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Ordinary Time · Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time · Year A

Romans 14:7-9

The Weak and the Strong

Christ Pantocrator (Deesis mosaic), Unknown Byzantine mosaicist
Christ Pantocrator (Deesis mosaic), Unknown Byzantine mosaicist, c. 1261Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
A face in gold tesserae, half of it lost where the wall came away, looking out over the gallery of Hagia Sophia.Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For this is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.Unknown Byzantine mosaicistA mosaicist of the restored empire, working in the greatest church in the world.Hagia Sophia, IstanbulHagia Sophia, Istanbul.Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

Overview & Insights

“Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (Romans 15:7)

In the past, some scholars have contended that Romans 14:1–15:13 is parenetic material that Paul includes in his letter at this point but that has no real connection to the churches at Rome.1According to this view, Paul rewrites and generalizes his earlier instructions in 1 Corinthians 8:1–11:1 in Romans 14:1–15:13.2To be sure, there are similarities between Romans 14:1–15:13 and 1 Corinthians 8:1–11:1: both address the “weak” (in faith); both center on the controversy of whether Christians should abstain from certain foods; both admonish believers in their decisions regarding that matter not to become stumbling blocks to their fellow believers.3 Most interpreters today argue instead that Romans 14:1–15:13 focuses on a divisive situation in the Roman congregations—whether to eat meat, drink wine, observe certain days as holy—with Paul ultimately answering, “Love one another.

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Commentary

Background & Word Study

The Church Fathers

Questions preachers ask

What is Paul's hope in Romans 15?

Whatever was written before was written for our instruction, that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope; Christ has welcomed Jew and Gentile alike to praise God together.

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