Title: Receive One Another / Romans 15:1-13
Contents
Receive one another / Romans 15:1-13
Today is the third Sunday of Advent. First, I would like to start my sermon by telling the story of a labor-management negotiation.
“In a factory, we were negotiating between labor and management, pushing and pulling each other. The union demanded a 20% wage increase. The company countered that it could not be accepted due to business circumstances. The union could not make concessions either, so negotiations and mediation were on the verge of breakdown. As the two sides stood up from the meeting, suddenly heavy rain followed by thunder and lightning. Both sides reluctantly sat back down.
In the silence, rainwater poured down from the crack in the roof of the factory conference room. Rainwater also spilled on the boss's head and clothes. Seeing this, the union leader quickly got up and took off his jacket and put it on the boss's head.
"Sorry. Because of us, you have been subjected to such an upheaval…”
"no. Thank you so much. I just thought you thought of the company and me as enemies. Now that I know your sincerity, I will accept what you asked for. Give me the agreement.”
As soon as the president took the stamp out of his pocket and was about to stamp it, the union leader stopped him.
“Sir, please don’t stamp it yet. We also had a line we wanted to make concessions to. If you make a stamp with a momentary impression, the management of the company becomes difficult.”
"no. It's my turn to yield. Let’s raise it by 20%.”
"no. In fact, even 15% is too much.”
Those who are dealing with today's text, whether those who have received theological education or those who have not, can easily guess that this text is talking about the problem of conflict within the church. That's right. This text is Paul's specific exhortation on the premise of the conflict between two opposing groups in the Roman Church. In order to read and understand the text more correctly, it is very helpful to understand the historical context that is the background of the text. In that sense, let me first tell you the historical circumstances in which the contents of this text were written.
The historical situation that is the background of this text can be seen as a conflict between Jews and Gentiles. This issue of conflict is one of the main purposes of Paul's writings to the Romans. When I try to address this question, it is natural to go back to the question of the origins of the Roman Church. It is still not known exactly who planted the Roman Church. There is a theory that Peter planted the Roman church, but it is not convincing.
What we can only guess is that the Christian gospel naturally spread through the Diaspora Jews who migrated to Rome, and it is very likely that the Roman Church began with the Jews as the center.
It can be thought that this Roman church grew into an influential church in the early 50's when Paul was active. And it is clear that the core force of that church was the Jews. However, an unexpected incident occurred. There was a Jewish riot in Rome.
This was a religious debate among the Jews over the question of belief in Christ, which escalated into a riot.
In order to solve this problem, Claudius, the Roman emperor at the time, issued a decree of expulsion in 49 AD, which led to the expulsion of all Jews from Rome. Therefore, Jewish Christians, who formed the central force in the Roman Church, had to leave Rome. Aquila and Priscilla, whom Paul met in Corinth, also seem to have left Rome because of this decree.
The Roman church, where the Jewish Christians left, naturally came to be dominated by Gentile Christians. After that, the Roman church continued to grow in number, and it is thought that its influence grew day by day because it was the church in the imperial capital. Then, in 54 AD, Emperor Nero repealed the decree and allowed the return of the Jews. Conflict begins here when Jewish Christians who have returned to the Roman Church feel that their vested interests and influence are not what they used to be.
Jewish Christians asserted their vested interests, and Gentile Christians tried not to lose the initiative by gaining a numerical advantage. These conflicts caused problems in the Roman Church in every case. There is no denying that this was one of the main motivations for Paul to write the book of Romans. In particular, the text from Romans 14:1 to 15:13 presupposes the conflict between the Gentiles (the strong) and the Jews (the weak), and the content of the conflict is related to the food problem.
Within the Roman Church, Jews belonging to the weak group were relatively conservative in their faith, and Gentiles belonging to the strong group were liberal. These different beliefs naturally had differences in practical life. In the case of the Jews, they did not eat meat at all, ate only vegetables, in order to avoid unintentional sin, and they would set special days among the days in connection with their traditional customs of the Sabbath and fast days. But Gentile Christians were free of those things. There were criticisms and conflicts between the two groups, who had different positions in one aspect of their religious life.
In the text, Paul exhorts both groups to embrace each other beyond criticism and conflict. Paul related himself to the strong, saying, “We who are strong in faith should not only do what is good for us, but take care of the weaknesses of those who are weak in faith.” I recommend.
