January 29, 2006

TABLE MANNERS

I Corinthians 8:1-13; Psalm 111

          One of the fads, at least in New England 15 or so years ago were restaurants that allowed you to eat as you would have at certain times in history.  One called The Medieval Castle, where you ate as you would have in the middle ages.  No spoons or forks, you just ripped meat off the bone, nothing low carb on the menu, wipe your hands on your clothes and throw the bones over your shoulder, now we’re talking a real meal sort of like when mom was out of town when you were a kid.

            Historian James McWilliams has put out a new book called, A Revolution in Eating, how the quest for food shaped America.  It explains how certain foods shaped cultural and political identities in the earliest days of our country.

            McWilliams believes that decisions about which crops to grow and what food to ear had an impact on regional identities in colonial times and helped to fuel a desire to secede from England.

            Early New England settlers found there was a problem with the soil; it would not grow wheat, the fundamental crop in Europe.  It would grow corn, in Europe corn was not eaten by people, it was given to animals.  England refused to import corn, they said it was like dog food, the colonists liked corn and started to believe that maybe they weren’t as English as they used to be.

            You are what you eat.  What and how you eat can sometimes define the person.  It’s as true today as it was in colonial America, and is the Corinthian church.  There was a food problem in the church.

            The apostle Paul addresses the critical question of whether or not Christians ought to eat food that has been offered to idols.  He gives them some instruction in the table manners they will need as they sit down as one community together.

            Now it’s important for us to realize that idol food was a big deal in Corinth, and this food was found all over the city.  Pagan Corinthians would frequently sacrifice an animal to a Greek god or goddess, take some home themselves and the rest would be sold in the local markets.  Most of the meat being sold came from these temples; it was economical and just about the only meat available.

            This poses a problem for the Christians of Corinth, who didn’t want to be associated with meat that had been sacrificed to a Greek deity, now given their choice, they won’t ever eat such meat, but it’s everywhere, at the local supermarket, at a neighbor’s dinner party or at a religious festival that has important social significance.

            What’s a Christian to do?  Paul begins by reminding the Corinthians that no idol in the world really exists and therefore, the meat that is offered is really offered to a block of wood or stone.  Great answer, clever answer and makes the question moot.

            Problem is, not everyone has this knowledge or perception.  Like people who thought corn was only for animals despite its taste, many Corinthians still have a problem, it is a problem of conscience, if they eat the stuff, their conscience will be defiled.  So Paul says the best course then is to avoid eating idol meat.  He recommends this not out of any special knowledge or authority, but from a sense of caring.

            Paul believes there is nothing really wrong with the food, but as a compassionate Christian he doesn’t want to do anything to cause someone else a problem and particularly a problem of conscience.  If food is a cause of their falling concludes Paul, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one on them to fall.

            You are what you eat, or in this case, you are what you do not eat.  Paul’s personal refusal to eat meat shows that he is indeed a compassionate Christian, one who values caring above knowledge.  More than anything else he wants to behave in a way that nourishes, strengthens and builds up the Christian community, the body of Christ.  Giving up something for others is a remarkable thing to do, what a different world this would b if everyone followed he example of Paul.

            Instead of fighting over political positions we would put our passion into caring for each other, instead of picking on our theological opponents, we would put effort into picking up anyone who has stumbled and fallen.  Instead of judging people who are different from us we would reach out to them.  That’s the kind of behavior that you want around your dinner table

            Knowledge puffs up but love builds up says Paul in Corinthians 8:1, Paul knows that knowledge can lead to a certain arrogance, just watch the Sunday morning political shout fests on TV.  But love and caring inspire compassionate attitudes and actions that succeed in building up the church.  By focusing on caring we become a community in which people of different views actually get along.

            As whether to eat meat or not in the Corinthian church was an issue, so social and theological issues are an issue in the church today.  In the world of Corinth this means getting the meat eaters to talk with the non-meat eaters and to develop such strong bonds that they would not dream of creating any stumbling blocks for each other.

            In our world today it means building personal relationships so that people, church members, will trust and support one another as they seek to do Christ’s work in the world.  All Christians whether liberal or conservative or somewhere in between have an underlying experience of faith.  Our challenge is to reach out beyond our typical boundaries.

            Strong personal relationships and shared Christian principles, these are the table manners we need to practice if we’re going to be able to sit down and eat as one family of faith.  These are the qualities that a church community has to embrace if it is going to avoid getting caught up in a food fight.

            The colonists of New England found that wheat eaters starved in New England, the soil didn’t support it.  So they focused on corn and they thrived.

            So, what are we going to eat around our Christian dinner table today?  Are we going to be stuck in the past or are we going to adapt to the new corn of strong personal relationships and shared Christian principles?

            God wants us to be well nourished as a community of faith and strong enough to do his work in the world.  God knows that we are what we eat and our choices about spiritual food shape our identities as faithful or faithless people.  That’s why we are offered the fruit of the spirit, the nourishment of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness and self control.

            There is much good food for us to eat, provided by God who wants us to be healthy and satisfied and strong.  We can eat our fill and show each other that our caring and love is grounded in personal relationships and Christian principles.

            And if we do that we will have good Christian table manners.

            Amen.  Let us pray.