Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Roms 15:7)
The
apostle Paul wanted to go to Rome on his way to Spain, and he sent a
letter to the Romans before he arrived. Through their countless martyrs
they were about to give witness to the sincerity and depth of their
devotion to the Gospel, but among them, just as elsewhere, there was no
lack of tensions, misunderstandings and even rivalries. In fact, the
Christians in Rome came from a variety of social, cultural and religious
backgrounds. There were some who came from Judaism and others from the
Hellenic world and the ancient religion of Rome, perhaps from Stoicism
or from other philosophies. They brought with them their traditions of
thought and ethical convictions. Some were called ‘weak’, because they
followed particular rules about eating, being, for instance, vegetarians
or complying with calendars that indicated special days of fasting.
Others were called ‘strong’ because, free from these kinds of
conditioning, they were not bound by food taboos or specific rituals. To
all of them Paul made the urgent invitation:
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Roms 15:7)
Before
this point in his letter he had already spoken about the issue,
addressing first of all the ‘strong’ and inviting them to ‘welcome’ the
‘weak’, ‘without quarrelling over opinions’. Then he says that the
‘weak’ in turn should welcome the ‘strong’ without judging them, since
they are ‘acceptable to God’.
Paul,
indeed, is convinced that each one, even amid the diversity of opinions
and ways of behaving, acts for the love of the Lord. There is no reason
therefore to judge those who think differently, and even less to
scandalize them by behaving arrogantly and with a sense of superiority.
Instead, what is necessary is to aim at the good of all, at ‘mutual
edification’, that is, the building up of the community, its unity (see
Rom 14:1-23).
It
is a matter of applying, in this case too, the great standard of
Christian life that Paul had recalled shortly before in his letter:
‘love is the fulfilling of the law’ (Rom 13:10). No longer ‘walking in
love’ (Rom 14:15), the Christians in Rome were lacking in the spirit of
fraternity that ought to animate the members of every community.
As
a model of mutual welcome, the apostle proposes Jesus dying on the
cross when, instead of pleasing himself, he took upon himself our
failings (see Rom 15:1-3). From the height of the cross he drew all to
himself, and he welcomed the Jewish John together with the Roman
centurion, Mary Magdalene together with the criminal crucified by his
side.
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Roms 15:7)
In
our Christian communities too, even though we are all ‘God’s beloved’
and ‘called to be saints’ (Rom 1:7), there is no lack, just as in Rome,
of disagreement and contrast between different cultures and ways of
seeing things that are often poles apart. Often the clash is between
traditionalists and innovators (to use language that is slightly
simplistic but readily understandable), persons who are more open and
others more closed, interested in a more social or a more spiritual form
of Christianity. The divergences are fed by political conviction and by
differences in social background. The current fact of immigration is
present in our gatherings for worship and further in our various church
groups, bringing diversity of culture and geographical origin.
The
same dynamic can be seen in effect in the relations among Christians of
different Churches, but also in families, in the workplace or in the
political arena.
With
it creeps in the temptation to judge those who don’t think like us and
to feel ourselves superior, in a sterile conflict and mutual exclusion.
Paul’s
model is not uniformity that flattens everything out, but a communion
among contrasts that enriches. It is not by chance that two chapters
earlier in this very letter he speaks of the unity of the body and
diversity of its members, and of the variety of gifts that enrich and
give life to the community (see Rom 12:3-13). His model is not, to use
an image taken from Pope Francis, a sphere where every point is the same
distance from the centre and where there are no differences between one
point and another. The model is of something many-facetted with
surfaces that are different from one another and not symmetrical, with
particular characteristics that maintain their originality. ‘Even people
who can be considered dubious on account of their errors have something
to offer which must not be overlooked. It is the convergence of peoples
who, within the universal order, maintain their own individuality; it
is the sum total of persons within a society which pursues the common
good, which truly has a place for everyone.’
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Roms 15:7)
This
Word of Life is a pressing invitation to recognize the positive that
exists in the other, at the very least because Christ gave his life also
for that person you feel inclined to judge. It is an invitation to
listen, letting go of your defence mechanisms, to stay open to change,
to welcome diversity with respect and love, to manage to form a
community that is both plural and united.
This
word has been chosen by the Evangelical Church in Germany to be lived
by its members and to be light for them throughout 2015. If, at least in
this month, the members of various Churches were to share it, this
would already be a sign of mutual welcome.
Like
this we could give glory to God together with one voice (Rom 15:6),
because as Chiara Lubich said in the Reformed cathedral of St Pierre in
Geneva: ‘Our world today asks each one of us for love; it asks for
unity, communion, solidarity. And it also calls upon the Churches to
recompose the unity that has been torn for centuries. This is the reform
of all reforms which heaven is asking of us. It is the first and
necessary step towards universal fraternity with all men and women of
the world. The world will believe, if we are united.’
Fabio Ciardi
The Word of Life comes from the Focolare Movement.
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