Paul wrote these lines to a Roman church strained by real differences — Jewish and Gentile believers with different customs, scruples, and histories, learning to be one community. His counsel to them is his counsel to every marriage: "We who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not to please ourselves." Married love is, on most days, exactly this — not grand gestures but the daily practice of putting the other first, "for even Christ didn't please himself."
The center of the reading is a prayer: that God grant you "to be of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus," so that "with one accord you may with one mouth glorify God." Unity of mind here is not sameness of opinion; it is a shared orientation, two people facing the same Lord together. That is a workable, honest definition of Christian marriage.
Then the line couples choose this reading for: "Accept one another, even as Christ also accepted you." Christ's welcome is prior, unearned, and total, and it becomes the standard for how spouses receive each other — including each other's families, histories, and imperfections. For two families becoming one at a wedding, the word "accept" does a great deal of quiet work.
The reading closes with what is effectively a nuptial blessing: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing." Many couples find that this final verse says everything they want their wedding day to say.
