Are you ashamed of Jesus Christ, or are you ashamed of the world?

There are a lot of temptations competing with Christ for your soul, but I think that the most dangerous one is apathy or numbness.  [You see] I do not think that there are many here who would follow Faust and trade their souls for knowledge; or like Jabez Stone, who would sell their souls for prosperity; or like Thomas Riddle, who would sell their souls for power; or even like Adrian Veidt, who would trade their souls for a chance at world peace.  Our biggest danger is not that we will make the wrong decision in an obvious deal with the devil; but rather that we will become numb to the possibility that such a loss is possible; that we will fail to realize that our souls are in danger; and that we will whittle them away, little by little, on trifles.

[The good news is that the only sin that cannot be forgiven is the one that we refuse to repent of.  But can you imagine any of the characters I mentioned before actually repenting of their decisions?  I cannot.  They would either be too caught up in their own power to consider such a thing (as in the case of Thomas Riddle), or, following the example of Judas, hold too tightly in their embrace of despondency to accept the possibility of God’s mercy and forgiveness.  I do not know many people who fit into either of these categories.  Again, I believe that our biggest danger is that we will become numb to the sins that we commit; that we will fail to recognize the damage we are doing to ourselves; and so we will not believe in the need for repentance.]

It is not that we have rejected God’s mercy, it is more that we don’t really see the point of it.  But Great Lent is designed to open our eyes, to force some feeling back into our spiritual lives, to make us realize just how damaged we really are.  But if we have given in to the numbness, if it has indeed become “comfortable” for us, then we will probably refuse to participate in the disciplines it offers.  People will only listen to the doctor if they know they are sick.  The man who is numb to the damage obesity does to his health will continue to overeat; the man who is numb the damage smoking does to his body will continue to smoke; and the man who is numb to the damage that sin does to his soul, will refuse to repent and will continue to sin.

God gives us some powerful words today to shake us from our stupor.  Let me shake you with some of them again; “Whoever is ashamed of Me and My Gospel in this sinful and adulterous generation… of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in Glory.”  We have been numbed by the sinful and adulterous culture that surrounds us.  We have become apathetic to God’s will in our lives.  We have not noticed the many compromises we have made just to get along; [we have not noticed] the way we have cheated on God in order to please the world.  I think many of us do this out of simple ignorance: we do not understand how different the morality of the Gospel is from the morality of the world. 

If we did notice [how different the morality of the Gospel is from the morality of the world], then we would have a choice to make.  Then there really would be a moment of decision for us, a specific time when we would decide to follow God or accept a deal with the devil.  When we would either accept Jesus Christ and His words, or be ashamed of Him and His Gospel.  Well you cannot remain ignorant: let me tell you right now that there is a huge gulf between the Word of God and the wisdom of this fallen world.  And if your mind likes the wisdom of the world better, then repent now.   If you prefer comfort to charity; self-righteousness to humility; being a victim to taking responsibility; entitlement to gratitude; glory to martyrdom; the possibility of health to holiness; or base-pleasure to chastity; then repent now. 

The wisdom of this world is persuasive – it will deafen you to the Truth if you listen too long.  For instance, it will have you believe that murder is scientific progress; that impoverishing others is sound economics; and that chastity is irresponsible.  [You see,] If you understand the Gospel, then at some point you either have to reject the wisdom of the world, or you have to reject the Wisdom of God.  And when you do, one or the other will reject you.  Repent now.  Embrace the Truth.  Accept your cross and follow Him.  And remember God’s promise for those who do this;

“For blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you for My Name’s Sake, for your is the kingdom of heaven.”