Read Online The Gospel According to Luke by Emily Maguire - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Emily Maguire
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youâre the expert, Luke. What do you reckon?â
He pretended his mouth was full, gesturing apologetically, forcing himself to concentrate. They had been talking about inner city youth ministry. Something about reaching out to the unchurched. Graham, the boy whoâd asked the question, wanted to take his youth group into the city backstreets, have them preach to the down-and-out on their own turf. Someone else at the table thought that was a mistake because of the biblical injunction to stay away from sin.
Aggie
he thought. He faked a swallow, took a large sip of water, flicked through his mental database for a relevant scriptural illustration.
âThis discussion makes me think of Peter,â Luke said and smiled. âRemember how he forced himself to sit down and eat with all those unclean gentiles, eating food which hadnât been prepared according to dietarylaw? Scripture told him this was wrong, but Peter felt called by God to reach out. He realised that God hadnât got the old laws written down and then retired. God was â is! â active, involved. He sees whatâs going on down here and He knows that some things canât be solved in the way they wouldâve been two thousand years ago. He calls us â calls Graham here â to a new interpretation.â
Graham beamed, the girl sitting next to Luke patted his back, told him she could understand why theyâd given the Youth Centre to him. âYouâre the real deal, Luke Butler,â she said. âGod is so alive in you.â
He left the conference early, snuck into the NCYC through the back gate and went straight to his cabin. He needed solitude to think and pray. He found the connection to the Holy Spirit heâd failed to find at the conference and suddenly he was inspired; the true meaning of his new obsession was stunningly apparent.
He leant into the window, weeping into the darkness outside, letting his tears run down his cheeks, onto his throat and then his chest.
Lord, I thought I knew you, I thought I understood the way you loved your creation, but my knowledge was incomplete and shallow. But I understand now, I really do
. This
is how you feel about humanity
.
This is what it is to adore, to cherish, to
love
a weak and sinful human being. In loving her, I finally understand how you can love the least of us, love
me,
and I thank you for this insight, this joy
.
Once a month, Luke gave a sermon at the main city church. The idea was to keep his preaching skills alive and, at the same time, reassure the parents of the NCYC kids that the man in charge of them was an honest to goodness, real deal, Christian Revolution minister. He enjoyed leading the service, but was less fond of the hand-shaking and conversation afterward.
On the Sunday night he was to see Aggie, he spoke on the need for Christians to lead the community in tolerance toward ethnic minorities. The sermon bordered on political, and he noted the frown on Pastor Rileyâs face, but he also noted the expressions of shock on some of his congregation and the electric way they whispered to each other when he had finished. He knew he had succeeded in piercing their layers of indifference and hubris.
After the sermon, Luke had six invitations to share the evening meal. Five of them were from the families of young women he knew were interested, and the other was from Belinda who gushed about the âbravenessâ of his sermon and told him it inspired her to go eat at that little Turkish place down the road. Luke turned down all offers with the truth that he had a previous engagement, and deftly avoided further questioning from Belinda by exclaiming his lateness.
Her house was enormous, taking up the entire corner block of her street. It appeared to be three storeys, plus an attic, and the front garden was crowded withred and yellow rose bushes and several varieties of wildflowers that he could not identify. He had never known anyone to
He pretended his mouth was full, gesturing apologetically, forcing himself to concentrate. They had been talking about inner city youth ministry. Something about reaching out to the unchurched. Graham, the boy whoâd asked the question, wanted to take his youth group into the city backstreets, have them preach to the down-and-out on their own turf. Someone else at the table thought that was a mistake because of the biblical injunction to stay away from sin.
Aggie
he thought. He faked a swallow, took a large sip of water, flicked through his mental database for a relevant scriptural illustration.
âThis discussion makes me think of Peter,â Luke said and smiled. âRemember how he forced himself to sit down and eat with all those unclean gentiles, eating food which hadnât been prepared according to dietarylaw? Scripture told him this was wrong, but Peter felt called by God to reach out. He realised that God hadnât got the old laws written down and then retired. God was â is! â active, involved. He sees whatâs going on down here and He knows that some things canât be solved in the way they wouldâve been two thousand years ago. He calls us â calls Graham here â to a new interpretation.â
Graham beamed, the girl sitting next to Luke patted his back, told him she could understand why theyâd given the Youth Centre to him. âYouâre the real deal, Luke Butler,â she said. âGod is so alive in you.â
He left the conference early, snuck into the NCYC through the back gate and went straight to his cabin. He needed solitude to think and pray. He found the connection to the Holy Spirit heâd failed to find at the conference and suddenly he was inspired; the true meaning of his new obsession was stunningly apparent.
He leant into the window, weeping into the darkness outside, letting his tears run down his cheeks, onto his throat and then his chest.
Lord, I thought I knew you, I thought I understood the way you loved your creation, but my knowledge was incomplete and shallow. But I understand now, I really do
. This
is how you feel about humanity
.
This is what it is to adore, to cherish, to
love
a weak and sinful human being. In loving her, I finally understand how you can love the least of us, love
me,
and I thank you for this insight, this joy
.
Once a month, Luke gave a sermon at the main city church. The idea was to keep his preaching skills alive and, at the same time, reassure the parents of the NCYC kids that the man in charge of them was an honest to goodness, real deal, Christian Revolution minister. He enjoyed leading the service, but was less fond of the hand-shaking and conversation afterward.
On the Sunday night he was to see Aggie, he spoke on the need for Christians to lead the community in tolerance toward ethnic minorities. The sermon bordered on political, and he noted the frown on Pastor Rileyâs face, but he also noted the expressions of shock on some of his congregation and the electric way they whispered to each other when he had finished. He knew he had succeeded in piercing their layers of indifference and hubris.
After the sermon, Luke had six invitations to share the evening meal. Five of them were from the families of young women he knew were interested, and the other was from Belinda who gushed about the âbravenessâ of his sermon and told him it inspired her to go eat at that little Turkish place down the road. Luke turned down all offers with the truth that he had a previous engagement, and deftly avoided further questioning from Belinda by exclaiming his lateness.
Her house was enormous, taking up the entire corner block of her street. It appeared to be three storeys, plus an attic, and the front garden was crowded withred and yellow rose bushes and several varieties of wildflowers that he could not identify. He had never known anyone to
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