January 29, 2006 Knowledge Puffs Up
KNOWLEDGE PUFFS UP, BUT LOVE BUILDS UP
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
For four days this past week I spent intimate intense time with some of the most knowledgeable men and women I have ever known. They were experts in aspects of theology, non-violence, ecology, and economics. This conference was called, “Developing Hearts that Yearn for Justice, sponsored by a group called Third World Opportunities, headed by a retired Lutheran minister, George Johnson. There were 160 of us living in a shelter with migrants, sleeping 8 to a room with bunk beds and one bathroom, just on the other side of our border in Tijuana, Mexico. It was quite an experience from many points of view, some of which I will share with you at another time. Today I want to focus on knowledge and love with reflections on my experience in Mexico.
In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he states that knowledge puffs up and love builds up. In this passage Paul was dealing with Jesus’ followers in Corinth in the first century, talking about what should be done about the food sacrificed to idols. In those days many religions existed, and many of these faiths involved the sacrifice of animals and other foods to various gods and goddesses. There were various rules; in some cases the officials of the temple might eat the food. In most traditions, including the Israelite one, the food offered to the gods was the food the priests lived on or that food could also be sold in the market to raise money to support the temple. In fact it may have been difficult to get meat that had not been used in sacrifices. So for the Christians in Corinth who did not believe in these idols, it made sense to say, “Let’s eat the food.” Paul says that eating the food is not important; the point he’s making is that out of love for both believers and non-believers, he will not do anything that would cause others to go against their conscience, their beliefs. In verse 13 he says, “Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.” For Paul any knowledge, any freedom that we have belongs in a context of responsibility and love. A few chapters later in the famous love chapter Paul goes on to say, “and if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” 1 Cor 13:2. Our relations to God and to people are inseparable for Paul. Those who love God also love their neighbors. In other words, Paul does believe that we are “our brother’s keeper”. We are responsible for how our actions affect those around us.
Let me give you a couple of examples: I knew someone who very much enjoyed sunbathing at nude beaches. After he became a pastor, he discontinued the practice: not because he felt there was anything wrong with it for him, but he did not want to do anything that might bring problems for his congregation. Another example might be the insensitive use of alcohol around folks that were struggling with not drinking. To illustrate putting love before knowledge let me tell you a true story about a croquet game. There were some missionaries in the Philippines who invited their Agta Negrito neighbors to play the game with them. They explained the rules and started them out with a mallet and a ball. As the game progressed the opportunity came for one of the local players to take advantage of another by knocking the ball out of the court. As one of the missionaries explained the procedure, his advice clearly puzzled his Negrito friend. “Why would I want to knock his ball out of the court?” The missionary responded, “So you will be the one to win.” The short-statured man, clad only in a loincloth, shook his head in bewilderment. His civilized neighbor was suggesting something absurdly uncivil to his culture. Competition is generally ruled out in a hunting/gathering society, where people survive, not by competing with one another, but by working together. The game continued but nobody followed the missionary’s advice. When a player successfully got through all the wickets, the game was not over for him. He went back and helped his fellows. And finally, when the last wicket was played, the “team” (everyone) shouted happily “we won, we won! (Illustrations Unlimited p. 123). Out of love, the missionaries suspended the rules of crochet to be in harmony with their local friends.
In my experience of the speakers at the social justice conference, most of them seemed to have great knowledge, yet they interacted with the rest of us day by day with such great humility. Our last speaker particularly struck me, the Rev. Maria Martinez, from Puerto Rico, Lutheran Bishop of the Caribbean area, the first Latina woman bishop of any denomination. She walked slowly to the speaker’s podium, using a cane. She proceeded to tell us how she led an ecumenical protest against the US Navy who was doing nuclear tests on the small island of Vieques. These protests resulted in the Navy leaving the island in May of 2003 after 60 years of inhabiting 70 % of the island and leaving a legacy of toxic pollution that natives blame for the high cancer rate—26%. Bishop Maria went on to tell us how she had lost her leg to cancer as a teenager and how in spite of her high academic scores, her father discouraged her from going on to college, assuring her that he would take care of her. She advanced to her position with a lot of knowledge but her love of God and love for her people definitely were the main factors in leading and sustaining her. She reminded me so much of Paul’s saying in 2 Cor. 12:9 that “my strength is made perfect in weakness”. She accepted her disability and became strong in her ability to lead her flock. She equated her Bishop’s crook with her cane. Her presence and her words brought me to tears as I sensed that here was a woman with great knowledge, great wisdom, and most of all great courage and love.
In our own Deering church we are about to have our Annual Meeting after the service. My wish and prayer is that during this meeting where some hard issues need to be looked at, that we will use both our knowledge and our love. When we put love first, we are aware of others. When we put love first, we prioritize the community over the individual. When we put love first, we speak truth in love. When we put love first, relationships are more important than rules. When we put love first, we build up the whole community of Christ. When we put love first, we speak up with what’s in our hearts and on our minds. When we put love first, compassion and understanding will come before being right and getting others to do things our way. Sisters and brothers in Christ, I love this church and pray that God will guide us as we carry out the business of the church, remembering always that this is God’s church, and we are all God’s children, bound together by God’s unconditional love. Amen!
