15 October 2019
Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
At least St. Paul was not ashamed of the gospel (cf. Rom 1:16). How many of us can say the same thing? How many of us find the gospel too primitive, too basic, too rosy, too obvious, too divisive, too abstruse, too remote, too tired, too confusing, too vague, too narrow, too heavy, too judgmental? We are embarrassed to talk about the gospel in public. Or if it’s not the whole thing that we are ashamed of, there are some verses we stay away from. Would you like me to name them for you? Verses that some of us can’t explain. Verses that may contradict someone’s personal beliefs. Verses that lectionary editors keep out of our liturgies. Verses that preachers ignore or downplay or apologize for.
Enough of this! O God, send us another St. Paul! At least he was not ashamed of the gospel. On the contrary, he was “eager” to preach the gospel (Rom 1:15), because he knew that the gospel is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16).
If you believe in the salvific power of the gospel, then now would be a good time to stand before the Lord and say “O God, I accept your gospel completely, even the parts I don’t understand. Forgive me for the times that I have been ashamed of your gospel or denied it. Through the intercession of St. Paul, help me to love your gospel more every day.” Then see what more St. Paul had to say about this. Starting with Romans 1:16, read at least to the end of the first chapter.