HUFFING AND PUFFING
A sermon preached by
Rev. Dr. Randle R. (Rick) Mixon
First Baptist Church, Palo Alto, CA
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Text: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
You remember the tale of the three little pigs - how they outsmarted the big, bad wolf by getting up very early in the morning to finish their marketing long before their appointment with the wolf. Then there was the business of the houses they built - one little pig, trying to save money, built his home from straw; the second pig, for aesthetic reasons, fashioned his house from sticks; and the third, by far the wisest of the little pigs, built a sturdy house of bricks. Now comes the big, bad wolf, still angry and embarrassed that the pigs had gotten the better of him on market day. He approaches the home of the first little pig and knocks loudly. “Let me in,” he cries. “No way,” comes the singularly frightened response. “Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in!” bellows the wolf - and he does.
The little pig scurries from under the straw, one step ahead of the howling wolf, and scoots off to the house of the second little pig. Huddled inside, they hear the menacing voice of the wolf, “Let me in.” “Not us,” comes the bravely nervous reply. “Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in,” and he does just that. Scrambling from under the sticks, the two little pigs make a beeline for the home of the third pig with the wolf hot on their curly little tails.
They manage to slam the door right in the wolf’s face. They hear him howling, “Let me in.” “Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin,” is the boldly collective response. “Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in,” and he starts to blow, but nothing happens. He blows harder. Nothing. He blows with all his might until he’s blue in the face and he collapses from hyperventilation. Once more the collective wisdom and close knit community of the little pigs has done him in. The mighty wolf, the clever hunter, the fierce warrior slinks away, his tail between his legs.
Though this flight of fancy may have been inspired this morning’s ancient word, the text itself is not exactly a story of pigs and wolves. The Corinthian church was split into various factions. Some of the division was theological, some cultural, some historical. Some were influenced by Jewish religion, others by Roman worship, still others by Greek thought. Some folk in the church were committed to the spiritual leadership of Apollos, some to Cephas, some to Paul. It was something of a mess.
It seems that the dominant group was exceedingly proud of its special knowledge about the way things were in their world - and would be in the world to come. In particular, they had come to believe that they were so advanced in their religious knowledge and wisdom that “All things are lawful for me” (1Corinthians 6:12.) Following Mark’s gospel, they were sure that “…there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile…” (Mark 7:15.)
Though personally Paul seemed to side with these believers, he had a greater concern for the health of the whole congregation. Clearly, the dominant faction in this church had adopted an arrogant attitude toward the minority. They were so sure that they were right, that their knowledge was vastly superior to the less enlightened members, that they had lost sight of the need for understanding of and compassion for their less advanced sisters and brothers in the faith.
The problem with this kind of arrogance is that it usually renders any special knowledge hollow and useless. It also means that the holders of such knowledge have lost sight of the inherent limitations of their knowledge, for all human knowledge is partial. As Paul say later in this same letter, “…as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part…we see in a mirror, dimly…” (1Corinthians 13:8-9, 12.) Norman Pittenger points out, in our words of preparation, that “No one of us can know and see the depths of God’s self-revelation. It is by common participation in the common life of a great tradition [in this case, the church, yes, even our limited congregation, steeped in its Baptist heritage] that each of us can find a deepening and enriching of faith. We do not need to be uncritical, but we need to be humble.” What better way to lose one’s foolish pride and achieve humility than in learning to care for one another in love. “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way…” (1Corinthians 13:4-5.) In the King James version, this passage from Paul goes on to say, quite literally, that “love is not puffed up.”
This is the love of the one true God manifest in the one Lord, Jesus, the Christ. This is the real knowledge, understanding, wisdom that Paul wanted these Corinthian Christians to grasp. Paul was not trying to be anti-intellectual here; in fact, he was arguing with the dominant group on their own terms and in their own language. There is a time and place for criticism - after the beloved community is firmly established. Though they may have been right intellectually, their failure to speak the truth in love had rendered them ineffective as followers of Jesus. With their advanced knowledge they had set themselves on pedestals from which they had huffed and puffed and blown down the self confidence and rattled the security of some of their sisters and brothers in the congregation.
The word “conscience,” used several times in this passage, refers to more than what we usually understand as that part of our make-up that makes ethical decisions and moral choices. Conscience here refers more to consciousness, one’s sense of identity, one’s understanding of authentic self. Who one may be, as a person who has decided to follow Christ, was still an unresolved question for some of these Corinthian Christians and this was a concern for Paul.
Their worry about eating meat offered to idols is most likely a non-issue for us today. Animal sacrifice is no longer common in our culture, so the question of eating the left-overs is a moot one for us. But for the Corinthian Christians this was a big problem. Though the enlightened ones may have safely argued that there should be no consequence to eating meat sacrificed to idols, for those who had spent their lives worshipping those idols, for those in transition into the Christian family, the attitude of the dominant group was a potential threat; it touched the newer, less knowledgeable believers where they were most vulnerable. They were led to think that maybe they could be like some of their forbears and worship the one true God at the same time they covered their bets with a little sacrifice to Aphrodite here or a dance with Dionysus there. This was a real threat for these folks who were struggling to find their way in this new faith. Paul saw this clearly.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing and the little knowledge gleaned by the dominant group in Corinth had puffed them up to the point they couldn’t see beyond themselves. They had things figured out; the flimsy belief structures of these others in their church were easily blown over. Paul’s message to these folk, who were so sure of themselves and so full of themselves was, that while knowledge may puff you up for a while, in the end you will either explode, hyperventilate or receive a puncture that causes the air to leak out of the whole enterprise. In this instance, all roads lead to collapse.
“Knowledge puffs up,” Paul insists, “but love builds up.” It is only love that is truly constructive. It is love that creates a partnership, makes a family, sustains a community. What we know is important, but what we do with what we know is more important. Is our knowledge shared in love? Are differences respected? Do I hold back if my knowledge may do my brother in? Do I restrain my freedom to believe and do what I want in order to help my sister grow in faith?
Paul believes that if we cause a sister or brother to stumble, if we take advantage of, or even ignore, another’s weakness, if we bulldoze ahead and leave others behind, we run the risk of alienating ourselves from our community and from Christ. Love will shape a community, it will bind together the elements of knowledge, faith and hope into building blocks that are unshakable. Knowledge alone can’t save us; in fact, it’s rather hollow by itself. Our smarts may get us into graduate school but they won’t get us into heaven; our intelligence may get us an advanced degree but it won’t sustain a life-giving relationship; our knowledge may get us admiration and pride but it won’t save us in the end. It is the love of God, mediated through Christ Jesus, that will make us whole, keep us secure, bring us safely home.
The big, bad wolf was smart, he surely was. He knew how to huff and puff and destroy and devour, but in the end it was a loving community of little pigs, committed to looking after one another in their weakness and fragility, that won the day. Amen.