June 21, 2026 | 4th Sunday after Pentecost @ Holy Trinity Lutheran Church – Buffalo, NY
References
Scripture: Matthew 10:24–39
The Risk We Live With Every Day
You and I deal with risk each and every day. It’s a risk even getting out of bed in the morning!
When you think of the risks you’ve encountered, what words and feelings come to your mind? Danger, unknown, fear, high-stakes, difficult decisions, excitement, hope, faith, prayer, uncertainty, etc.
Do you consider yourself a “risk-taker”?
What kinds of risks have you dealt with recently?
Every decision we make involves some kind of risk, but some decisions and risks certainly stir up our fear. When the stakes are high and there’s more to lose, fear grows. Fear can be crippling. Fear can commandeer vast amounts of our time and energy. Sometimes, fear can lead us to avoid taking risks, avoid making decisions, and avoid doing anything new or different.
Have you experienced the effects and sway of fear in your decisions … fear of making the wrong decision, fear of what will change in our lives if we take on the risk … fear of saying or doing what could affect our relationships.
Fear Is Real, But It Cannot Be Our Guide
But is fear the only thing that determines which risks we’ll take and which we won’t? Is fear the ultimate guide?
If so, fire fighters, police, and military folks could not do the work they do.
No … fear cannot be allowed to control our lives. It has to be a part, of course. Our values play a role in off-setting our fear. Our goals and our priorities play a role in counter-balancing our fear.
So, instead of asking simply whether we should take a risk … we ask, “Is it worth the risk to overcome the fear?” If it is, we make a decision and assume the risk.
I’ve known people who are seriously afraid of public speaking. But when a loved one dies, sometimes they really want to speak. So, they are faced with a choice … faced with the risk: Do they speak or not? More often than not, they will assume the risk and speak.
Notice that their fear has not gone away … it is still present for them. They still sweat and worry and maybe even feel like throwing up, but it is worth the risk and worth working through the fear.
Many of our decisions require either a “yes” or a “no” answer … a “do” or “don’t”. There is no room for “sort-of.” There is no option to sort-of speak in public, sort-of accept a job or move to another city, sort-of have a baby, or sort-of get out of bed in the morning.
Jesus and the Risk of Following
Today, we hear Jesus speaking words that really don’t sound as though they should be coming from him, but he addressed the risks of those who follow him.
He said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matt. 10:34).
Jesus went on to describe the kinds of divisions within a family … within relationships.
I don’t believe Jesus was saying that He wants us to experience this kind of division. But being a follower of Jesus and part of a community dedicated to following Jesus is risky.
Faith Is Not the Absence of Fear
Jesus prepared His disciples to be risk-takers.
It was risky for them to drop their nets and follow Jesus. It was risky to stand in front of a sick person and proclaim health. It was risky to stand over a dead person and proclaim life and hope. Challenging the culture of their time – as ours – is risky.
Challenging the way things are and the way things “have always been” threatens people, it angers people, it causes families to split. Even calling ourselves Christians can be risky.
Faith is not the absence of fear. Faith is recognizing fear for what it is and following Jesus anyway.
In a time when we are most in need of unity and peace, Jesus says that unity with Christ and unity in Christ will cause some divisions as we assume the risk of following Jesus.
Committing to follow Jesus meant – and still means – that we are pursuing the truth of Jesus and loving others with Jesus’ kind of love whether or not it is acceptable or popular.
Jesus’ kind of love is risky. Who would think that love would be risky? But it is.
What Risk Might Jesus Be Calling You to Take?
Are there things in your life where Jesus might be calling you to risk?
… to do something, change something, or say something?
It’s easier to say what others should do or change or risk. We can’t actually change anything about someone else, because we can only change ourselves and our behavior.
How about at Holy Trinity? We, too, have opportunities and risks before us.
Fear, uncertainty, and risk … these will remain and continue to make us uneasy and even greatly disturbed or nauseous at times, but fear cannot be allowed to have the ultimate control in our lives.
Christ Comes Beyond Our Locked Doors
After Jesus was crucified, His disciples locked themselves in a room because of their fear. Then and now, Jesus comes to us beyond our locked doors – doors that are locked because of our fear.
Jesus shares His peace with us, reminds us that we are not alone, and breathes the breath of new life into us. He gives us the power of the Holy Spirit as we seek to follow him boldly wherever he goes.
Reflection Questions
- What risk are you facing right now, and what fear is attached to it?
- Where might Jesus be calling you to do, change, or say something, even if it feels costly or uncomfortable?
- What would it look like to let your values, priorities, and faith—not fear—guide your next step?
Epicurious Lutheran 
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