food and idols

Doing all for the Glory of God.

If you have raised children or had anything much to do with them you will, at some point, likely have heard a sentiment similar to this expressed – I don't have to do what you say, you are not in charge of me. It can be anything from picking up toys to staying out all night at a friends house – but as adults know, freedom to choose comes with resposibility for both ourselves and for the well-being of those around us.

In the letter to the Corinthians Paul is talking about adult choice and responsibility. He is caught between two schools of thought - one that food which has been sacrificed to idols is unclean and therefore should not be eaten by Christians, the other that Christians are not affected by the practice of false religion and therefore it does not matter. Whilst he sides with the second point of view – that food which has been used in pagan religion is just food and has no power other than to nourish as any other food would be introduces the idea that just because, under the strict letter of the law he can do something does not mean that he should – because of the effect it might have on other people.

The effect, he says, of eating food which has been used in pagan religious practices might be that Christians are misjudged to be condoning or participating in some way in these practices – although the Christians themselves will know that this is not true – might such behaviour trip up someone who is looking in from the outside, confuse or make a nonsense of faith in Christ? If that is a worry, says Paul, forego the cheap meat from the Roman Temple and simply eat something else, even if it costs you more money.

This means giving up a freedom for the sake of another, for the sake of clarity and sometimes common sense. Jesus in the synagogue is also making a call to give up, because, he says and he is quoting the prophet Isaiah, so this is not new, he is come to the poor and the outcast. Luke makes it clear that the kingdom which Jesus introduces is an upside down kingdom of favour and justice, a world in line with much Old Testament prophecy, but a world which is unpopular with those who rely on wealth and status around him. The price he nearly pays is high – and, of course, although he walks away from a stoning he does not, ultimately, walk away from the cross.

It is not just food, of course that we can apply these passages to. Our whole lives are called to – as St. Paul urges, glorify God. Jesus quotes Isaiah to proclaim a year of the Lord's favour, is this a year of Jubilee, a year of forgiveness of debts and freedom for those in bondage? This is who God is, a God of freedom and promise and our lives, our incarnation of Christ in the Church, has to reflect both the source of our being and our view of jubilee for those around us.

And this is now. St. Luke writes about a Kingdom of God which is both now and to come. Luke demands social justice as an ourworking of the present in-breaking of God's kingdom, this Gospel is far from the pie in the sky when we die philosophy that would give us an excuse just to exist within a little local and quite selfish bubble.

Our response then might start with a reassesment of community. We have made community very small in our society – and therefore ideas of jubilee tend to become parochial or even based in households. The primary unit of our community is often the household or a very small extension of it into close friends and neighbours. Some of us might live in places where there is a slightly better sense of neighbourhood and we are often proud of our town and work to make it better. But with every layer of community there are people outside that community.