Fr Ed Homily 9-10-20

Knowledge vs Love

Sometimes when we read through the verses of the day, we might thank God we do not have those problems anymore. I mean, after all, there is lot of meat sacrificed to idols that we need to address. So maybe the cultural practice of the day is not important to us but the meaning of what was done and said do have an application for today.

St Paul is addressing an issue of his day where meat was offered to idols to gain the gods’ favor. Meat was not a common staple of their diet. So, having meat would have been a special treat. The argument was that this meat was offered to pagan gods. Should a Christian eat something offered in a pagan sacrifice? The so-called enlightened people, those who had converted to Christianity, said you could eat the meat because there was no such thing as an idol. But there was another group who said no, this was not right, because the meat comes from a pagan ritual. Who is right? St Paul says that the enlightened people were right that there is no such thing as an idol. But their understanding was wrong. St Paul tells us he would rather stop eating any meat than choose something offered to a pagan god. St Paul continued that although they may have great knowledge in understanding there is no idol, they were fools because they did not have knowledge of God. And to have knowledge of God one must know the love of God. All the knowledge of the world will not compare to the love of God. In all we do, God must come first.

What comes first in your life? Too often we have our own sacred cows that we worship and address first in our lives before we even think of God. Our checkbook indicates which sacred cows are most important to us. Our full calendars indicate which idols get our time. Reflect for a few minutes on the importance of God’s love for you.

May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen