Standing Together

Romans 14:1-12

Rev. Dr. Mary Alice Mulligan

The passage from the 14th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans is perfect for a Sunday we sing hymns and songs with a wide theological diversity, and following last Sunday’s words from Jesus on how to keep peace in the congregation. These ancient texts and these not ancient but significantly dated songs still have things to teach us, if we are willing to listen. In part, they remind us each local community of faith, with all our differences, is part of the universal church, which connects us together around the world. And our theological and cultural differences can either divide or enrich the church – depending on how we respond to them. Together, we are the body of Christ on Earth, not literally of course, but the spiritual continuation of the presence of Christ, because the Spirit of Christ is present among us. Each part of the universal church is distinct, but none is to be considered expendable or even unimportant. Every individual Christian, every faltering or flourishing faith community, each denomination, every ministry and mission, matters. Listen for the Word of God as you read Romans 14:1-12.

Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God. We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

In first century Palestine, almost all meat sold in the market had been sacrificed to an idol. Believers in that idol bought and ate food from that butcher. Consequently, some Christians abstained from eating meat, not wanting it to appear they worshipped one of those idols. Other Christians bought meat from anyone, because they knew Yahweh alone is God and salvation is through Jesus Christ. Idols are nothing. As “meat people” or “no meat people” caused division among Christians, Paul wrote to clarify. He explained we have no reason to squabble over meat. No matter which position one holds, the key is to hold the position because you believe it best honors God. Paul is firm. The point is not to figure out which position is correct. Either eat meat or abstain, as long as your intention is to honor Christ. We might easily hear behind that a reminder from last Sunday’s passage from Matthew 18 that our goal is unity in the congregation’s witness to Jesus Christ, not winning the argument.

So why bother with Romans 14 today? For most of us, eating or avoiding meat sacrificed to pagan idols is not a big priority. Who cares in the 21st century?

However, we could say that most of the meat eaten in the US is sacrificed to the idol of profit, at the expense of protecting God’s Earth. We almost completely disregard the harm done to the environment when protein rich crops are grown using fertilizer, huge amounts of irrigated water, and then harvested to feed animals instead of humans. All of those resources are used to feed animals, then another whole cycle of resources is used to raise the animals. In addition to the harvested crops, they use water, their waste has to be considered, and let’s not forget the terrible damage being done to the atmosphere by the methane cattle release.

We also sacrifice the animals to the idol of our appetites by completely ignoring how animals are treated. They are overbred, overcrowded, some rarely (or in the case of veal calves, never) see sunlight, some rarely or never actually touch the ground or have the opportunity to move about freely, some receive drugs to make them plumper, tastier, more tender, as well as to make sure they don’t spread some terrible disease into our households. And then they are gathered into torturous, terrifying settings and killed. So, it makes sense to say meat is still sacrificed to idols in the 21st century.

The letter of Romans encourages us to pay attention to the choices we make, because the positions we take absolutely matter. The choice to eat or abstain from meat matters. However, Paul wants us to understand that how we respond to our differences matters more. How we treat each other in the midst of our differences witnesses to our faith. Again, the major point is not to figure out who is right. The point is to make sure we are each holding the position we believe better fits with God’s purposes for the world. We accept the position we believe moves us in the direction God is trying to move us all. So Paul says, “Eat meat, as long as you eat in honor of Christ. Abstain from meat, as long as you abstain in honor of Christ.” There is the key. If we trust each other to be holding our positions because we believe God has an opinion in the situation, then we can talk together. We can listen to each other’s cases. And we can come to an agreement or we can peaceably disagree. But as long as we are talking and listening, we stay connected as part of the family of Jesus Christ. In life and in death, in eating meat or going vegetarian, we belong to God. After all, Paul reminds us, it is not our opinion or even our practices about food which save us. We are not transformed into the people God is calling us to be by eating meat or abstaining from meat. Only grace from God can shape us into a church able to witness in the world.