Seventh Sunday after Pentecost. Octoechos Tone 6. Our Lady of Pertual Help. Our Venerable Father Thomas of Maleum. and Acacius mentioned in The Ladder of Divine Ascent of Saint John Climacus.
Romans 15:1-7. Matthew 9:27-35.
Read Romans 15:1-7
When we are good at something, it can feel great to share that with others to help them improve. But instructing a novice is one thing, having weaker ones on your team is another. Feelings that we may be held back can creep in and be reflected in our disposition toward them.
Sometimes we are that person who is weak. In an unsupportive environment, we not only have the task of growing stronger, we also have to deal with how we are being looked upon by others who feel we are holding them back.
No one likes to be disregarded and left behind. That is important to remember when we are experiencing our own strength. A clear conscience is a freeing thing to have, but some people may be moving away from activities that have a different meaning for their conscience.
Today’s epistle reading brings us back to the same humble level we all begin on as Christians – “as Christ also received us”.
Those who are strong in faith are called to bear the scruples of the weak, not in the sense of “put up with”, but in the sense of “bear up” or “carry”. “Not pleas(ing) ourselves” but “pleas(ing) (our) neighbor for his good” does not mean that someone else’s scruples become the standard for our living. People pleasing is never to be the standard of Christian living (Galatians 1:10). It means that we commit ourselves to growing together, “to the glory of God”. If we are impatient and discomforted, we are given the encouragement of, “may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”