nothing unfaithful about eating it, Paul tells them.
Then he tells them not to eat it.
What was that? Paul, you’re saying that we are right about this food being okay to eat, that these other people who complain that eating food offered to idols is wrong don’t know what they’re talking about, but that we shouldn’t eat it, anyway?
What Paul means is that there are two sides to the truth that everything is God’s. On the one hand, it gives us freedom. We are free to claim goodness and beauty and truth wherever we find it. On the other hand, if everything is God’s, then we have a responsibility to care for it all, which calls for compassion and patience.
The reason Paul tells the Corinthians not to eat food that had been offered to other idols is out of love for their fellow Christians, who may have only recently been members of the local cult where that food was sacrificed. Now they have come to know God through Jesus Christ; now they know Christ as creator of everything and Lord of all. So they may know that all food comes from God, in an intellectual way. But the thought of eating food that had been offered to an idol brings back all their former beliefs about the Roman pantheon of competing Gods. Paul says that if it causes unnecessary struggling for others for you to eat that food, then eat some other food.
I wonder how this message translates for our lives? Where do we lean too heavily on the freedom to enjoy good things, and not enough of the responsibility to love and care for all that is God’s creation? Where do the good gifts of God lead us not into greater thanksgiving, but into harm of ourselves and others.
When I think of good gifts taken too far, I think of movie and television. I think that the stories that are told on these screens are great gifts. Whether they are reported or fictional, they can widen our knowledge and appreciation for the world, move us to laughter and tears, and allow us to rest from our worries. There is great truth that is told in these stories, and you have heard Dr. John and me refer to movies often in our sermons to illustrate the truth of God’s word that we are seeking to share. But when movies and television is used as a sedative, to distract us and fill the empty hours, and when celebrity actors or reality shows become more important news than the suffering of the world that can be met with the grace of God, we are in trouble.
Sports are also a wonderful gift from God. Our bodies are gifts, and in the thrill of play, the feeling of a runner’s high, is a glimpse of God’s transcendence. When we cheer for teams we are joined to a community with a shared tradition and a commitment to excellence. That’s why I get goose bumps when the Buckeyes take the field, or when the Tuba player dots the i in script Ohio. The unity we find in a shared cheer should point us to the oneness we have in God, but too often, the team mentality leads us to feel real anger toward the opponents, to say ugly things about each other, and to wallow in bitterness after a loss. When the team mentality takes hold in a nation, it can lead to great violence that spreads from our borders.
In fact, every good gift of God can become an idol. Love of family should strengthen our love for strangers, but sometimes it motivates us to wall off others in order to keep our own safe and secure. Love of food and drink should lead us to thanksgiving, service for the hungry, and a deeper experience of God’s love in the communion table, but sometimes food and drink become idols, and there’s never enough of a substitute to make us full.
Everything is God’s, so claim it with freedom, wherever it is found. Take joy in it, because we were created for joy by God. Grow and learn from God’s truth, beauty, and goodness, and don’t settle for cheap imitations. Everything is God’s, so treat these gifts with love and care, so that our love for the gifts leads us always to thanksgiving, and a greater love still for the giver.
