Youth Sunday 2026
For Meditation (Rick Hutton)
I remember well having teams in PE being chosen by my peers. What I remember most is that I was never chosen first. When it came to putting teams together for whatever sport or game we were playing it was always the most athletic and popular kids who were chosen first. And the prayer of every kid who wasn’t chosen first was “please don’t let me be picked last!”
As we continue in our Revealed and Given series we’ll be looking at Luke 5:27-32, where Jesus calls Levi (Matthew), Levi throws a party, and the Pharisees are indignant. If anyone didn’t deserve to be called by a Rabi it was Levi. He had no qualities that would make someone want to choose him and yet Jesus did. Jesus chose a marginalized person in that time to be one of his closest disciples, not because Levi deserved it, but because Jesus loved him. He showed him grace, and Levi responded with a party and changed life, not to earn Jesus’ favor but because Jesus had changed Levi’s heart.
The Pharisees, of course, didn’t approve. They were judgmental and condescending. They couldn’t see why Jesus revealed himself as someone who would call sinners to follow him, but aren’t we glad he did! Levi may’ve been surprised by Jesus’ gracious call, but he responded with his whole heart and life. Will we do the same?
Some questions to consider for this Sunday:
Are you more like Levi or the Pharisees when it comes to Jesus’ call?
Are there people you think don’t deserve to be called by Jesus?
How have you responded to Jesus call to follow him?
Luke 5:27–32
After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”