Love Builds Up - A Sermon for the 4th Sunday after the Epiphany 1-29-2012

A Sermon for the 4^th Sunday after the Epiphany (RCL B) 1-29-2012

Offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

Texts:              Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 111; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Mark 1:21-28

Themes:         perception, responsibility for others, social stigma
Title:               Love Builds Up

“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge, but anyone who loves God is known by him” (1 Corin. 8:1b-2).

And so, my sisters and brothers, we are introduced this morning to the apostle Paul’s long and intricate discussion concerning the eating of food sacrificed to idols. This conversation spans all of the next three chapters in this letter.

And so we may be justified as we wonder: Why so much time and attention given to this topic? Clearly, eating food sacrificed to idols was a major part of the social fabric in Greek cities, and the new Christians there were struggling to know how to handle this. Some thought it right to eat; others felt it was wrong, and the apostle – as usual – needed to have his say.

Thankfully, this is not an important topic of consideration for us today, but the contours of this discussion are important, and what matters most for us today is this one over-arching principle that guided the apostle’s thought: because of love, we have a responsibility to build up those around us.

What this means for each one of us who calls ourselves by the name of Christian is that we must give careful thought to how our example is perceived by those around us.

“Therefore,” Paul wrote, “if food is a cause of [my brother’s or sister’s] falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall” (1 Corin. 8:13).

Now, let’s be very clear about one thing: there is a WORLD of difference between this concern for how one is perceived which grows out of true love and care, and that concern for how one is perceived which grows out of fear and anxiety.

Our politicians are masters of this second type of concern, aren’t they? Political leaders and those with power consider how they are perceived by others because of their selfish concern – because of their intense need to be praised and honored and respected by others. How will it reflect on them? How will others think and feel about them? This seems particularly to be true today when the matter being discussed is faith and God.

As a leader in the church, I hear our politicians give thanks to God or ask for God’s blessing, and one side of me thinks, “This is a good thing. After all, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

But then the smarter side of me speaks up and says, “You know that they are only saying this to win votes, right? Their image handlers have told them exactly what to say to garner support for their campaign.”  

Now, we know that this kind of perception awareness is spiritually destructive. At its core, sin is self-centeredness: placing ourselves at the center of all things, keeping ourselves at the center of our thoughts, making the protection of ourselves the goal of all our actions.

But to be liberated from sin then means precisely the opposite: because we are cared for and loved and nurtured forever by the strong hand of God, we are free to forget about ourselves. We are free then to focus upon the other.

When we live set free by the love of God, then we consider how we are perceived out of love and respect for the other. Does my example benefit the other in any way? How will others be strengthened and encouraged by my actions?

St. Augustine had this to say about our responsibility to care for one another:

“It is the very law of Christ that we bear one another’s burdens. Moreover, by loving Christ we easily bear the weakness of another, even him whom we do not yet love for the sake of his own good qualities, for we realize that the one whom we love is someone for whom the Lord has died” (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: 1-2 Corinthians, P. 77).

If we are willing to take our responsibility seriously, then this way of consciousness applies to every single aspect of life. It applies to what kind of house I live in, what foods I eat, to how I drive my car.

It applies to the way in which I conduct my daily business, to how fully I recycle and how I conserve our natural resources. It applies to how I dress, and to how I speak about others. It applies to how I spend my free time on Friday and Saturday nights, and to how I act when I’m down the shore in the summertime.

Whatever the circumstance, and whatever the action, this love-centered consciousness means that I am always asking myself the question: does my action right now help those around me to lead a fuller, healthier, more abundant life, or does it hinder? Does my example build them up and strengthen them?  Does it lead those around me toward deeper trust in the goodness of God?

It is not always easy to have this awareness. What many among us want is a new law, a new book of guidelines which tells us what to do. As a Christian, “You can do this, but not that. You can say this, but not that. You can read this, but not that.”

That would be much easier, but God never provides that kind of law, because what God is after is the creation of a community of people who live every moment with this deeper love-centered consciousness, an awareness of the needs of those around us.

Now, please don’t misunderstand me. I am not suggesting that we must adopt the kind of attitude which believes, in regards to anything that might seem unbecoming, that prudish abstinence is the only sure path to follow. Not at all.

On Friday night, Erin and I had the opportunity to attend the 53^rd Annual Bishop’s Ball at the Cathedral in Trenton. We were there as chaperones for our daughter, Se’, some of her friends and a group of teenagers from Trinity Church in Moorestown.

I had some uncertainty beforehand about what I should wear. This was a Diocesan Youth Ministry dance with the Bishop at the Cathedral, after all. So perhaps I ought to wear my clerical collar, I thought, to show the Bishop that I’m a serious priest who is dedicated to our youth ministry.

But then my better sense got a hold of me. Erin and I were going to dance and to eat some food and hang out with teenagers. A button down shirt and some khakis would do just fine.

Of course, there were a number of other clergy present in their suits and collars, even though Bishop George himself was not in uniform. (That made me feel a bit better, you know!). And, of course, it was those clergy in their collars who never touched the dance floor! No way! They just sat around the periphery of the room and watched!

How boring! Erin and I were the only adults who were out on the floor dancing the whole time!

And I have to say, as I looked around the room and observed the setting, I wondered: what kind of witness did these very proper priests give to the teenagers dancing at that ball?

How did these young people perceive these leaders? Do you honestly think that any of those teenagers looked around at their clergy elders sitting along the periphery of the room with their arms crossed, silently watching, and thought, “Man, I hope that I can be one of them some day!” 

I don’t think so! And do we wonder why so few of our young people imagine a future life for themselves in the ordained leadership of the church?

When our Lord Jesus walked through Galilee preaching and teaching and healing, Mark’s Gospel says that “his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region” (Mark 1:28). People could see in his actions, in his words, in his manner of life, a hope for a better future, a better life if lived in relationship with him.  

My sisters and brothers: let us be awake, let us be aware that people see us and watch us, and let us know that our actions, our words, our manner of life has an influence on them, perhaps for better or for worse.

Not being anxious to protect our honor or our reputation or our social standing, but being eager to provide an influence for good in everything that we do.

And so, let us practice love, the kind of love that seeks to build up each other, to lift one another to a more fruitful, more faithful, more abundant life in Christ. May it always be so among us. Amen.