Prepare (This section is preparation for the leader, not content meant for the whole group.)
Luke 14:25–33 gives us two of Jesus’ hardest sayings: that anyone who doesn’t “hate” their family and life itself cannot follow him, and that disciples must give up all their possessions. These statements sound extreme, but some context helps.

At the start of the passage a large crowd is following Jesus. Crowds have been gathering around him since the very beginning of his ministry in Luke. Each time, Jesus makes it clear that following him is costly. Here, he uses deliberately shocking, hyperbolic language to force the crowd to consider what discipleship really requires.

In the first-century Jewish world, family responsibilities were foundational. To abandon or even appear to neglect them could bring severe social, physical, and material consequences. So when Jesus says his followers must “hate” even their own families, it would have landed even more harshly then than it does for us now. The word “hate” here doesn’t mean hostility but comparison—it points to the idea of loving something less than something else. Jesus is saying that following him requires placing him above everything else, even the most important commitments and possessions in life. That’s why, after offering two examples that show the importance of counting the cost—one about building a tower and one about a king preparing for war—Jesus concludes by saying that anyone who wants to follow him must be willing to give up all their possessions.

This passage reminds us that discipleship is not casual. It demands reordering our loves, loosening our grip on what we hold most dear, and choosing Christ first.

Opening Exercise

• In a pair or a group of three, tell of the best volunteer experience you have ever had and what made it the best?

Read Aloud

• Luke 14:25-33

Discipleship, Time, and Loving Less
Today we celebrate God’s Work, Our Hands Sunday across the ELCA. Since it began in September 2013, this day has invited congregations to show the love and concern God’s people have for one another. Through acts of service—big and small—we explore one of our most basic Lutheran convictions: by God’s grace we are free to love and serve our neighbor. We don’t have to do that. We want to do it in response to the love and grace God has first given us.

But there’s a challenge to loving and serving—and it’s one many of us face every day: time. Many studies indicate that one of, if not the, biggest barrier to serving or volunteering is lack of time. And with little to no concrete data, but with a fair amount of certainty, I’d bet that lack of time is what keeps many teens from becoming more involved at church or in the youth group. Sports, school, band, dance, a job, and any number of other things are competing priorities that make it hard to serve or get engaged. It’s not that the things we do aren’t good or worthwhile. But, sometimes, what we love most prevents us from responding to the love God calls us to share.

This tension echoes Luke 14:25–33, where Jesus challenges the crowd with the cost of discipleship. He uses shocking language, saying that anyone who doesn’t “hate” their family and possessions cannot follow him. Yet, I don’t think “hate” here means hostility or contempt. Rather, I read it as loving something less than something else. Jesus is asking the crowd to consider: what do we love most? And are we willing to place him above all—even our family, our possessions, our time?

Like the crowds following Jesus, many of us want to do good in the world—but feel we don’t have the time. And yet, hidden in Jesus’ hard words is an invitation: an invitation to reorder our loves and to follow him—not alone, but alongside others. With the school year starting and schedules filling up, this is a moment to pause and reflect: what in our lives is getting more of our love and attention than God? How might we choose differently so that we can live into the service God calls us to? 

God’s Work, Our Hands Sunday is a small reminder that discipleship is costly—but it is also a gift. The gift is not just the work we do for others, but the chance to follow Jesus together, letting our lives bear witness to God’s love in a world that desperately needs it.

Reflection Questions

• What sticks out to you most in the scripture passage we read and why?
• When Jesus says we have to “give up all our possessions,” what do you think he means? Do you hear that as literal, or pointing to something else?
• Why do you think Jesus talks about following him in such extreme ways? What does that show us about what discipleship means?
• If you were to love other things less and take discipleship more seriously in the year ahead, how would your life be different, if at all?

Closing Activity

• Have each person list how they spend their time during the week. Suggest checking their phone’s screen time for a reality check. Then ask: Is this how you want to spend your life? What’s missing? What would you take off?
• Come up with a list of service events you and your young people can do throughout the year.

Prayer
Gracious God, our hearts are pulled in many directions. We give our time and energy to so many things—some good, some not so good. And yet you call us first to follow you. Teach us to love what you love, and to serve as you serve, so that our lives show your grace at work in us. Forgive us when we chase after lesser things, and keep drawing us back by your mercy. Strengthen us to count the cost of discipleship, and to discover in it the joy of life with you. Amen.

Bio
Cogan Blackmon is a pastor who believes the church is at its best when it listens closely to the stories people carry. As Associate Pastor of Cross of Grace Lutheran Church in New Palestine, Indiana, and editor of Faith Lens, he explores the intersection of scripture, culture, and everyday life, sharing reflections that help readers see faith in fresh ways. Outside of ministry and editing, you’ll likely find him with a cup of coffee in hand, exploring local food and beverage venues with his family, or listening to folk and Americana music.

Faith Lens is on a summer hiatus until September 2025.

Thank you for being a part of our faithful community of readers!

Catalyst Question

Who are the most helpful people in your life? What makes them so helpful for you?

Flourishing Together

Recently, Baylor University researchers released initial results from a new study on human flourishing. This global research follows hundreds of thousands of people in hopes of understanding what factors lead to a “good life.” That’s how the researchers understand flourishing. More than personal happiness or security, flourishing is a kind of holistic satisfaction. More than just feeling happy in the moment, to flourish is to feel like you’re thriving in most, if not all, areas of life.

