NOTES for Rom 14:19

It sounds a little boring, it doesn’t inspire, isn’t it? It would have been better: "we shall look for what serves our self-affirmation and to the mutual pleasure ". The word "peace" reminds us of old slogans of fight for peace, and the word "edify" - the most disgusting professors at school.

Why is it so? How come that these magnificent words were so pervert in our perception? Indeed, "peace" is not just an absence of war and even nor the absence of hostilities. In the biblical language, "shalom" is a state of the Creation in the seventh day, when God, having achieved everything, rests, when everything is "very good". Such are " the new heaven and the new earth", of which are said to prophets and in the book of Revelation, the new world, which can be compared with the initial meaning of the Greek word "cosmos", word from which derives "cosmetic", because the Cosmos is the Universe filled with beauties. “Peace" - genuine integrity, harmony, order and beauty. And it is exactly what the apostle Paul invites us to look for, such a peace in us and in our relationships one with another, which is created only by God.

And the word "edify" describes not a notation, but the "cultuvation", the increase of good, what is well. There is also a wonderful thing here related to God. God is Good Himself, and He is infinite, that is why the common conservation laws as "if something was added somewhere, then so much decreased somewhere else" do not work in all that is bound to the notion of good. When we share something nice with another (love, consolation, knowledge etc.), it arrives to the another then, and it doesn’t not only decrease in us, but in an unexpected way increases rather, takes place a mutual edification, a mutual growth in good, a joint movement towards the true Good, towards God.

Somehow this sounds dull and uninspiring, does it not? It would be much better to say, "Let us seek what serves our self-assertion and mutual pleasure." The word "peace" reminds us of old slogans about the struggle for peace, and "edification" of the most unpleasant teachers at school.

Why is this so? How did it happen that these wonderful words became so distorted in our perception? After all, "peace" is not simply the absence of war, or even the absence of hostility. In the biblical language, "shalom" is the state of Creation on the seventh day, when God, having completed everything, rests, when everything is "very good." Such also are the "new heaven and earth" spoken of in the prophets and in the book of Revelation, that new world which can be compared with the original meaning of the Greek word "cosmos," the word from which "cosmetics" comes, because the Cosmos is the Universe filled with beauty. "Peace" is true wholeness, harmony, order, and beauty. This is exactly what the apostle Paul calls us to seek: such peace within us and in our relationships with one another, a peace created only by God.

And the word "edification" describes not a lecture, but nurturing, the increasing of good, of what is good. Here is another astonishing thing connected with God. God Himself is the Good, and He is infinite; therefore in everything connected with the idea of good, the ordinary laws of conservation do not operate, the kind that say, "if something has increased somewhere, then the same amount has decreased somewhere else." When we share something good with another person, love, consolation, knowledge, and so on, the other person gains it, and with us it not only does not decrease, but also increases in some unexpected way. Mutual edification takes place, mutual growth in good, a shared movement toward the true Good, toward God.

Preparation for Lent concludes with a reading of Christ's words, handed down to us by the evangelist Matthew, about what fasting and prayer are. In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord tells His disciples that fasting and prayer have meaning only in secret from people. Only when they become events in your deeply personal relationship with God and are visible to no one except God - only then do fasting and prayer have meaning. The Lord warns us about the subtle temptation to "appear to people to be fasting." In this time of fasting, our enemy really does tempt us with the desire to appear so that those around us will think (even if not out loud): "Ah, how devout, practically a saint..." This "Ah!" destroys the whole meaning of fasting. "Rend your hearts and not your garments," as we heard from the prophet Joel (Joel 2:13).

And today the Lord also speaks to us about prayer: do not heap up words like the Gentiles. Neither the length of a prayer nor the number of words said in it means anything. Only the movement of the soul toward God gives prayer its value. And today's reading ends with the Lord's Prayer. The apostles had the custom of saying this prayer three times a day: morning, noon, and evening. Without doubt, the apostles prayed beyond that, but these three times became for Christians a kind of spiritual frame on which the whole day - and all of life - rests.

Continuing the discussion of religion in its relation to the Kingdom, Paul proposes criteria that can guide one in matters of religious obligations. First of all, he draws attention to the fact that in the Kingdom there is, in principle, and can be nothing that is sinful or unclean in itself, since sin and uncleanness cannot be part of the Kingdom by definition. The problem arises when someone living in the Kingdom begins to see sin or uncleanness where there is none; in this case, for the person who sees the situation this way, they can become a reality, making life in the Kingdom problematic for him (v. 14). Of course, if the Kingdom were already now revealed to the world in all its fullness, problems of this kind would only be the problems of separate, specific people. But the Kingdom has not yet fully unfolded; it is only conquering the world, and the former order of things, not yet fully transformed, can influence the minds not only of those seeking the Kingdom, but also of those who have already come into contact with it. Not everyone who has gained the Kingdom is yet so rooted in it that everything connected with the former order of things, including religion, has become spiritually indifferent to him, and this has to be taken into account so that someone does not lose the Kingdom simply because those living near him did not consider it necessary to take his weakness into account (vv. 15-16).

The problem of religion here, as we can see, is no longer connected with the spiritual content of religiosity as such, but with its effect on the souls of those seeking the Kingdom and those who have only just gained it (v. 13). But there is also another criterion that allows one to be convinced of one's own sincerity before God. This concerns doubts that can appear quite naturally in someone who does not follow generally accepted religious norms. And here the apostle is quite categorical: if there is even the slightest doubt about one's rightness, then this is precisely a violation of the norm, not the freedom proper to those living in the Kingdom (vv. 21-22).

Indeed, generally accepted norms can simply be violated without regard for them, or one can be above them. But the experience of the Kingdom excludes doubt, and if doubts still appear, then one can say with confidence that what is at issue is precisely a violation of the norm. But since the person living in the Kingdom does not ignore generally accepted religious norms and rules, but simply feels completely free where religion is concerned, it is not difficult for him to follow them for the spiritual benefit of his neighbor. The main task in relations with one's neighbor for those living in the Kingdom is the preservation of that peace and joy without which there is no Kingdom, not the struggle against religiosity as such. That is why it is not difficult for them to follow religious norms and rules if doing so makes life easier for their neighbor (vv. 17-21).

“Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself for what he approves.” To condemn oneself is to fail to carry out what we undertake before God. Not to condemn ourselves in our choice means not looking back or indulging in fantasies, not wondering, “What would have happened if...?” It is the habit of walking directly before God in the secret of the heart. It is the ability to live patiently and not envy those who live differently. Sometimes we look at people who do not keep the fast and think that their lives are easier, more cheerful, and simpler. We retreat from our choice of Christ. Through doubt and fantasy, we let deceit and distrust of God into our lives.