THE QUICK SUMMARY
Conversation around a simple meal may mean more to the Lord than all the hype we generate in busy churches. The act of opening our homes and our lives to friends and strangers holds real promise for spiritual growth.
Most of us lead very private, busy lives and complain that we experience little community. We tend to be over-programmed, protective of our time and families, and passive when it comes to inviting people over for a meal.
Yet hospitality remains one of Christ’s most basic provisions for community. The Lord accomplishes extraordinary work over ordinary meals. In this most basic of ways, materiality and spirituality converge.
Douglas Webster offers a thoughtful and biblical explanation of the value of hospitality and the importance of “table grace.” The relevant questions that conclude each chapter help the reader understand why meals with meaning matter.
A SIMPLE SOLUTION
Author Douglas Webster believes that God’s invitation to table fellowship can be found throughout the Bible. He states that, “A simple meal is one of the best places to begin to practice true spirituality.”
A study of Scriptures reveals that Jesus invited more people to lunch than He did to the synagogue.
To the surprise of many, eating and prayer belong to one another. Devotion to God and friendship with one another meet “around the table.” God designed us in such a way that the measure of our communion with Him is reflected in the depth of our relationships with others.
Table fellowship reminds us that there is a remarkable symmetry between our communion with God and our commination with one other.
One of the best-kept secrets about hospitality is that those who offer it benefit more than those who receive it. When we as Christians open our homes to friends and strangers, set the table, put on a meal, and break bread together, we invite God’s blessing.
Table fellowship fits into the New Testament narrative so unobtrusively that we can almost miss it. A simple meal was the context for much of Jesus’ interaction with his disciples. The Master intended spiritual growth to occur during mealtime fellowship. In His ministry, physical and spiritual nourishment ran together in the ordinary course of daily life. He fed the body and the soul.
Spirituality is often squeezed into a corner of life reserved for pious reflections and church services. But God intended spirituality to be at the center of our ordinary, everyday life together. Table grace refers to much more than the prayer at the beginning of a meal.
Table grace is food for the mind, a metaphor for communion with God.
Table grace is food for the body, a means for sustaining physical strength.
Table grace is food for the soul, a method for understanding God’s values.
Table grace is food for the hungry, a model for serving Christ and His Kingdom.
The metaphor pictures the message; the means links body and soul in community; the method sets the strategy for holistic spirituality; and the model empowers the mission. Eating is serious business, but in a well-defined way.
Douglas Webster, Table Grace: The Role of Hospitality in the Christian Life
A NEXT STEP
Author Douglas Webster developed the following questions for consideration and discussion around the topic of table grace. Set aside some time both individually and as a family to talk about them.
How have you experienced this biblical theme of table grace in your life? When have you served as “host” for others? When you have been another’s “guest”?
Why is it easy or difficult for you to talk about your faith in Christ over a meal? How do spiritual preparations factor into your practices of hospitality?
In what ways can you integrate true spirituality into your ordinary daily life?
How have you personally benefited from hospitality?
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