A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, & Mission Around the Table

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A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, & Mission Around the Table

4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 · rating details · 176 ratings · 48 reviews

The meals of Jesus represent something bigger. They represent a new world, a new kingdom, a new outlook.

Tim Chester brings to light God's purposes in the seemingly ordinary act of sharing a meal--how this everyday experience is really an opportunity for grace, community, and mission. Chester challenges contemporary understandings of hospitality as he urges us to evaluate w...more

Paperback, 143 pages

Published April 7th 2011 by Crossway Books (first published April 5th 2011)

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Jan 30, 2013 Valerie Kyriosity rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was really excited to read this book, and I really wanted to love it, but I just kinda didn't. I didn't hate it either, and there was certainly some good stuff in there, but it didn't offer the inspiration and encouragement I'd hoped for. That may be my fault -- I may have been wanting it to be something other than what it was, and therefore rendered myself unable to appreciate it.

I think what was most lacking was illustrative stories. How does eating together change us and our world? This in ...more I was really excited to read this book, and I really wanted to love it, but I just kinda didn't. I didn't hate it either, and there was certainly some good stuff in there, but it didn't offer the inspiration and encouragement I'd hoped for. That may be my fault -- I may have been wanting it to be something other than what it was, and therefore rendered myself unable to appreciate it.

I think what was most lacking was illustrative stories. How does eating together change us and our world? This interview with Rosaria Butterfield packed the sort of punch I was hoping for. Although A Meal with Jesus contained some little snippets of how the author and his friends practice hospitality and community, the overall effect was too abstract and theoretical.

I had some theological quibbles throughout. I appreciated the references to Peter Leithart's Blessed Are the Hungry (which I am now itchin' to read), but Chester's sacramental theology ended up being a bit off. He dismisses the effectiveness of observing the Lord's Supper in the midst of formal liturgy, calling instead for a "love feast" approach in small home groups. He even praises a friend's church for ditching corporate worship once a month in favor of "scattered gatherings" in homes. I cannot overstate how freaked out I get over placing mission above worship. Over and over again I have seen how disastrous it is. His eschatology, too, is lacking. He sees the future of the church as small pockets of the faithful amidst the worldly world, and dismisses the idea of a new Christendom. He wanders a little too far into political correctness, i.e., sentiments like Down with Walmart because it's big. His disdain of "potluck suppers in draughty church halls" is unjust. For one thing, that sort of gathering is a blessing and often an only practical option for a geographically scattered congregation. For another, you're not going to encourage the church to grow in hospitality by pooh-poohing the efforts they're already making. And he calls Jesus a "party animal," which just kinda irks me.

On the plus side, Chester gets it that excommunication is a useless disciplinary action if there's little or no communion to be exed from. He rejects gnosticism by promoting the physicality of Jesus and of eating. "Food is not left behind with the resurrection. References to a future feast are not just metaphors for an ethereal future existence." "The world is more delicious than it needs to be." Food reminds us of our dependence on God and on others. "We need to pray for our daily bread not because we're worried about where our next meal might come from, but because we're not." "People don't want to be projects" is always a good reminder. He does a good job addressing the excuses people make for not pursuing hospitality in their homes. I liked this insight: "Jesus will experience in the Supper a glimpse of the goal of his work of salvation. In that experience he will be reassured that the suffering that weighs so heavy on his heart is worth it. ... The meal functions in the same way for us. What we call 'the Lord's Supper' is a foretaste of 'the Lamb's Supper.'"

Chester's call to use meals as a means to breaking down barriers is a little muddled. On the one hand he notes that, metaphorically, we are all poor, blind, crippled, and lame (p. 79), yet he scolds Christians who gather together as a "cozy support group" rather than in "adventurous mission" (p.82). Surely there's room and need for both. He identifies the traditional category of the elite as the wealthy and self-righteous, but does that necessarily fit in our culture? I don't think our in/out divide is strictly or even mostly a rich/poor divide. "Coolness" is a powerful kind of elitism in our culture, and the self-righteousness of political correctness is potent and hard to see.

A couple of it's-not-the-author's-fault notes: The book could have used better editing to help direct the flow of the arguments. The typography was irritating. (Yes, this sounds petty, but noting such things is a professional hazard with me!)

I am looking forward to going through it again with our parish small group, and I do hope that our reading it together as a church will have the effect of stimulating our collective efforts at hospitality. Maybe I'll revisit my review after the study and see if working through the book in community has improved it.(less)

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Jan 31, 2012 Adam Bradley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: theology

I feel I should apologize for only giving this book three stars. It really is very good, and succeeds at what it tries to do. My only real complaint is that it falls short of what it could, indeed should, have been.