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
For four days this past week I spent intimate intense time with some of the most knowledgeable men and women I have ever known. They were experts in aspects of theology, non-violence, ecology, and economics. This conference was called, “Developing Hearts that Yearn for Justice, sponsored by a group called Third World Opportunities, headed by a retired Lutheran minister, George Johnson. There were 160 of us living in a shelter with migrants, sleeping 8 to a room with bunk beds and one bathroom, just on the other side of our border in Tijuana, Mexico. It was quite an experience from many points of view, some of which I will share with you at another time. Today I want to focus on knowledge and love with reflections on my experience in Mexico.
In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he states that knowledge puffs up and love builds up. In this passage Paul was dealing with Jesus’ followers in Corinth in the first century, talking about what should be done about the food sacrificed to idols. In those days many religions existed, and many of these faiths involved the sacrifice of animals and other foods to various gods and goddesses. There were various rules; in some cases the officials of the temple might eat the food. In most traditions, including the Israelite one, the food offered to the gods was the food the priests lived on or that food could also be sold in the market to raise money to support the temple. In fact it may have been difficult to get meat that had not been used in sacrifices. So for the Christians in Corinth who did not believe in these idols, it made sense to say, “Let’s eat the food.” Paul says that eating the food is not important; the point he’s making is that out of love for both believers and non-believers, he will not do anything that would cause others to go against their conscience, their beliefs. In verse 13 he says, “Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.” For Paul any knowledge, any freedom that we have belongs in a context of responsibility and love. A few chapters later in the famous love chapter Paul goes on to say, “and if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” 1 Cor 13:2. Our relations to God and to people are inseparable for Paul. Those who love God also love their neighbors. In other words, Paul does believe that we are “our brother’s keeper”. We are responsible for how our actions affect those around us.
Let me give you a couple of examples: I knew someone who very much enjoyed sunbathing at nude beaches. After he became a pastor, he discontinued the practice: not because he felt there was anything wrong with it for him, but he did not want to do anything that might bring problems for his congregation. Another example might be the insensitive use of alcohol around folks that were struggling with not drinking. To illustrate putting love before knowledge let me tell you a true story about a croquet game. There were some missionaries in the Philippines who invited their Agta Negrito neighbors to play the game with them. They explained the rules and started them out with a mallet and a ball. As the game progressed the opportunity came for one of the local players to take advantage of another by knocking the ball out of the court. As one of the missionaries explained the procedure, his advice clearly puzzled his Negrito friend. “Why would I want to knock his ball out of the court?” The missionary responded, “So you will be the one to win.” The short-statured man, clad only in a loincloth, shook his head in bewilderment. His civilized neighbor was suggesting something absurdly uncivil to his culture. Competition is generally ruled out in a hunting/gathering society, where people survive, not by competing with one another, but by working together. The game continued but nobody followed the missionary’s advice. When a player successfully got through all the wickets, the game was not over for him. He went back and helped his fellows. And finally, when the last wicket was played, the “team” (everyone) shouted happily “we won, we won! (Illustrations Unlimited p. 123). Out of love, the missionaries suspended the rules of crochet to be in harmony with their local friends.
In my experience of the speakers at the social justice conference, most of them seemed to have great knowledge, yet they interacted with the rest of us day by day with such great humility. Our last speaker particularly struck me, the Rev. Maria Martinez, from Puerto Rico, Lutheran Bishop of the Caribbean area, the first Latina woman bishop of any denomination. She walked slowly to the speaker’s podium, using a cane. She proceeded to tell us how she led an ecumenical protest against the US Navy who was doing nuclear tests on the small island of Vieques. These protests resulted in the Navy leaving the island in May of 2003 after 60 years of inhabiting 70 % of the island and leaving a legacy of toxic pollution that natives blame for the high cancer rate—26%. Bishop Maria went on to tell us how she had lost her leg to cancer as a teenager and how in spite of her high academic scores, her father discouraged her from going on to college, assuring her that he would take care of her. She advanced to her position with a lot of knowledge but her love of God and love for her people definitely were the main factors in leading and sustaining her. She reminded me so much of Paul’s saying in 2 Cor. 12:9 that “my strength is made perfect in weakness”. She accepted her disability and became strong in her ability to lead her flock. She equated her Bishop’s crook with her cane. Her presence and her words brought me to tears as I sensed that here was a woman with great knowledge, great wisdom, and most of all great courage and love.
In our own Deering church we are about to have our Annual Meeting after the service. My wish and prayer is that during this meeting where some hard issues need to be looked at, that we will use both our knowledge and our love. When we put love first, we are aware of others. When we put love first, we prioritize the community over the individual. When we put love first, we speak truth in love. When we put love first, relationships are more important than rules. When we put love first, we build up the whole community of Christ. When we put love first, we speak up with what’s in our hearts and on our minds. When we put love first, compassion and understanding will come before being right and getting others to do things our way. Sisters and brothers in Christ, I love this church and pray that God will guide us as we carry out the business of the church, remembering always that this is God’s church, and we are all God’s children, bound together by God’s unconditional love. Amen!
posted by Sermons given at Deering Community Church @ 8:50 AM
<< Home