1 We, the strong and liberated, should bear the weakness of those who are not strong, instead of pleasing ourselves.
2 Let each of us bring joy to our neighbors helping them for the good purpose, for building up.
3 Christ himself did not look for his own contentment, as Scrip ture says: The insults of those insulting you fell upon me.
4 And we know that whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, for both perseverance and comfort given us by the Scripture sus tain our hope.
5 May God, the source of all perseverance and comfort, give to all of you to live in peace in Christ Jesus,
6 that you may be able to praise in one voice God, Father of Christ Jesus, our Lord.
7 Welcome, then, one another, as Christ welcomed you for the glory of God.
8 Look: Christ put himself at the service of the Jewish world to fulfill the promises made by God to their ancestors; here you see God’s faith fulness.
9 The pagans instead give thanks to God for his mercy, as Scripture says: Because of that, I will sing and praise your name among the pagans.
10 And in another place: Rejoice, pagan nations, with God’s people.
11 And again: Praise the Lord, all people and let all nations speak of his magnificence.
12 Isaiah says: A descendant of Jesse will come who will rule the pagan nations and they will hope in him.
13 May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace in the faith, so that your hope may in crease by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul feels responsible for the Christians of Rome
14 As for me, brothers and sisters, I am convinced that you have goodwill, knowledge and the capacity to advise each other;
15 never the less I have written boldly in some parts of this letter to remind you of what you already know. I do this according to the grace God has given to me
16 when I was sent to the pagan nations. I dedicated myself to the service of the Good News of God as a minister of Christ Jesus, in order to present the non-Jews to God as an agreeable offering consecrated by the Holy Spirit.
17 This service of God is for me a cause of pride in Christ Jesus.
18 Of course, I would not dare to speak of other things but what Christ himself has done through me, my words and my works,
19 with miracles and signs, by the power of the Holy Spirit – so that non-Jews may obey the faith. In this way I have extended the Good News to all parts, from Jerusalem to Illiricum.
20 I have been very careful, however, and I am proud of this, not to preach in places where Christ is al ready known, and not to build upon foundations laid by others.
21 Let it be as Scripture says: Those not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.
Help for the Christians in Jerusalem
22 This work has prevented me from going to you.
23 But now there is no more place for me in these re gions, and as I have wanted for so long to go and see you,
24 I hope to visit you when I go to Spain. Then you could help me go to that nation, once I have fully enjoyed your company.
25 Right now I am going to Jeru sa lem to help that community.
26 Know that the churches of Mace donia and Achaia have decided to make a contribution for the poor among the be lievers of Jerusalem.
27 They have de cided to do that and, in fact, they were indebted to them. For the non-Jews have shared the spiritual goods of the Jews and now they must help them materially.
28 So I am to complete this task and give over the amount that has been collected. Then I will go to you and from there to Spain.
29 And I am sure that when I go to you, I will go with all the blessings of God.
30 I beg of you, brothers and sisters, by Christ Jesus our Lord and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in the fight, praying to God for me;
31 pray that I may avoid the snares of the enemies of faith in Ju dea, and that the community of Jerusalem may wel come the help I bring.
32 And so I will go to you with joy and, God willing, be re freshed in your company.
33 The God of peace be with you. Amen.
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Comments Letter to the Romans, Chapter 15
• 15.7 In this twofold attitude of God to ward the Jews and the “nations,” that is to say non-Jews, Paul sees a manifestation of the two great qualities that prophetic tradition attributes to God: grace and fidelity. What Paul is saying here certainly goes beyond the case of Jews and non-Jews. Two applications of this can be given.
First, for the Christian community. As Jesus stated to the Pharisees, we know that no elitist group by itself constitutes Jesus’ Church. It can only be in the truth if it constantly has two groups, on one hand, those who have matured in fidelity, inheriting the faith and sacrifices of their parents and persevering in the community and on the other hand, those who come from the outside and who have undergone a strong personal conversion. Naturally, this creates conflicts and it requires sacrifices from everyone but this is where God likes to work.
In addition, this text helps us to understand that God only reveals himself to a minority while at the same time, God was saving all human beings.
• 14. Here we see how gentle Paul was. He has the authority of an apostle of Christ and is able to solve the problems of the Church of Rome. Yet, he takes great care not to create divisions or rivalries, and he shows respect for the founders and leaders of the Roman community.
As a priest of Christ (v. 16). This term must not be interpreted as meaning what we understand by the Church’s priests. The first Christians did not use the word priest to designate their ministers, in order not to confuse them with the Jewish or pagan ministers who offered victims to God. Here, however, Paul compares himself to them. He does not present burnt offerings to God, but instead, he pre sents the pagans and reconciles them to God. This is the new and spiritual worship (12:1) that the apostles offer to God.
Still today there is danger of forgetting the difficult and often misinterpreted work of re con ciling persons who have become both libe ra ted and aware of their human worth. Only those who dedicate themselves to this evangelization can rightly celebrate the Eu charist.
• 22. The trip to Spain would mean going farther than Rome, center of the known world. This gives us an idea of how zealous Paul was in creating new communities in all parts of the world, without waiting for the newly founded ones to attain perfection. Today the mission is not beyond Rome or overseas: every Christian community should investigate beyond the frontiers of a “nice” area where a person feels at home. Then, perhaps, millions of others would be discovered who live at close range but ne ver theless are “far way.”
I am going to Jerusalem to help that community. The attempt of the Jerusalem community to have common ownership of all their possessions had failed (Acts 2:44). So Paul organizes a collection for them in all the Greek communities, hoping this caring assistance would strengthen the links between Christians of Greek origin and Jewish Christians. It is often difficult to avoid tensions in the Church between groups of different cultures or classes. Quite often, it is even difficult to dialogue. Then the service of love will make hearts agree where minds cannot come to an understanding.