Strictly from the perspective of content, I agree with much Tim Chester has to say in this book, particularly with his (too brief, in my opinion) criticism of the ritualization of the Lord's Supper/Eucharist/Communion in our churches. "We're the group in town whose central meal involv...more

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Jan 29, 2012 Mathew rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: theology

I already hinted around about my review of A Meal with Jesus here (“Missional Living: A Meal for the Sake of the Gospel”). Over the last year the Spirit is really moving my heart into a deeper understanding of the gospel. Three themes have contributed to this growth in my own life: racism, adoption, and food. These three are all connected directly to our understanding of the gospel and how that looks practically. I would argue it looks primarily like a family. A Meal for Jesus is an exposition o...more

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Aug 05, 2012 Brendan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, theology

A great, short book on the theology behind food. Anyone looking to understand more on the subject of communion, missional community, or hospitality needs to read this.

I discovered this book while searching online for articles about Gospel-centered hospitality, and so I ordered it on Amazon. Chester's co-authored book "Total Church" revolutionized the way I viewed community, and this one did not fail to revolutionize my view on hospitality and meal-sharing. He spends the entirety of the book out...more

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Jul 15, 2011 Jo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

This book looks through a series of episodes in Luke's gospel involving meals that Jesus ate, aiming to show through them how meals eaten in Christian community today are both a picture of Jesus' meals with his friends on earth and a foretaste of the heavenly banquet to come.

There is lots of food for thought in this book, and much that would bear repeated readings. I found the chapter on the Lord's supper particularly thought-provoking.

It's quite a slim volume, but it can't be read at speed as t...more

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Jan 22, 2012 Mandy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-own, mandys-reads

MY REVIEW:

I have always known that The Son of Man came to "seek and save the lost" but never have I thought about The Son of Man coming to eat and drink as found in Luke 7:34. In this short, yet very thought-provoking read Tim Chester digs into the book of Luke to show us how Jesus used meals as more than just a time to nourish His body but rather a time to feed the souls of many. Using the example of Jesus, Chester exhorts us in 6 chapter to apply the service of hospitality in our own lives to...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Shelley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: christianity, food, home-and-hospitality, non-fiction

People will often say that Gandhi and Jesus had a lot in common. While I'm sure some similarities exist, I think such a view betrays a superficial understanding of both men. Take one example: their diverging attitudes about food. Gandhi appeared to have a rather strained and fickle relationship with food. He held the view that one's taste for food was inextricably linked with one's sexual appetite – and both were inherently vulgar, debased, impure – desires to be squelched. In his mind, the disc...more

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Myev A great review Shelley. I love hearing about non-ascetic Christian perspectives on food. Part of what makes me love Judaism are the the theological an...more
Aug 05, 2011 02:44pm

Shelley Hi Myev! Thank you for your encouraging comment and for taking part in the discussion. How I wish we could talk more about this over a meal! :) Hope y...more
Sep 02, 2011 05:47pm

Apr 21, 2012 Matthijs rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: christian, inspirational

Interesting book about the significance of sharing meals together. Tim Chester uses this premise to expand widely on churchly cultural significance, community building, and basically explains the gospel from the starting point of one of Jesus' meals. For me he stretched the subject a bit too much and uses the meals as a starting point for an often only mildly related discussion of church practice, theological issues or cultural criticism. This also made it a bit repetitive at times, the book fee...more

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Sep 06, 2011 Jared Totten rated it 5 of 5 stars

It has been a while since a book so surprised and delighted me as did A Meal With Jesus by Tim Chester. The way in which something so mundane and average as a meal was vested with such theological depth and significance was astounding. And yet, Tim is only following in the pattern that Jesus set in his ministry. He has found the gospel in the grub, or as the subtitle puts it: "Discovering grace, community, and mission around the table".

Jesus is called "a glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax co...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Mike Knox rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: evangelism, non-fiction, missions

A great quote on Lord’s Supper:

In a busy culture with people desperate to succeed, we practice in Communion resting on the finished work of Christ. In a fragmented culture that is radically individualistic, we practice in Communion belonging to one another. In a dissatisfied culture of constant striving, we practice in Communion receiving this world with joy as a gift from God. In a narcissistic culture of self-fulfillment, we practice in Communion joyous self-denial and service. In a proud cult

...more

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Oct 18, 2011 Aaron Carlberg rated it 4 of 5 stars

Tim Chester is great...but, each chapter starts off with a basic principle or bible story that relates to the meal (community and fellowship). It's all true, but I still felt he could have said what he said in less words.

