Romans 15:4-9
Chapter 15
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And we know that whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, for both perseverance and comfort, given to us by the scripture, to sustain our hope.
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May God, the source of all perseverance and comfort, grant you all peace in Christ Jesus,
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so that you may praise God, the Father of Christ Jesus, our Lord, with one voice.
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The Good News for Jews and Gentiles
Welcome one another, as Christ welcomed you for the glory of God.
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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 faithfulness.
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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.
Commentaries
Pleasing Others.
Paul takes it a step further by saying that sharing the faith involves, in essence, “bearing with the weaknesses of the weak” (1). This is the only way to build a Christian community and the only rule for its growth. Although the Apostle highlights the duty of the “strong,” what he truly emphasizes is the golden rule of every Christian community: the “active acceptance” of everything that makes “the other” different “from oneself.” If it is their sins, this acceptance means helping to share the burden as if it were our own; if it is their gifts, as our own; if it is their varied opinions, as a complement to our own; if it is their sufferings, as our sufferings. And thus, until we break down the last barrier that separates us—those rooted deep in human hearts: fear, suspicion, and rejection of everything we see in “the other” as different, as a challenge, and as a threat to our security—what force will enable fraternal coexistence as a daily practice of bearing our brothers’ and sisters’ weaknesses (cf. Gal 6:2)? Paul says it is the Word of God, for it is the only “power” that calls us together, unites us in mutual agreement, comforts the Christian community, and inspires us to praise God with one heart and one voice.
The Good News for Jews and Gentiles.
The final encouragement of the letter is directed to the entire Christian community in Rome, both those from Judaism and those from pagan backgrounds: “welcome one another, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God” (7). This is not just moral guidance on how to live together. The Apostle goes further, recognizing the “Gospel of universal salvation,” revealed by Christ, already established as “reality and proclamation” through this mutual acceptance of brotherly love within the community of Rome. Faith in Jesus Christ, who died and rose again, is the key that unlocks all the mysteries of Scripture for Paul, or the one main secret: God’s initiative of universal salvation, aimed at bringing all peoples into one final people of God. This is Paul’s vision at the end of his letter.