Daily Devotional • May 22
A Reading from Romans 14:1-12
1 Welcome those who are weak in faith but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. 2 Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. 3 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. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on slaves 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.
5 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. 6 Those who observe the day, observe it for the Lord. Also those who eat, eat for the Lord, since they give thanks to God, while those who abstain, abstain for the Lord and give thanks to God.
7 For we do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. 8 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. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 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. 11 For it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.”
12 So then, each one of us will be held accountable
Meditation
Today’s passage from the letter to the Romans touches on a timeless (and timely) subject: God does not ask us to pass spiritual judgment on each other but reserves that responsibility for himself. I find this reminder to be extremely liberating. Sometimes our culture encourages us to be the judges of everyone and everything around us. To be sure, our society elects judges to determine legal issues, and we appoint judges to govern sporting events and talent contests. This works well with property rights disputes and American Idol but is not helpful when it comes to other people’s beliefs or values.
Paul writes: “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.” Let’s hear this as a reminder that God is our judge and that our role is to welcome the stranger and give thanks for the beautiful diversity of humanity’s garden.
An elderly woman I once knew responded to every “thank-you” with the phrase “you are as welcome as the day is long.” This was not spoken with any pretense or affect, but out of the authenticity forged in a physically demanding life in a rural community without many creature comforts. She knew well the need neighbors have for one another, and gratitude for the many kindnesses that had filled her life was evident in her very being.
This kind of gratitude can be curated in any of us with some daily attention. If you start every morning with a focus on thankfulness and remember that your heart is still beating because of God’s grace, judging others for their opinions or habits becomes less relevant, and seeing the beauty in our various ways of being in the world becomes the source of limitless joy.
The Very Reverend David duPlantier has served as Dean and Rector of Christ Church Cathedral in New Orleans, LA since 2002. He is founder and chair of the board of the Jericho Road Episcopal Housing initiative: https://jerichohousing.org
♱
Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island
The Diocese of Montreal – The Anglican Church of Canada
