For the Sake of the Gospel #1

For the Sake of the Gospel
Father Matera
July 8, 2012

From time to time, perhaps even weekly, I propose to write a column in which I can discuss matters that pertain to our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. For the moment, I have chosen the title “For the Sake of the Gospel” for this column. This phrase comes from the Gospel of Mark, where Jesus tells his disciples that “the one who wants to save his life will lose it, whereas the one who loses his life for my sake and for the sake of the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:35). What is interesting about this phrase is the relation Jesus draws between himself and the gospel that he preaches: those who give their life for the sake of gospel are giving their life for the sake of Jesus, and those who give their life for sake of Jesus are giving their life for the sake of the gospel. In other the Jesus and the gospel that he preaches are so closely related that to give your life for one is to give your life for the other.

This relationship between Jesus and the gospel he preaches should be a great comfort to us; for whereas Jesus’ first disciples could see and hear his voice, we cannot. But this does not mean that we are at a disadvantage. For whatever we do for the sake of gospel, we do for Christ. Whatever sacrifices we make for the sake of the gospel, we make for Christ. All that we do for the sake of the gospel, we do for the Lord. So what is this gospel? What does it mean to do something for the sake the gospel?

The word gospel can be used in two ways. On the one hand, it can refer to one of the four Gospels that recount the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus: The Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. On the other hand, “gospel” can refer to the good news of what God has done through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For example, Saint Paul talks about “the gospel of God” and “the gospel of Jesus Christ,” or simply “the gospel,” by which he means the good news of what God has done in Christ, the good news about Jesus Christ.

The gospel we proclaim is good news because it is God’s good news, God’s gospel, not our gospel. It is the account of what God has done for us; not what we have done for God. It is the good news of deliverance from the powers of Sin and Death; the good news that God has been and God will continue to be victorious. It is the good news of resurrection life: the only life that endures. It is the good news that Jesus brought as well as the good news about Jesus. It is the good news about the kingdom of God. But I am getting ahead of myself since these are some of the themes we must explore in the weeks ahead. For the moment it is sufficient to say that there is nothing more important than the gospel; for whatever we do for the sake of the gospel we do for the sake of Jesus Christ.