The weak and the strong
1 ① Welcome those weak in faith and do not criticize their scruples. 2Some think they can eat any food, while others, less liberated, eat only vegetables. 3If you eat, do not despise those who abstain; if you abstain, do not criticize those who eat, for God has welcomed them. 4Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? Whether he stands or falls, the one concerned is his master. But he will not fall, for his master is able to keep him standing.
5Some judge one day to be better than the other; let us act according to our own opinion. 6The one who distinguishes among days does that for the Lord; and the one who eats eats for the Lord and in eating gives thanks to the Lord. And the one who does not eat does it for the Lord and gives him thanks as well.
7In fact, none of us lives for himself, nor dies for himself. 8If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Either in life or in death, we belong to the Lord; 9It was for this purpose that Christ both died and come to life again to be Lord both of the living and of the dead.
10Then you, why do you criticize your brother or sister? And you, why do you despise them? For we will all appear at the tribunal of God. 11It is written: I swear by myself – word of the Lord – every knee will bend before me, and every tongue shall give glory to God. 12So each of us will account for himself before God.
13Therefore, let us not continue criticizing one another; let us try, rather, never to put in the way of our brother anything that would make him stumble or fall. 14I know, I am sure of this in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself, it is only unclean for those who consider it unclean. 15But if you hurt your brother or sister because of a certain food, you are no longer walking according to love. Let not your eating cause the loss of one for whom Christ died.
16Don’t put yourself in the wrong with something good. 17The kingdom of God is not a matter of food or drink; it is justice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18and if you serve Christ in this way, you will please God and be praised by people. 19Let us look, then, for what strengthens peace and makes us better.
20Do not destroy the work of God because of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for you to make others fall by what you eat. 21And it may be better not to eat meat, or drink wine, or anything else that causes your brother or sister to stumble.
22Keep your own belief before God, and happy are you if you never act against your own belief. 23In stead, whoever eats something in spite of his doubt is condemned by his conscience, because whatever we do against our conscience is sinful.
- Rom 14,1 Were the people in Paul's audience really different from us? After hearing him remind them of great truths, were they capable of smoothing the blocks that make community life so difficult? Welcome those weak in faith. The Christians of Rome were mainly recruited among foreigners. Jews or Greeks came from different cultures and religions and had not wholly rejected their ancient customs. If the Jews wanted special meat, the vegetarians for their part would only complicate the problem. If the Jews had their sabbath, others had their days of fasting and days of ill omen. In the beginning people were courteous towards one another; but then with time and pride, they did not fail to provoke a neighbor in a spirit of faith. Paul reminds us of what Jesus had taught (Mk 7:19): there is no food or drink that is forbidden. Paul rejects, however, the disputes about all these things. Do not criticize their scruples. Whoever has overcome common prejudices must respect the conscience of others. Each must sacrifice his own comfort for the well-being of others when this is required. We find similar difficulties when Christians of different backgrounds, races or political groups have to live together. It is an opportunity for them to show respect for one another. Whatever we do against our conscience is sinful (v. 23): an important affirmation of the liberty of conscience. Perhaps it is often forgotten; but St. Thomas Aquinas himself reminds us that no law or religious authority should be followed against our conscience. It is, therefore, a grave responsibility to acquire good criteria through readings, conversations, reading the Bible, knowing that the Spirit is at work in all the life of the Church.
