Observing the Day

Today’s readings: Ps 45; Josh 8:1-22; Rom 14:1-12; Matt 26:36-46


Today’s reading from Paul addresses a specific issue in a specific community, but his response to that issue provides a basis for building Christian unity. For several years Jewish Christians were forced to live outside of Rome. During that time, Gentiles became the dominant influence on Christian culture. Unlike the Jews, Gentiles had no specific dietary laws and as a people living under grace saw no need for them. Many Jews, on the other hand, still followed their traditions and heritage. This lack of unified practice caused much friction between the two communities.

Paul counseled the two groups not to judge each other, because those who abstained from meat believed they were doing so in service to the Lord, and those who ate meat gave thanks so they were also serving the Lord. Consistent with his earlier claims that in Christ all are equal (Rom 10:12), he affirms that judging one another on the basis of anything other than faith in Christ is unacceptable. As long as “[t]hose who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord” (v. 6a), that day is acceptable.

All manner of similarly divisive issues plague us today. Do we serve wine or juice with the communion meal? What positions in the church may be held by women? Can a divorced person be a minister or even an elder? These and other questions keep whole segments of Christians from truly accepting each other. While each of us must make our own decisions, we are clearly not to judge one another about decisions made in good faith and conscience. Without serious contemplation, it can be difficult to discern how much we have mingled faith with culture, and we can mistakenly assume our own cultural practices are faith- or even biblically-based. We also should not pre-suppose the motives of others. For example, I have heard criticisms that my congregation uses juice instead of wine. The assumption was that we have a legalistic prohibition against alcohol; the truth is we have become a haven for many people in recovery. After prayerfully considering several solutions, our congregation elected to serve only juice. This does not mean we negatively view Catholic services that offer wine.

Judging others never makes us better Christians, and it never makes anyone else a better Christian either. A skilled diplomat like Paul struggled constantly to unify the Jewish and Gentile Christians. Let us honor his efforts and achievements by reaching for that same unity today.

Comfort: “Whether we live or whether we die we are the Lord’s” (Rom 14:8)

Challenge: Make plans to attend a worship service of a denomination other than your own.

Prayer: God of all Creation, unite all Christians as one body.

Evening reading: Ps 47, 48