Peace Lutheran Church - Austin, Texas          January 29, 2012         William J. Sappenfield

1 Corinthians 8

¹Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. ²Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; ³but anyone who loves God is known by him.

⁴Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” ⁵Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords—⁶yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

⁷It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. ⁸“Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. ⁹But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. ¹⁰For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? ¹¹So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. ¹²But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. ¹³Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.

            Certainty is attractive.  I think humans want to be certain – especially about things that are important. 

            Back in the First Century, Paul had friends in the church at Corinth, a town in Greece.  When he heard they were having troubles in their church, he would write them letters with advice on how to live as Christians.  We read from one of those letters this morning as our second lesson.  The issue at hand was about eating.  Some of the animals that had been sacrificed in the pagan temples in Corinth were finding their way to the local meat market.  Some of the Christians thought that to eat meat sacrificed to an idol would be somehow participating in idol worship and they did not think Christians should do that.  Other members of the church said they did not believe in the idols one way or another, so the only real questions in eating an animal that had been sacrificed to a non-existent deity were “How much does it cost?” and “Does it taste good?”.  They did not want anyone else telling them what to do and they were fond of saying, “all of us possess knowledge.” 

That particular issue is gone from our society.  In my entire career, I am unaware of a single workshop dedicated to the topic of eating meat sacrificed to idols.  The issue is gone but the principle for dealing with it remains.

Paul quoted what he had been hearing, “all of us possess knowledge”.  He acknowledged that is true.  He wrote, “We know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’  Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”  Things have not changed.  Issues come and go, but their causes and their solutions stay the same.  To this day, people say some variation of “all of us possess knowledge” just like they did back in Corinth and then they wrap themselves in whatever they are certain about at that particular moment and let the Body of Christ fall where it may.

We love to claim knowledge.  Certainty is attractive.

Since we know salvation is from God and since we long for certainty, sometimes we have a tendency to assume the two go together.  Salvation and certainty seem to be made for each other.  On the other hand, ambiguity and curiosity are seen in our society as signs of weak faith.  God does not promise us certainty.  And, yet, he does not abandon us.  We are not left alone with our uncertainty.  God offers us a gift deeper and more lasting than a confident ability to answer questions – questions that will someday be no more relevant than the issue Paul was writing letters about back in the first century.  God offers us a life with him that we can trust.

            The alternative to certainty is not despair.  The alternative to certainty is trust. 

            God gives us the gift of faith, which is far more trustworthy than our certainty.  We all know the record of things humanity has been absolutely sure of – everything from the earth being flat to the superiority of eight-track tapes.  Certainty does not last long.  Trust is different from certainty.  Certainty depends upon us.  It depends upon our ability to learn much and to be sure.  It gives knowledge and “knowledge puffs up”.  On the other hand, trust depends upon God.  It is trust in something outside of ourselves.  We manufacture certainty; we receive faith as a gift.

Certainty strides around in our culture shouting its name in the media and arguing in private conversations with no other credentials than the fact that it is certain.  It’s not worth much.

            Trust and faith – those are worth having.

In a society that loves certainty it is hard to be a Lutheran Christian.  We love education.  Lovers of education are not always on speaking terms with certainty.  It is a paradox that those dedicated to learning are the likeliest candidates to claim they do not have all the answers.  This is an old principle.  This morning we read the two thousand year old words of Paul, “Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge…”

Luther founded the Reformation on education.  His view was that every home should be the primary place of education in the Christian faith.  His first order of business was to write a Small Catechism so that every parent could teach children about the Ten Commandments, The Creed, The Lord’s Prayer and The Sacraments.  And all of you who know the basic teaching of Lutheranism know how teaching happens.  In The Small Catechism. The Law is read, and the learner responds (say it with me) “What does this mean?”  We train our children to ask questions.  Faith is based on the assumption that we have more to learn.  Lutheranism is founded on the principle that the way to learn about God is to ask questions.  We prize education.  Education is our surest protection against certainty.

I had this experience in seminary because that is my experience with learning, you have observed the same thing in other places.  A person who wants to be a Lutheran pastor gets a bachelor’s degree – I got mine in religion – then applies to seminary where there will be four more years of study.  It was fun to watch the transitions.  More than once I was treated to the sight of newly arrived seminarians.  They had been the best and brightest in their confirmation classes.  Sometimes they had memorized the books of the Bible.  They were somewhat miffed that they were looking at four long years of study when they could be out in the parish giving people the benefit of their knowledge and gifts.  All the while I was also watching those who were nearing the end of their course of study who were practically wrapping their arms around the architecture protesting that they must not be taken from a place of learning because their knowledge was so pitifully meager.  The extra four years had convinced them of their ignorance.

As Paul observed,  “Anyone who claims to know something does not have the necessary knowledge.”  We are a community of discernment that asks questions.  We do not shout answers at the world.  We ask the world to join us in the questions.

            It is no accident that the occasion of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is news of division in the congregation.  Paul is preaching the gospel of love over knowledge to a group that had come to put too much trust in their certainty.  Sure, people often know facts, but that does not always help us to live together.

            If we identify ourselves by answers then we will be lonely.  Each of us will find different answers in different lives.  Each of those answers can be true.  But if we think they are the whole truth, we will not accept anyone else’s answers that guide them in their relationships with God.  On the other hand, if, instead of answers, we identify ourselves by our ability to come together around the same questions – then we are the Body of Christ.  Yes, we do believe we have the truth.  But not all of it.  Not this side of the grave.  There will always be more that we can learn from every brother and sister we will ever meet, whether they know they are our brothers and sisters or not.

“Knowledge puffs up; but love builds up.”  This world seeks answers.  God offers faith.  Certainty separates us.  Love builds up the church in service and discipleship.

Not knowing all the answers to life’s questions does not excuse us from living as people of God.  As a matter of fact, it may be a prerequisite.  The people who claim the most thorough knowledge of God can often be seen acting in the least godly ways.  They are the ones censoring books, telling us who God does not like, and choosing their children’s activities based on the consensus of their friends in the neighborhood instead of the values they want to teach.  They are the ones who have made up their minds about their relationships with God and see no reason to go into the matter any further.  They feel the measure of Christian teaching is how closely it agrees with what they already believe. 

            Our culture is puffed up, and we have convinced ourselves that is a desirable way to be.  It could do with some building up.

            Let’s proclaim divine uncertainty.  Our faith is a gift from God and he is not stingy with it.  We only need to see it as worth having.  It is far better than certainty.

            Faith keeps us with our children when we do not know all the answers to give them.  Faith leads us in our jobs even when we do not know the people who benefit from what we do.  Faith gives students a joy in studying that does not require that they know how they will use the things they learn.  Faith keeps our church together when we do not know the answers or our direction. 

            Paul saw a dividing issue in a congregation and gave instructions on how to deal with it.  The issue is gone but we Christians still live in a world that needs to stay together in the love of God.  Paul’s words continue to guide us.  “Love builds up.” 

            Knowledge is not as lasting as love.  Certainty is not as reliable as trust.  The fleeting satisfactions we find within ourselves will not live as the eternity that God brings to us as Jesus Christ.