4 Pentecost

 

June 21, 2026

 Matthew 10:24-39

 + I say it so much, you’re all sick of it, no doubt.

 I say it so much you no doubt just roll your eyes.

 And maybe, considering all that has happened over the these last few years in our country, you might not even believe me.

 And no, I’m not talking about chickens roosting.

 I’m talking instead about the most repeated command we find in scripture.

 Remember what that is?

 Do not be afraid.

 Fear not.

 But, I will say this about that.

 I say it mention it so much because I truly, truly believe it.

 I do.

 I believe it because, I believe it is true.

 It is true.

 And we hear it again today, in our Gospel.

 Jesus doesn’t offer comfort in a way we usually find him offering comfort.  

 He doesn’t promise that following him will make life easier.

 He doesn't say doing so will be peaceful.

 He sure doesn’t say that we will get some kind of security from following him.  

 Instead, he tells his disciples another kind of truth.

 If people don’t get him, they probablya ren’t going to get us.

 If anyone misunderstands his message of of inclusive love, his understanding that we are all beloved children of a loving God, then guess what?

 We’re  going to be misunderstood too.

 In other words, don’t expect people to always “get it.”

 That may sound discouraging.

 But I think Jesus is actually offering us a strange kind of freedom.

 So much of our lives is spent trying to manage what other people think of us.

 We want to be liked.

 We want approval.

 We want to avoid conflict.

 Yet Jesus reminds us that our primary calling is not to be admired but to be faithful.

 “Do not be afraid,” he says three times.

 Do not be afraid of what others say about you.

 Do not be afraid of those who can wound the body.

 Do not be afraid of losing status or reputation.

 The God who knows every sparrow that falls and every hair upon your head knows you completely and loves you completely.

 The heart of discipleship is trust.

 And then Jesus gives us those difficult words about taking up the cross.

 We hear them so often that they lose their force.

 The cross was not a decoration or a religious symbol.

 It was an instrument of death.

 To take up the cross meant surrendering one’s own agenda and placing one’s life into God’s hands.

 That does not mean seeking suffering.

 It means loving truth more than comfort, loving Christ more than approval, loving the Kingdom more than our own security.

 In every generation, Christians must decide what comes first.

 Family loyalties, political loyalties, personal ambitions, cherished opinions—all of these have their place.

 But none of them can occupy the place that belongs to God alone.

 There’s a wonderful in our Gospel today

 “Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

 The more we make everything about the almighty me, the smaller our lives really become.

  The more we center our lives on God, the more fully alive we become.

 The fact is that we don’t have to any of this alone.  

 The One who calls us to take up the cross is also the same One who carries it on the path we’re following.

 The One who tells us not to be afraid is the Word of our God, the same God who holds us in the hand palm.

 We have nothing to fear.

 Be courageous.

 Hold to the truth.

 Doing so, how can we be anything but courageous?

 Amen.