The results were surprising in a number of ways. Younger people are less likely to be currently flourishing than older people. Wealth isn’t necessarily tied to flourishing. And regular participation in a faith community throughout your life is more likely to lead to flourishing.

It’s this third finding that is most relevant today. That’s because flourishing is tied to presence: presence with God and presence with others. In John 14:23-29, Jesus tells his disciples that he’s leaving, but he’s not leaving them alone. As he ascends into heaven, the Holy Spirit inhabits people of faith. This means that God is not only with us, but within us, to help us live abundant life for all of our days. Long before a modern research study, God knew that we were most likely to flourish if we weren’t on our own.

There’s much more to learn from that study, especially as we support young people in faith communities. This includes, in part, taking the cue to continue gathering with God and with one another, wisdom that comes both from ancient scriptures and current data. It also includes paying more attention to the young people in our lives, even if you are a young person yourself. Especially in our world, where money seems to rule the day, it means reassessing our relationship to wealth.

Thankfully, as John’s Gospel reminds us, we don’t have to do any of that on our own. After all, the Holy Spirit lives within each of us as a helper that wants us to flourish, individually and collectively. We don’t thrive alone. We thrive together. Let’s continue to gather together to remind ourselves that God is not just for us, and not even just with us, but an inherent part of our lives.

Ask Yourself

What kind of help do I need to flourish? Name at least two different ways someone might help you.

Ask a Friend

What are the best ways to notice God’s presence in your life? Name three or more.

Catalyst Question

H0w do you understand the word “gospel”? More than just a definition, what does the Gospel of Jesus mean to you?

Gospel in the Law

It’s official: commencement season has officially started. Across the country, many high schools and colleges have already held their graduation ceremonies. From South Cameron High in Louisiana, where the entire graduating class was 1 person, to the University of Texas at Austin, where more than 11,000 students are receiving diplomas, there are many people of various ages who are culminating education careers with earned degrees.

What’s fascinating is that graduation isn’t required. Most laws require education until a student turns 18. School attendance doesn’t equal graduation; after all, it’s possible to attend classes without passing and it’s possible to withdraw from school prior to completing coursework. Collegiate education isn’t required at all. Yet, there’s something about the mandate to learn that leads people to follow through to these experiences that recognize the effort they’ve put into their educational journey. This education requirement helps people discover academic passions, develop professional skills, and learn social responsibility. At some point, rather than being forced to learn, we choose to keep learning. Hopefully, this lasts for the rest of our lives!

In this way, graduation–both the earning of the degree and the experience of commencement–offers a good example of the Gospel within the Law: how we can experience good news in something we’re initially told we must do.

In John 13:31-35, Jesus gives his disciples a commandment to love. In some ways, this is strange. After all, Jesus came to fulfill God’s law on our behalf, ensuring we can share in the resurrection to eternal life. If that’s completed, then why is he doling out new laws?

It’s because this law of love directs us toward something that we all desire, and even need: love itself. A commandment to love one another isn’t about forcing us to do something unrelated to our own benefit. Instead, it fosters a world where we are loved by others, even as we love them, too. There is Gospel–good news–in this law because a world where we love one another is a world where everyone is loved.

That’s no useless law. It might just be the best news of all.

Ask Yourself

What are things in your life that someone has told you that you must do and that you know are also good for you? Name at least three.

Ask a Friend

What are two new ways that you can show love for someone else? What are two different ways that you want others to show their love for you?

Catalyst Question

When someone asks “who are you,” who do you typically respond to that question? What are 3-5 things that you share about yourself to indicate who you understand yourself to be?

Who Are You?

Last month, news broke that dire wolves had been brought back to life. Colossal Biosciences, the company behind the animal’s reintroduction, used DNA from well-preserved fossils to give these old creatures new life. Though only puppies right now, these canines will grow to become the largest wolves on the planet, not only by heigh but also by muscle mass. Though they won’t be as big as those depicted by HBO’s Game of Thrones, they’ll still be impressive specimens.

Certainly, this is an incredible feat. Yet, not all scientists agree that these are dire wolves. Some argue that these are, in fact, grey wolves with genetic modifications rather than true dire wolves. Rather than a true rebirth of an ancient species, they consider this a hybrid creature. Impressive, to be sure, but not an exact replica of the dire wolves of old. In their eyes, this is a case of mistaken identity.

Another case of identity confusion–or better yet, conflict–appears within John 10:22-30. There, Jesus is confronted by the religious leaders of his day, demanding to know whether he is the Messiah. “If you are the Messiah,” they demanded of him, “then tell us plainly!” Of course, he’d already told them plainly. By this point in John’s Gospel, he’d performed many miracles, accepted others claims that he was the Christ, and even used the “I AM” language reserved only for God. There was certainly identify confusion, but not because Jesus hadn’t shared his true self.

This was a classic situation of people seeing what they wanted to see; or perhaps, not seeing what they didn’t want to see. If Jesus was really the Messiah, and not some imposter, then that would challenge the authority of these religious leaders. It would shake the foundations of the very temple in which this conversation occurred.

Sometimes we struggle to acknowledge the truth that’s right in front of us. When it comes to the dire wolves, the jury is still out. When it comes to Jesus, though, the truth is clear: he’s saying he is the Messiah.

Are we listening?

Ask Yourself

Take some time to read all of the assigned lectionary readings for this Sunday. You can find them all here. What does God’s Word say about God’s self? How might that challenge your conception of who God is?

Ask a Friend

What’s something extinct you’d like to see brought back to life? How do you see God’s handiwork in that creature?