I am not saying the book is bad, its great. Sometimes I just have so many books to read that (and here is my metaphor) I wish he would get to the stuffing of the turkey faster (so to speak) rather than talking about the basting and pan.

If you are new the scriptures then take it...more

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Jun 14, 2011 Kara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: theology, reviews-all, reviews-crossway

The title and description of A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission around the Table immediately caught my eye and I knew it was definitely a book I'd like to review. Developing a heart for hospitality in our family is something we try to be intentional about so I'm always on the lookout for good resources.

A Meal with Jesus is different than most other books I've seen about hospitality. Rather than focusing on "how to do" hospitality, it focuses on the theology behind hospi...more

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Dec 20, 2011 Adam Shields rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Short review: Interesting concept, looking at the different ways the meal is important to Christianity. The best chapters were on meals as missional activity and meals as grace. The discussion on Jesus as seen through Luke was also good. The book just seemed to be missing something though. And I am not sure what. I think we should think about meals and our intention with people well. I think that scripture wants us to focus on people, I think that the eucharist says something spiritually and phy...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Ian Rees rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: christian-life

I wanted to be more excited about this than I actually was. The concepts behind it are extremely important and challenging to our individualistic culture - and where I work, surburbanites need to hear this in their isolated lives. Tim's examples of the way community meals work and draw people together were good, as were his examples of the things you can do to bring people together to eat and the encouragements he gives to those who think they have to produce a five-course meal in order to offer...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Becky Pliego rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: family, favorites, living-the-gospel, read-in-2013

Excellent book. I read it on Kindle but enjoyed it so much that I want to re-read it in paper!

NOTE: I read it on the paper for the second time in April 2013, and I still give it five stars.

I appreciate that Chester in the second chapter of his book (p.52) deals with the issue of excommunication.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

"Food matters. Meal matters. meals are full of significance. 'Few acts are more expressive of companionship than the shared meal...'"

"Our life at the table, no matte...more

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Sep 07, 2011 Trice marked it as interested-in

Shelves: culture-studies, theology-and-faith-studies, to-borrow-acquire

Tim Challies has pulled out some interesting quotes about families eating together and the importance of community and eating as an expression of dependence and how our modern set-up blinds us to this

2011/09/05 just barely started reading this, but what I read made me think Mr. Chester's wife should have been the one writing this book instead of him. He talks in the beginning about being grateful for how much she puts into cheerfully making meals for their family. Later however, as an example of...more Tim Challies has pulled out some interesting quotes about families eating together and the importance of community and eating as an expression of dependence and how our modern set-up blinds us to this

2011/09/05 just barely started reading this, but what I read made me think Mr. Chester's wife should have been the one writing this book instead of him. He talks in the beginning about being grateful for how much she puts into cheerfully making meals for their family. Later however, as an example of a lack of hospitality, he talks about an unpleasant look and unencouraging words he received from a secretary or assistant at a meeting when he asked her for tea after being offered coffee. Perhaps this wasn't such a huge request, but the way it was described made me think a few things, the foremost being 'what an ungrateful wretch!' Has he ever been the one putting together the refreshments for a meal, an event, a meeting? Who knows what else she had to do and, considering both this interaction and his reaction to it, who knows what he'd already thrown her way in terms of extra requests. Even thinking this I felt guilty, and writing it, of course, I feel a bit embarrassed... because I'm not supposed to feel these things. I'm supposed to only be thinking about how I, as an individual, can offer welcoming hospitality to people. But I can't help but feel the gender issues in his opening. And think of men sitting around chatting in the living room while the women rush around the kitchen and dining room frantically to get things ready. No, it's true, when people come to my house I would rather be able to offer them something they'd enjoy, rather than have them take something just because it's offered to them (and if I marry at some point, I hope my husband will feel the same way, for thought and prep and serving all). Guess I feel hospitality spills over into who we are as guests as well as hosts. Don't know where to go with this. I'm stuck in my annoyance at his attitude - and the hint of a masculine smugness and judgmentalism. I'm also reading a whole bunch of other books right now and wasn't making a serious stab at this one at the moment - perhaps when I do I'll get past this beginning and find a true builder for spirit and ministry and life and community.(less)

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Jun 22, 2011 Joe Taylor rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: christians-and-the-culture, spiritual-growth

Overall I appreciate the renewed emphasis on community and fellowship around meals and gathering, yet I found this book wanting. While there is a strong emphasis on acceptance I did not see a strong emphasis on the themes of sanctification and repentance that also is embodied in the act of fellowship around a meal. I felt an artificial tension between the table of a home and the community of the synagogue. While this is a good start on the importance of fellowship the circle is still incomplete.

