Readings:
2 Chronicles 21-22
Sirach 25
1 Corinthians 8-9

1 Corinthians 8-9

We’re reading two chapters of Corinthians today because the eighth chapter is pretty short and very to the point. Paul takes on what had become a regular occurrence in Corinth according to some reports. There was a dispute about whether a Christian could eat meat that had been sacrificed to an idol. This was a conundrum because on its face it seems like a bad idea, but most meat in markets in the Roman world had been in some way offered to a pagan god before being killed, so if you bought meat in a market it had very likely been part of a sacrifice.

So what was a Christian to do? We know the Jerusalem council forbade the believers in Antioch from eating meat that had been offered to idols, but this was only part of a temporary measure to keep the peace between Jewish and gentile believers. So that wasn’t applicable to the Corinthians in general, or if it was then only to those living in close proximity with Jewish believers. But it’s seamed like a different problem was taking shape in Corinth.

Some of the church leaders were taking meals at feasting tables inside of pagan temples. So while Paul tells them that eating meat offered to an idol is no big deal because it wasn’t the Christian that offered it, and an idol is nothing compared to the one true God, he also condemns the practice of eating the sacrificial meals in the idol’s temple. The reason some were doing this was to show the people that there was no problem with the meat and it was ok to eat, but Paul counters that this practice wasn’t encouraging or edifying anyone, and only caused confusion and possibly caused others to sin but them misinterpreting the gesture.

Paul spends all of chapter 9 speaking about the privileges an apostle holds and how workers in the church are due some financial compensation to sustain themselves (not to enrich themselves and buy private jets). He also refers back to a couple Old Testament texts, one about oxen being allowed to graze the grain that they’re grinding and another about priests being sustained by offerings at the temple. Both passages backing up his claim to be entitled to financial compensation.

But then he turns the argument around and says that even though he is entitled to be compensated he has refused it, and he’s supported himself financially through his profession. He makes the arguments to show that although Christians have liberty, it must be used with wisdom, and sometimes it’s good to sacrifice your rights and privileges (in his case getting a stipend, in the case of the Corinthians eating meat from temples) to strengthen a weaker brother. Some of us can handle certain situations that others cannot, and just because we can go and do these things doesn’t mean we should, especially if it causes a brother to fall into sin.

A modern example would be that having a beer is fine for most people, but taking a recovering alcoholic to a sports bar to watch a game is not a good idea. Sure the atmosphere itself is not a sinful environment, but if he struggles with alcohol you shouldn’t insist on putting him in that situation. That’s where we need to use discernment.

Tomorrow’s Readings:
2 Chronicles 23
Sirach 26
1 Corinthians 10