YOU must welcome the one who is still ‘weak’ in faith, without getting into evaluative arguments. ·One has faith to eat everything and the ‘weak one’ eats vegetables. ·…God has welcomed each one… ·One judges one day differently from another day, and one judges every day alike… ·The one focused on the one day focuses on the Lord, and the one eating (meat) eats to the Lord… The one not eating (it) abstains to the Lord, also giving thanks to God. ·Not one of us lives to his own[i]… ·…Whether we live or die we are the Lord's; ·for... Christ also died and is alive that he might be Lord of the dead and the living. ·So why do you judge...or…despise your brother? For we will all present ourselves before the throne of God; ·because it is written: “‘I live’ says the Lord”, “that to me every knee will bow; and to God every language will confess” [Is.49:18 & 45:23]. ·So each of us will give an account to God concerning his own. ·Therefore, we should no longer judge one another …nor place a stumbling block or offense before a brother. ·I…am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that nothing is defiling in itself, except to the one reckoning a thing defiling… ·You are no longer walking in love if by (your) food your brother is distressed… ·So you must not let evil be attributed to what for YOU[ii] is good; ·for the kingdom of God is not about food and drink, but relational righteousness [Gr. dikaiosunee][iii], peace and joy in the Holy Spirit… ·Happy the one who does not condemn himself in what he approves, ·…doing so out of faith. (Romans 14:1-3,5-17,22-23 PH)

We who are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not please our own. ·And let each of us be pleasing ‘the neighbour’ in that which is good—towards (him) being built up. ·For even the Messiah did not please his own, but as it is written: “The insults of those insulting you fell on me” [Ps.69:9b]. ·Truly, whatever things were written before, were…for our learning, so that through patient endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ·May the God of patient endurance and encouragement grant YOU to have the same attitude—each towards the other—in line with Christ Jesus, ·that with the same passion and in one voice YOU may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ·Therefore, YOU must welcome one another even as the Messiah has welcomed YOU to the glory of God. ·…Christ became a minister of the “Circumcised” to confirm the promises made to the fathers …, ·and made about the nations [Gr. ethne][iv] glorifying God for the sake of his mercy. As it is written: “Because of this I will acknowledge you among the nations and make music to your name” [Ps.18:49]. ·And again it says: “Nations rejoice with his people!” [Dt.32:43 LXX], ·and again: “Praise the Lord all YOU nations, and all YOU peoples, extol him!” [Ps.117:1] (Rom.15:1-11 PH)

May the God of hope fill YOU with all joy and peace—in the exercise of faith—so that the hope multiplies among YOU in the power of the Holy Spirit. ·My brothers and sisters, I have also been persuaded about YOU that YOU…are able to admonish one another. ·Yet I have written to YOU, …being an official of Jesus Christ to the nations, so that the offering of the nations, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, might be acceptable... ·And I encourage YOU, brothers and sisters: mark those who cause divisions and offences…and avoid them. ·Such people are not serving our Lord Jesus Christ but their own belly, and…they mislead innocent hearts. ·I truly want YOU to be wise towards that which is good, yet unmixed [Gr. akeraious] towards that which is evil. (Rom.15:13-16; 16:17-19 PH)

Much like in Corinth (Med.#69), divisions have developed along the lines of ethnic identity, like in relation to Sabbath observance, and to ‘belly’ issues such as food and circumcision,  (3:1-3). Social status differences are also playing a role (12:16), with some Jewish and Greek believers acting superior to believers of other ethnic groups that they see as either 'foolish' and lawless, or as immigrant 'barbarians' (3:9; 2:17-20; 1:14). Paul has not yet been to Rome, but he knows about the problems because friends and co-workers who have relocated to Rome (16:3-15). Having also heard good things about the disciples there, Paul acknowledges that they too are ‘the called-ones of Jesus Christ’ (Med.#47) and as fellow adult ‘heirs’ of the Father by the Spirit (Med.#5). So he addresses them as ‘brothers and sisters’ ten times (1:13 to 16:17), and he expresses  confidence in their faith and in their ability to ‘admonish one another’.

Yet before they can do this in a way that brings glory ‘to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’, they all need to reflect more of the ‘same attitude’ that Jesus had (Med.#56) when relating to those who are different (‘the others’) or weak. For them and for us too, this means lining up with Jesus as the Eldest Brother (8:29) in the Father's new family kingdom and as sole Lord above any ongoing ethnic or social group loyalties. If we have indeed died and been raised with Christ, we are no longer free to only‘live for our own’ individual or group interests. Instead, as servants of ‘our Lord Jesus Christ’, we must learn to be wise in discerning what is good, while not tolerating—either in ourselves or in a brother or sister—evil words or actions that offend or tear down ‘a neighbor’ (‘the other’), due to some kind of ‘mixed’ loyalty to Jesus and to one's own social or ethnic group.