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Feb 20, 2013 Robin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Really strong in his chapter in food and mission, especially in naming different attitudes in this across social classes, and in emphasising how wonderfully ordinary being intentional about sharing meals can be. Sone great comments on sharing with rather than giving to the poor.

Other chapters lacked grounding in tangibility for me. and I felt he (or maybe I) lost focus e.g. Subtitle and intro all about community, grace and mission, then chapters on salvation and hope tagged on.

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Aug 03, 2012 Mark A Powell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Chester advances a fresh take on the seemingly innocuous act of eating, tracing the purpose of meals—and the food served at them—back to the gospel. While some might argue that meals are perhaps not as comprehensive as Chester details here, he does make a very convincing argument for his stance. If nothing else, reading this book lends to careful thought about everything from family dinners to pot-luck lunches to the Lord’s Supper. Highly recommended.

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Jan 08, 2013 David Robertson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: church, evangelism

I loved this book (and so did my wife). Food and Christianity have always gone together - Tim Chester shows why. Hospitality is a gift from God - and one that is essential for church leaders to practice. Personally I would make this book complusory reading for all my elders. Superb! "The problem here is not the party. The Pharisees knew God's kingdom was going to be a party. Their objection is to the guest list".

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Jan 01, 2013 Johnny Mcclean rated it 5 of 5 stars

We have a ministry with students in Thailand that involves a lot of hospitality. This is the 1st Christian book that we've read that looks at how Jesus came 'eating and drinking' and what that means for us as Christians. I like the fact it basically takes the reader through Luke's gospel showing us that the author isn't faddish but Biblical.

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Jan 07, 2013 Katie Bliss rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: christian

Great book that we studied in our small group about the ministry of Christ through meals, mostly as revealed through the book of Luke. It makes you appreciate food and the company of others and see it in a whole new evangelistic light, and definitely was convicting. It prompted me to make some new goals in getting to know my neighbors, not judging people, and just loving people and being humble like Christ. His favorite people were annoying, depressed, deformed, basically unlovely people - and s...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Sandy rated it 4 of 5 stars

"The son of man came eating and drinking" Shared meals are at the heart of christian faith and fellowship.This book looks at the meals Jesus shared and how we can share ourselves around the table as we feast together.

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Apr 08, 2013 Mundy Carroll rated it 3 of 5 stars

Found lots of the book relevant, and challenging...encouraged to try to open my home a bit more, to people from our church family, and those outside of it.

Did feel that some of the Bible use was pushing it - "proof-texting", although perhaps if you're writing on a specific subject that's difficult to avoid.

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Aug 15, 2012 Joshua Reitano rated it 5 of 5 stars

Fantastic. One of the best books I have read this year. Can't recommend it enough. Chester examines of 6 instances of meals with Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Luke, with a particular emphasis on what these meals picture. Also lots of practical wisdom on the virtue of hospitality.

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Sep 21, 2011 Carrie Davis rated it 5 of 5 stars

Great, quick read! If you want to grow in hopsitality & give some thought to the importance of sharing meals together, read this book! Took away some good, practical ideas from this book.

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Oct 03, 2012 Jerry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sacraments

Communion is a bigger deal than we think. Chester looks at the meals of Jesus to inform our understanding of the supper.

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Feb 15, 2012 Andy Anderson rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: small group leaders, people who like to have others over for a meal.

Shelves: theology

I never realized how much food and eating is mentioned in the Bible. Great book if you want to make your parties/meals/gatherings more intentional.

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Feb 10, 2013 Douglas Wilson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: pastoral-ministry

Really worthwhile. A lot of good stuff in here. There were some meh moments also, but it was good.

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 01, 2013 Jason Joy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: christianity

Easy to read. Book deals with using meals to connect with others in disciple making

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About Tim Chester

Dr Tim Chester is involved in The Crowded House, a church planting initiative in Sheffield, UK. He was previously Research & Policy Director for Tearfund UK, and has been published widely on prayer, mission, social issues and theology. He is married to Helen and has two daughters.

More about Tim Chester...

Books by Tim Chester

Total Church: A Radical Reshaping Around Gospel and Community

You Can Change: God's Transforming Power For Our Sinful Behavior And Negative Emotions

Everyday Church: Gospel Communities on Mission

Everyday Church: Mission By Being Good Neighbours

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