First Presbyterian Church
Love Builds Up
Sermon for February 1, 2009
by Pastor Susan Barnes

Children's time-- Throwing Garbage out the Window

What would your teacher at school do if you threw your garbage out the window?

A long time ago I used to teach preschool at an elementary school in Seattle. The school was on a hill, so my classroom looked like it was on the second floor from the windows, but from the hallway, it looked like it was on the first floor.

A third grade teacher had the class next door. She let all her children throw their trash out the window. Can you guess why?

The school Dumpster was under their window. A Dumpster is a giant trash can that the garbage truck empties every week. The custodian never had to empty their trash because they didn't have any trash cans, they just had the window. So of course the third graders bragged to the younger children at school.

I had to make sure that my three and four and five year old students knew that the only reason the big kids could throw their trash out the window was that there was a Dumpster underneath it. We didn't have a Dumpster under our window, so we had to use a trash can inside the classroom.

God, help us to enjoy your surprises and delight in your creation. Amen.

Our first reading from the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, is on page 174, in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy was compiled probably when Josiah was king. It's another version of the laws in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. Moses gives instructions to the people. When Moses received the commandments, the people heard the Lord, and were afraid, so they asked Moses to listen to the Lord.

Our section comes from the explanation about leaders. The king was not to amass horses or silver or gold, and the priests were not to practice sorcery or act as mediums. In other words, the kings weren't supposed to be greedy and the priests weren't allowed to be charlatans, but rather minister in the name of the Lord. The prophets were raised up by God, to speak God's words to the people. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Deuteronomy 18:15-20.

15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. 16 This is what you requested of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: "If I hear the voice of the LORD my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die."

17 Then the LORD replied to me:

"They are right in what they have said. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. 19 Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. 20 But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak-- that prophet shall die."

This ends our reading from Deuteronomy. That last line is a warning to any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who speaks words not commanded by the Lord God. Speaking God's word is not a task to undertake lightly.

Our unison reading is on page 562. We'll read from Psalm 111. This is an acrostic psalm; each line begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The psalm praises God for faithfully keeping the covenant from A to Z, or, really, from aleph to taw. 1 Listen for the word of God as we read it together in Psalm 111.

1 Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

2 Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.

3 Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever.

4 He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; the LORD is gracious and merciful.

5 He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant.

6 He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations.

7 The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy.

8 They are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.

9 He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name.

10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.

 

This ends our reading from the Psalms. Let's listen to the choir praise God.

The first century Christians wanted to praise God; they wanted to follow God's law; they did not want to worship idols or other gods. But in Corinth, most of the meat sold in public markets had first been butchered or cooked in pagan temples. Clubs could rent rooms in temples for banquets, like we do in restaurants. Members of the Christian church in Corinth were arguing about whether or not they could eat the meat previously sacrificed to Roman gods. Could they participate in banquets held in temples? If they had meals at home, could they eat meat they purchased in the market? Some Christians said it didn't matter, since the pagan gods were meaningless. Others felt that eating meat from a temple was the same as worshiping idols. Listen for the word of God as it is found in 1 Corinthians 8:1-13.

1 Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; 3 but anyone who loves God is known by him.

4 Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "no idol in the world really exists," and that "there is no God but one." 5 Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth-- as in fact there are many gods and many lords-- 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

7 It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 "Food will not bring us close to God." We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.

9 But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols?

11 So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. 12 But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 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.

This ends our reading from God's word.

So Paul answered the Corinthian Christians. They were right, there aren't idols, and so they don't have to fear eating food sacrificed to idols. Yet, Paul tells them it is more important to act in loving ways toward the new Christians, and refrain from eating the meat.

Or, to put it another way, if trash is a cause of children getting in trouble, I will never throw my trash out the window, so that they won't get into trouble when they go to another school without a Dumpster under the window. Teachers have to be careful to model appropriate behavior, even when it's inconvenient, because the children are watching and might be confused. Prophets have to choose their words carefully because people are listening and might misunderstand. And the Corinthians who knew that gods did not exist had to be careful in their eating, because new Christians were watching, and might be led astray.

Paul told the church in Corinth God's truth that love builds up.

Love is not just a feeling, it is behavior. Here's a quote from C. S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia and other books, “The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love' your neighbour; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less. 2

Love is hard to demonstrate toward difficult people, and it takes spiritual strength. One way to grow spiritually stronger is to focus on gratitude.

A long time ago, I read a story from an elderly Presbyterian pastor, Hugh Eichelberger. He heard a woman tell what he called a remarkable story.

“This woman had gone through a painful divorce. She was abandoned by her husband and was left virtually destitute. More than anything else, she had always wanted a home of her own. That dream seemed beyond her capability, but finally, after working long hours she saved enough money to purchase a rather old and somewhat broken down house on the edge of town where she lived.

She moved into her ‘new' house, but it wasn't long before she began to notice all the things that were wrong with the house. The carpet was old and dirty. The wallpaper was torn and faded. The yard was a mess. As time passed she focused more and more on what was wrong. At the end of each day she would come home from work and weep because there was such a great distance between what she had dreamed of and what she had. Her house did not bring her joy but added to her misery.

Then one day a strange thing happened. (One might call it the grace of God.) For some reason that she could not explain, she began to focus, not on what she didn't have, but on what she did have. She did have her own home. She did have her own yard. She did have her own privacy.

She began to thank God each day for her home, for her health, and for her job. As she did this, she began to see her house, not in terms of what it lacked but in terms of what was possible. She planted flowers in the yard. She rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned the dirty carpets. She bought wallpaper at a discount store and got someone to show her how to hang wallpaper. Before long she found herself looking forward to coming home to her house at the end of the day, and she even began inviting friends home. She said later that somehow she discovered a very important truth. Resentment and disappointment make more less, and gratitude makes less more.” 3 I'll say it again: resentment and disappointment make more less, and gratitude makes less more.

When our hearts are full of gratitude to God, it becomes easy for us to love, easy for us to forego pleasures in order to help others.

Mystic Thomas Merton said “To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything [God] has given us—and [God] has given us everything….Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience.” 4

We read together in Psalm 111, “ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” That word ‘fear' doesn't mean we are in terror of God; rather we are in awe of God. That awe means that wisdom comes from following God's commandments, not anyone else's. Jesus tells us that the law and the prophets hang on the greatest commandments: love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself. That's because love builds up.

All the acts we do because we love help transform God's creation into God's realm, into “thy kingdom on earth, as it is in heaven.” Amen.

1 first and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The Old Testament is also called the Hebrew Bible because it's written in Hebrew.
2 Context, September 2004, p. 8, quoting from a Year with C.S. Lewis, ed. Patricia S. Klein, Harper SanFrancisco.
3 Eichelberger, Hugh. L., “Preaching the Lesson,” Lectionary Homiletics, 199? p. 43.
4 Merton, Thomas, “The Goodness of God” reprinted in Family and Community Ministries (Baylor.edu/fcm%5Fjournal), Spring 08.