First Reading - Idols Have No Real Existence; Not Scandalizing the Weak
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Commentary:
8:1-10:31. In these chapters St Paul deals with food offered to idols. In pagan religions a portion of the sacrificial food went to the donors, who could consume it in the temple itself (cf. 1 Cor 8:10), or take it home. The meat could also be sold in the market. For some Christians this posed no problem; but for others--who were afraid that by eating this meat they were in some way taking part in the idolatrous worship from which it came (cf. 8:7} various practical questions arose: when buying meat, ought they to ask where it came from? (cf. 10:25-26); could they accept invitations to meals at which food of this type might be served? (cf. 10:27ff). The Council of Jerusalem, which took place around 48-50, had written to the Christians of Antioch, Syria and Cilicia telling them to abstain from food which had been sacrificed to idols (cf. Acts 15:23-29). When St Paul was preaching in Corinth two years later, he probably did not say anything on this subject, given the very pagan environment of that city--very different from the experience of the communities the Council had been addressing: if the faithful at Corinth had to avoid meat of this kind, they should have had to isolate themselves from their fellow-citizens.
In replying to the questions put to him, the Apostle first explains the general principles that apply: they may eat meat of this type, for idols have no real existence (8:1-6), but sometimes charity requires that they do abstain from it (8:7-13); he illustrates what he says by quoting what he himself does (9:1-27) and lessons drawn from the history of Israel (10:1-13); and, finally, he deals with particular queries the Corinthians have raised (10:14-33).
1-6. Clearly, idols are mere things and therefore food sacrificed to them can be eaten without any qualms (10:25-27). But some Christians did not yet grasp this, and they were being shocked to see other Christians eating this food (cf. 8:7-13). so, St Paul again reminds the Corinthians (cf. 1: 18-34) that they must not rely on their "knowledge" unless it be accompanied by charity. "The source of all the Corinthians' problems", St John Chrysostom comments, "was not their lack of knowledge but their lack of charity and lack of concern for their neighbor. This was the cause of the divisions in that church, the cause of the vanity which was blinding them and of all the disorder for which the Apostle has censured them and will censure them. He will often speak to them about charity, and try to clarify, so to speak, the fount of all good things [...]. Have love: that way your knowledge will not lead you astray. I should like your knowledge to outstrip that of your brethren. If you love them, far from being aloof and looking down on them, you will strive to have them share your insights" ("Hom. on 1 Cor, 20, ad loc.").
3. "One is known by him [God]": that is, God has recognized him as one of his own, God is pleased with him: it is almost the same as "God has called him", "God has chosen him".
4-6. St Paul reminds the Corinthians, who were living in a pagan and polytheistic environment, of the first and basic truth of the Christian creed: there is only one true God. Even though the idols which pagans worship were called "gods" (as in Greek mythology) or "lords" (as heroes or divinized emperors were described), they were such only in the imagination of men. The only one who really merits these titles is the living and true God who is revealed to us in Sacred Scripture as One and Three.
6. Both the Father and the Son are God and Lord: "Just as St Paul does not take from the Father the rank of Lord, when he says that the Son is the only Lord, so he is not denying the Son the rank of God, when he says that the Father is the one and only God" (St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on 1 Cor, 20, ad loc.") In fact the title "Lord" is used with reference to God; so, calling Jesus Christ "Lord" is the same as calling him "God"; besides, what the Apostle here says of the Father, he attributes elsewhere to the Son; and vice versa (cf., e.g., Rom 11:36; Eph 4:5-6; Col 16-17; Heb 2:10). Creation is something that is done by all three divine persons of the Blessed Trinity, and the Blessed Trinity is also the end or goal of all created things (cf. Fourth Council of the Lateran, "De Fide Catholica", chap 1).
Although St Paul does not mention the Holy Spirit in this passage, he does speak of him elsewhere in the letter (cf. 2:10ff; 6:19-20).
7-13. Charity requires that one abstain from food sacrificed to idols, if eating can cause scandal to others, can be "a stumbling block to the weak" (v. 9). The Apostle's teaching is clear: if there is any danger of scandalizing someone for whom Christ has died, "I will never eat meat" (v. 13; cf. similar teaching in Rom 14:14-23).
The scandal caused to those Christians is an example of what is called giving "scandal to the weak", whereby an action in itself good or indifferent can lead others into sin because of their ignorance, weakness or poor understanding of the faith. In such cases also one should, out of charity, try to avoid giving scandal (cf. note on Rom 14:13-21).
11-13. St Paul emphasizes the gravity of the scandal given by those Corinthians who in the blindness of their pride failed to realize the harm they were doing to other brothers in the faith: they might lead into perdition someone "for whom Christ died"; our Lord sacrificed himself on the cross for each and every person in every generation. "How precious must man be in the eyes of the Creator, if he 'gained so great a Redeemer' ("Exsultet" at the Easter Vigil), and if God 'gave us his only son' in order that man 'should not perish but have eternal life' (cf. Jn 3:16)" (John Paul II, "Redemptor Hominis" 10). One should never lose sight of the immense value of every individual, a value which can be deduced especially from the price paid for him--the death of Christ. "For every soul is a wonderful treasure; every person is unique and irreplaceable. Every single person is worth all the blood of Christ" (J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 80).
The Apostle also points out that by giving scandal "you sin against Christ": our Lord himself said this: "as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren you did it to me" (Mt 25:40; cf. 25:45); this was something deeply engraved on Paul's soul ever since the time, when he was persecuting Christians, he heard Jesus say to him, "Why do you persecute me?" (Acts 9:4). The Christian should always see Christ in others.
From this it follows logically that, if necessary, as he says, "I will never eat meat." One must be ready for any sacrifice if the salvation of a soul is at stake.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.
