Welcome anyone who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions. 2 One person believes that one may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats must not despise the one who abstains, and the one who abstains must not pass judgment on the one who eats; for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on someone else’s servant? Before his own master he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 [For] one person considers one day more important than another, while another person considers all days alike. Let everyone be fully persuaded in his own mind. 6 Whoever observes the day, observes it for the Lord. Also whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while whoever abstains, abstains for the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. 8 For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For this is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 Why then do you judge your brother? Or you, why do you look down on your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” 12 So [then] each of us shall give an account of himself [to God].
Paul is not speaking of faith in terms of the gift of faith that has been received from God through Christ’s death and resurrection, but in how their faith is practiced. Paul defines the weak as those Jewish and Gentile converts who were influenced by Jewish traditions and observed kosher food laws and festivals. The strong (Rom. 15:1) were those who did not. Since both groups were sincere in their understanding of Jesus’ Gospel message, neither should pass judgment on the practices of the other because God had welcomed both. Paul gave two examples – the strong believe they can eat anything because nothing in itself is unclean, but the weak worry about foods that may have been tainted by pagan sacrifice (1 Cor. 8:7). God alone is everyone’s master so only God can criticize or judge another Christian. Both practices are acceptable if they are in praise and thanksgiving of God. Each person should let his or her conscience determine how they should live. Having an informed moral conscience leads to right moral actions.
Those who believe in Christ now belong to Christ and live and die based on how Christ lived and died. Because Christ died and was resurrected, he now has kingship over both the living and the dead. We should not judge our brothers and sisters because only God knows what is in our hearts and only God can judge us. As Christians we share in the redemptive action of Christ through faith and our baptism so we will eventually share in the glory of the risen Christ. Each of us will kneel before God to give an account of our lives.
Almighty God, look not on the sins of our youth but on the conversion of our hearts and inflame our spirits with the fire of your divine love so that we may be found steadfast in faith and effective in works. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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