12 July 2005

We continue on with idols and food and what that all could have to do with today.

It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. (1 Cor. 8:7)

I will piece this sections to others as we go along through the week.
There are not many followers of Jesus who have an issue with food - at least not for religious issues. Therefore let's play with some other way to look at what is going on in Corinth. If, for example, you were raised to read the Bible literally and now you are being told that it is filled with writings that are not to be take literally - what do you do? What happens when the book of Daniel, or Revelations is not to be read like a book predicting a far off future but rather is to be seen as pieces within the genre of apocalyptic literature. They cannot be taken literally and yet popular religious writers of the day try to do just that. What if the some of the condemnations within the Holiness Code of the book of Leviticus - that you once thought were to be observed strictly - are now being seen within their historical context and with the reasoning of the day that is not the same now? Someone may even ask why it is that we are involved in warfare as Christians when there seems to be a strong word against killing in the teaching of Jesus. Is it just because since the time of Constantine, we have been more of a state/empire religion than a movement of people following Jesus? Anyway, there are a number of ways people can be "offended" by the way others follow along the way of Jesus. We are never to let go of the gracious Reign of God as seen in the good new of Jesus, the Christ, but sometimes it means we must be very diligent about how we pastorally deal with one another. That to which we assign great meaning and authority within the faith can be very sensitive and though some of it must be dismantled in order to hear the good news more thoroughly, it must be dismantled with patience and care.

Connection: Try listening to what people say is vital and important to them in their faith journey. It may be that we hold quite different views. We then must take a look at what is the foundation of each of our ways of seeing the faith alive among us. This is really a good test to see if our ground is really the gracious Reign of God in Christ, Jesus.

Help us to clarify the grand expansiveness of your grace and the call to follow along the way of the cross. Your love, O God, defines us and moves us. As we encounter a variety of opinions about how we are to follow our Lord, Jesus, keep your powers of reconciliation and forgiveness deep within our hearts. Amen.