Perceptions #200046

"The Gospel According to Luke"

by Norman Bales

Sometime ago, a country singer named Skip Ewing recorded an unusual song titled, "The Gospel According to Luke." In the song, Luke was not the author of the third gospel. He was a ragged preacher named Luke, who circulated among the vagrants in a run down section of town. At first I was really turned off by the song. Luke smelled of old whiskey and he apparently had some other rough edges.

But after I listened to the song more carefully, I decided the street preacher had a message that needs wider circulation. Here's the gist of Luke's preaching - "Give to your brother if he is in need/ Offer thanks for the things you receive./ There's a treasure in heaven for the generous few./ That was the gospel according to Luke./"

I thought about Luke awhile back, after responding to a message on my answering machine. A couple of fellows wanted me to buy them a tank of gasoline to complete a trip for medical treatment. They sounded persuasive enough to convince me that I needed to respond. With some reservation, I called back and asked them to meet me at a service station. As I drove to the station, I'll have to admit that I was somewhat suspicious. To put it mildly, I've been royally conned with this kind of story so many times that I've lost count. I've been threatened, guilt tripped and cussed out by people asking for help. I think you get the picture. I'm not naïve anymore and I tend to view any person who asks for help with a high degree of skepticism. It was late in the evening and I was tired and to be quite honest, I resented this intrusion on my time.

They were not dressed like models for Gentleman's Quarterly. They'll never make even make the cover of Field and Stream. When I saw them, I thought they might have been part of Luke's congregation. One man was dirty, unshaven and shabbily dressed. The other wore only a pair of shorts and no shirt. I can't remember if he wore shoes. I did take note of a leather brace over one knee. He said he picked up the injury in Viet Nam. They had a distinct body odor, but I didn't pick up the smell of alcohol. Whatever my thoughts might have been, their request was legitimate. They showed me a computer printout confirming their medical appointment and the medical treatment needed by the guy with the brace on his knee. They were due at a veteran's hospital several miles away the next morning.

Later that evening it dawned on me that this was not just another "benevolent case." I had been confronted by the Lord. Jesus said in Matthew 25. "Whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me." Perhaps we all need to pay more attention to the gospel according to Luke.

Norman's e-mail address: nlbales@allaboutfamilies.org

top of page    previous article    Perceptions Index