Romans 14:1-12

Year A - Pentecost +14 or Community Practice ¹⁴

September 14, 2014

Romans 14:1-12

Welcome those who are weak in faith, even while they are convinced in their own mind that they are strong in faith. Perhaps that needs to be, even while they are convinced in their own mind that they have the stronger faith.

Of course this is a set-up for institutional chaos and an eventual schism such as a king throwing a slave out for not being merciful. At best the setting up of such confusion may foster a new synthesis, a new creation not otherwise available than through an inherently weak process of revelation without experience.

The experience of church, early and late, is that the more loudly people claim every knee is to bow and every tongue be the same the more or the larger comes a split, a throwing of some out, the intentional knocking of dust off the feet of some as they high-tail it.

This welcome is not intended to weaken those first to arrive at an insight by deliberately setting up a heterodox setting. By verse 22 the welcomers are to keep their own belief and act according to their own conviction even in the face of different convictions by those they welcomed. Finally, by 15:5 a reliance is put back on G*D rather than convictions: “May G*D, the source of all perseverance and comfort, grant you to live in peace with one another....”

For now,
                 keep welcoming others
                 keep your convictions clear
                 keep partnered with G*D
                 keep on keeping on.