Not ashamed of the Gospel

The first words of today’s first reading (Romans 1:16-25) may sound strange to some.

I am not ashamed of the Gospel.

Some Christians, especially those raised in a thoroughly Christian environment, may wonder why anyone could be made to feel ashamed of the Gospel – the truth and reality of salvation in and through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Sadly, all too many of us understand something of what St. Paul is talking about. In his day, Christianity was widely ridiculed and so it is today.

Ridicule and denigration of the Gospel is generally more subtle than it was in St. Paul’s day, but it is increasing.

Glib and angry atheists throw stones at religious belief and believers. People of faith are lumped together with murderous terrorists and with perceived excesses of the “religious right”. “Spirituality” is associated by celebrities and elites with neo-paganism or watered-down Eastern religions instead of the Christian faith which they associate with bad things.

We know our faith and we know the power, peace, love, and joy of Christ. We also know that these attacks and denigrations are really much more about the attackers than the true faith being attacked.

In the face of all this, it is more than appropriate for us to stand firmly with St. Paul and say with him:

I am not ashamed of the Gospel.
It is the power of God
for the salvation of everyone who believes.

While we should always be prudent, we dare not let ourselves as Christians be intimidated by the mocking, denigrating, or oppressive voices of today’s world.

We need to immerse ourselves even more fully in the Gospel, pray even more earnestly for God’s grace, stand up proudly in the public square and the marketplace of ideas, and say with conviction and charity:

I am not ashamed of the Gospel.
It is the power of God
for the salvation of everyone who believes.