This week, I have been thinking about Paul’s message in 1 Corinthians 8. In this section of his letter to the early Church, Paul writes about food sacrificed to idols, asking if there is any other God than the One believers worship. Put another way, can humanity, the creation of the Almighty, create another god than the One who has always been? We worship the only One, believing there is none greater or even existing beyond this One. Yes, there are gods & lords in this world, those things humanity puts at the center of their lives & hearts. However, do these little deities really exist in a way that eating meat sacrificed to them would actually affect our belief & worship? All of this is why, for Paul, eating the meat sacrificed on the altars of these other religions doesn’t really matter since those other gods aren’t real to him anyway.
Maybe I’ve been in this head space because this week has been full of interreligious activities. Last Sunday, Song of Life hosted the inaugural interfaith gratitude gathering for Queen Creek, sharing reflections of gratitude & musical selections that centered our hearts on our shared humanity & purpose. A few days later, I met with leaders from Song of Life & other faith communities as we continued developing our plans to host a live nativity on Saturday, December 16th, from 5-8:30. And then Mike & I were able to attend an interfaith dinner celebration where people from a variety of faith traditions were honored for the ways they live into the Golden Rule, honoring the humanity in others as a way of universally honoring treating others as we want to be treated.
I guess it comes down to this: there is, to my understanding & belief, one God. The Almighty is the Three-In-One, the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, who we, at SoL, often express in understanding through Creeds and Statements of Faith. Because I hold this truth, I, like Paul, see no difference in eating the meat sacrificed to the altars of how others understand & express their religious constructs because the truth I carry in my heart remains the same. Yes, the world I live in today does not have faith traditions offering meat at the altars of religious practice. The activity is the same, however, when we engage in conversations & activities across the lines of our differences. Perhaps we can do a better job of agreeing to disagree as we work together on shared priorities & causes if we realize, like Paul, that engaging across our lines of differences doesn’t diminish the truth of our beliefs in Triune God. After all, the question remains of whether or not we can, in our humanity, alter the truth of the Divine One who was & is & is to come? If we are known by our love, how much more will our love show when we willingly embrace across lines of difference, all while retaining the truth of our convictions of God’s only identity?
In Christ’s Love,