Paul respects and accepts their understanding of the gospel of the strong and the weak in relation to the question of Christian liberty. But Paul emphasizes that the freedom they have gained through the gospel should not end with satisfying themselves, but should strive to benefit their neighbors and edify the church.
Anyone who hears the gospel, understands it, and accepts it can enjoy freedom at the level at which he understood the gospel and maintain his or her own theological knowledge and lifestyle. But such things are not perfect. It is very incomplete. However, among those who believe in the church, such imperfections become perfect and often become a source of conflict and division where they cannot accept each other.
When I was a student, I thought I believed more than anyone else. In particular, I tried to maintain a life of faith without inner peace and inner conflict through moderation and taboo lifestyle. Sometimes, when these taboos were not followed by my will, I experienced severe internal conflict and incompetence. And when I found others not complying with the temperance and taboos I had been following, I would have feelings of disappointment, frustration, and criticism towards that person.
For one sneaky example, it had a taboo clause: “Because I am a Christian, I will never eat food, drink, or smoke.” These taboos were the only criterion for distinguishing between the bad and the good in the church, and they often caused me to be unable to accept others. Later, when I realized that my faith attitude was imperfect and weak, I was able to accept others from me. When we realize that the conflicts and criticisms caused by others in our community life are due to each other's ignorance and weakness, we can easily escape from the place of criticism and conflict.
For most believers, the degree of “freedom” gained through the gospel often appears as a source of mutual criticism and conflict, rather than being used to build the church and benefit others. Those who experience freedom in terms of moderation and taboos can criticize and reject those who are not because of it, and those who have the freedom to do everything can treat, criticize, and alienate those who are not. . God has given us freedom, not to use it against ourselves or others. It is the freedom you give us to use to understand and accept each other, though we are different.
What is important in God's eyes is not 'what you do or don't do'. It is not for that reason that you are called to be Christians. Both Jews and Gentiles were called to praise God and live. Christ accepted us not because we did something special or kept something. To receive those who are not acceptable to one another, so that they may praise God as a new redeemed community. The goal of this redeemed community is to wait for the time when a future ruler of the nations will appear and rule the whole world. This hope is the motive for the joy and peace of all believers in the faith, and it ultimately leads them to praise God with one voice.
Paul analyzes that the conflict in the Roman church was caused by excessive self-assertion. In other words, the Jews could not admit that the Gentiles were trying to take the initiative because they were clinging to the established vested interests of the chosen people. Gentiles are Gentiles, they are members of the church in the capital of the Great Roman Empire, but they did not like the idea of Jews coming and trying to take the initiative. The problem of conflict could not be resolved because each of them only made their own arguments and did not want to take away their vested interests.
The same is true of today's church. If you look at the inner side of all conflicts, conflicts start from not wanting to lose your vested interests. And it is a conflict that arises from trying not to acknowledge the other person. In today's text, we must find a fundamental solution to resolve these conflicts in the church.
The main point of the text is not to tell us to judge who is right and who is wrong. Rather, it commands, “Receive one another.” When conflict arises, we often try to resolve who was good and who was wrong, but that usually fails. Most judgments are not made fairly depending on the circumstances, and even when a fair decision is made, the wrong party is not willing to accept it. Rather, you can see that the conflict deepens.
Resolving the conflict in the community of the church is the most biblical way to acknowledge and accept each other. And the best way is to leave the judgment to God. In this world, the church is not an end in itself. The church is the means for realizing the kingdom of God and its righteousness in this world.
German theologian Pannenberg said, “The church is not the kingdom of God itself, the kingdom of God is the future of the church, and the future of the church is the future of the world.” And he said, “The church is the beginning of a new human race in the new kingdom of God to come, and they are a group whose destiny is determined in God’s future.” A church that looks forward to the future in this way should not absolutize any system or norm and be bound by it while it is in the world, nor should it be aimed at securing any human vested interests. We must become a community of hope that continues to exodus toward the future.
As we approach Advent, we need to take another look at ourselves. As a community of faith that believes in the promise, are we moving forward looking at the promise? Are we really a community that believes in God's future? Are we really living with hope in the patience and comfort of the Bible? For what purpose are we serving? Are we accepting each other?