So how does Paul approach the problems in Rome?[v] Well, he does not take a common Western approach and say that ethnic practices and identities are the problem and must be replaced with a single common ‘Christian’ identity and a ‘kingdom culture’. For in his letter Pau affirms his own ethnic and tribal identities (11:1) and identifies things he still values in his Jewish heritage (3:1-2; 9:4-5). No, the problem is the social power of all ethnic groups (his own included)—that each, through subtle pressure, demand loyalty to certain practices, ideas and powerful people. Otherwise we are not good Jews, Americans, Koreans, Dutch, Latinos, Ghanaians, etc.

The Father's kingdom, Paul says, is not about everyone having one set of ‘biblical’ perspectives and practices. Rather, it’s about having the ‘same passion’ of ‘walking in love’ and in ‘ relational righteousness [Gr. dikaiosunee][iii]…in the Holy Spirit’ with all my brothers and sisters in Christ.  Instead of ‘pleasing one's own’ group, each person must choose to please God by acting in faith, according to conscience; and to imitate Jesus in seeking to please ‘the neighbour in that which is good, towards him being built up’. In one particularly powerful sentence, Paul says that each believer (‘you’) must also stand up to the social power coming from members of his or her own group (‘YOU’)[ii], when their words or their behavior are judgmental, un-loving or offensive towards ‘others’—even when the things they enjoy doing together represent otherwise ‘good’ cultural practices. Also, those with more spiritual confidence or more social power (the ‘strong’) must be careful not to overpower those who are ‘weak’—including those with less confidence to stand up to their own group's demands. To grow stronger, our ‘weaker’ brothers and sisters need ‘the encouragement of the Scriptures’ and the joy, hope and sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, not our ‘superior’ ideas and practices.

Thirdly, Paul goes on to imply that followers of Jesus in a multi-ethnic church need to learn new ways to express their ethnic identities. One such way is through reciprocal hospitality, like sharing ethnic foods at a community meal. In Amsterdam, we also used a ‘welcoming’ ritual from Liberia at the beginning of our first YWAM multicultural worship week—to affirm the ethnic identities of everyone present. One by one, people from each ethnic group stood at the front, while the rest of us declared to them: ‘We welcome you, we welcome you, we welcome you in Jesus' name.’ Another way is through multicultural worship of Jesus and the Father ‘in one voice’. Paul quotes several Bible texts: first about the Jewish author worshipping God ‘among the nations[iii]’, and then about other ethnic groups expressing their joy alongside Jewish believers (‘his people’)—so that all ‘nations’ are praising the Lord together. Nations and tribes bringing their glory and honor in a collective act of multicultural worship is not just for some distant, heavenly future (Med.#6).

During our own times of multicultural worship (beginning in 1996), we experienced many new forms of worship: including dances, shouts, stories, visual art and cultural objects being given to Jesus. Sometimes these ‘offerings’ were dedicated to him in the form of gifts given to someone of another ethnic group (Med.#45). We learned to not judge new forms but to trust in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. For years, the presence of the Lord was very real. Yet, in a new way, social power crept back in; for while our worship ceased to be dominated by Western style songs, it eventually became dominated by non-Western styles of dancing. Also, we gave in to pride, as the glory of exotic cultural diversity was often more important than our unity in giving glory to ‘the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’. Western groups began to feel excluded; and many seemed to forget that it is only because of God's mercy that any ethnic group is able to bring its offerings to Jesus (14:9).

One final expression of ethnic identities in worship—drawn from the above text—had a deep impact in our multi-ethnic Anglican church in Amsterdam: identifying with each other's ethnic pain, in the way Jesus did. During one Sunday service, I invited people from each nation or ethnic group present to stand, one group at a time. I then said to those standing, ‘Just as Jesus did not please his own group, we say to you...’, and everyone else completed the sentence: ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me’.

Father, help me glorify you among the ethnic groups in my church: by welcoming them and by not allowing things that are good for my group to be harmful to them. ((Rom.15:6,9,7; 14:16)

[i] The Greek, heauto, can mean either ‘himself’ or ‘his own’. The latter corresponds better with the group practices being addressed.

[ii] To make sure the reader does not miss what Paul is saying in this sentence (14:16), about individual responsibility to not go along with un-loving and offensive group speech and behaviour, I’ve underlined the word ‘you’ when it is singular in Greek and giving a green font to ‘YOU’ when it is plural in Greek. Also in other verses in the text when this distinction appears.

[iii] Greek dikaio-sunee = ‘righteous-with’ or ‘relational righteousness’ with God, or with people, or with both (See note [ii], Med.#11).

[iv] Variations on the plural Greek word, ethne, appear six times in this Scripture passage, all of which are translated here as ‘nations’.

[iv] A more extended commentary on the multi-ethnic dimension of Paul's letter to these believers (‘Dealing with Divisive Ethnic Group Leaders in the Church in Rome’) is also available on this website for members. See the link in footnote [vi] of the detailed version of this meditation.