Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. Vs. 9

I want you to be somebody else for a few minutes. You are one of the more sophisticated Christians in the Corinthian church. You know that meat that has been offered in sacrifice to idols is just meat and O.K. for a Christian to eat because the gods the idols represent don’t really exist. There is no “Mithras”. There is no “Zeus”. There is only the one God – the God of Jesus Christ. Sacrifices to these gods continued by adherents, and the meat was then sold in the market place. Some Christians bought and ate this meat. Why not? It’s just meat. But there were folks in the church newly converted to Christ, folks who, up to now, spent a lifetime paying homage, sacrificing to these non-gods, and for them to eat the sacrificial meat would feel like backsliding. There are also Jewish converts in the church who want to stay as far away from anything resembling paganism as possible.

These two groups join forces and take the matter to the Church Council. They think you must be participating in a pagan sacrificial system when you eat the meat. They want the Council to stop you. The Church Council members are more advanced Christians like you, but to be safe, they shoot a text message to Paul who is putting out fires in the church in Ephesus. He texts back with this: “Meat is just meat. It is not pagan worship to eat the meat. But be careful – you do not want your freedom in Christ to become a stumbling block for a less enlightened brother or sister. When you go ahead and eat meat of the sacrifices, knowing that it is causing confusion and resentment in the weaker members, you sin against them. And when you sin against any member of the family, you sin against Christ. So, if eating the meat is the cause of their confusion – give it up! Christ calls us to a world of ‘We’ not ‘Me’.”

Now, you really like meat. You’re just not, no way, never going to be a salad, pasta, tofu sort of person. You want meat. And why not? You are free in Christ, by grace. You have no allegiance to gods who don’t even exist. So why can’t you eat meat?

Or substitute for meat something else that you enjoy – that it would be hard for you to give up. Now, suppose there are others in the congregation who take issue with you for indulging in it. Maybe it’s going to the casino; maybe it’s having a drink or two; maybe it’s your choice in television programming; maybe it’s the way you dress.

Imagine getting Paul’s letter telling you to give it up for the sake of others.

Now, fill in the blanks:

+ It’s not ______________ (FAIR!!!)

+ Why should I have to give up something I enjoy, that’s harmless, just because they are ________________ ? (ignorant)

+ Going to the casino is just innocent recreation; I can do it without becoming a _____________. (compulsive gambler)

+ The Bible doesn’t say we shouldn’t drink. Jesus once made lots of wine, after all. And, didn’t Paul tell Timothy that a little wine is good for an _______________ ? (upset stomach)

+ What I watch on television is my _____________. (business)

+ Just because I wear black lipstick and dye my hair purple, or just because I wear t-shirts with symbols of death, destruction and chaos doesn’t mean I’m _________________. (a bad person)

+ Look, as a Christian, free in Christ by grace, don’t I have certain _____? (rights)

Thanks for being honest. It’s the common reasoning of our age. Common, understandable, and, according to Paul, unholy, because it robs us of the goodness, the kindness, the nobility and dignity we might otherwise have in our life together. Paul talks about a better way – a way less traveled and more difficult, to be sure, but a far better way.

For a number of years I pastored in another synod. When that synod met in annual assembly, the youth of that synod held a conference simultaneously. Though our programming was different, adults and youth were in close proximity. These were the days when the “Just Say No” national anti-drug campaign was at its height of effectiveness among our youth. They youth sent a resolution to the floor of our assembly, asking that adults at assembly refrain from indulging in alcoholic beverages because it was a bad witness to the youth. The debate was on. The Bible was quoted extensively from both sides. In the end, the resolution defeated. We agreed to disagree. But if anyone thought that this was a satisfactory outcome in the minds of the youth, they were wrong. All the while Paul’s words were speaking in my heart, and I wrote a letter to Brenda, the chief sponsor of the resolution. I’d like to share it with you now.

Dear Brenda,

I thank God for your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and for your love for His Church. Your willingness to actively engage in the issues of faith is inspiring.

There has been no peace for me since the assembly at which we took opposing views and essentially only agreed to disagree.

How eloquently did we appeal to reason! “Our culture of drug abuse and addiction calls for us to re-think our approach t the use of alcohol. Alcohol is the most abused drug in our society.” These statements are true. In them I found compelling reason to vote in favor of your position. But there were convincing arguments on the other side: “We are failing to distinguish between addiction/abuse and responsible use. By abstinence in front of our youth, drinking only out of their sight, we are only adding to the mystique and allure of alcohol, which has been found to contribute to abuse and addiction.” These statements, too, are true. In them I found substantial reason to vote for the opposite position.

And how passionately we appealed to Scripture! “Wine is a mocker and hard drink a brawler.” (Proverbs 20:1) “Be not among winebibbers.” (Proverbs 23:20) Yet, Jesus did make wine – gallons of it – and along with other adult guests at the wedding in Cana, drank it in front of children and youth. (John 2)

And each of these contains truth. Any one of them or a sum of them might lead us to a lifestyle conviction. But no one of them or sum of them will give us the power for living that Paul points us to. At best we can agree to disagree. At worst we will be lead to mutual despising. Agree to disagree. I’m right/You’re wrong. If that’s where we leave it, then we have done a common thing, a human thing, no worse, yet no better than any other human thing. But we have not done a Christian thing.

There is a better way. There is a uniquely Christian way among all the ways: “If food is the cause of my sister’s falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause her to fall.” The higher issue for my faithful Christian response is not to be right; it is not to do Scriptural “one-ups-man-ship”.

The real issue for me, my sister in Christ, is YOU, and the faith that you hold this day in Christ, that I might not knowingly place any obstacle in the path of your communion with Him.

To that end, I make this covenant with God and with you: while desiring to continue in conversation with you on this important issue of faith, I will refrain from the consumption of any alcoholic beverage at Synodical gatherings of our church and will encourage other adults to do the same. I will be more sensitive to any consumption whenever youth are present, and will engage them as I am able in conversation about their struggles in this matter.

The issue for me is YOU. God has placed you and what is best for you in my path. When I next share the Peace with my congregation, I will, in the Spirit of Christ, be sharing it also with you. In a handshake or an embrace,

I will say to them and to you, “The Peace of the Lord be with you. Your joys will be my joys; your struggles will be my struggles. I will pray for you. Please pray for me.”

Your friend in Christ,

Pastor Phil Fenton

Amen.



St.Paul's Directory Family Portrait Sign up HERE!!! Click on the Portrait Sign up Link above to schedule a Family Picture time here at St.Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church from May 8-12, 2012!!!!!

As We Are Fed … We Feed Others

Food - Approximately 200 families per month receive food assistance through Brenham’s Faith Mission. The food is purchased from the area Food Bank or received through local donations (from churches and others.)

St. Paul’s members can increase their support of this vital ministry by bringing canned goods to worship each Sunday that we are fed at Holy Communion. Place these donations in the basket provided in the narthex. Children will bring the basket to the altar at the offering that prayers of blessing might be spoken over these gifts.