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Meeting Jesus at the Table: A Lenten Study by Kevin Burns, Cynthia M Campbell, Christine Coy Fohr
drbobcornwall's review
4.0
The Table plays a central role in the Christian story. It is the locus of one of two sacraments agreed upon by almost the entire Christian community. We celebrate the Eucharist/Holy Communion/Lord's Supper to remember and celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. What we call the Last Supper, when Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper as a remembrance, is rooted in Jesus' larger Table fellowship. So, it's worth exploring how Jesus shared the table, not just on the night prior to his death but throughout his ministry. What better season to do so than Lent?
"Meeting Jesus at the Table: A Lenten Study" was written by Cynthia Campbell, former President of McCormick Theological Seminary, and Christine Coy Fohr, pastor of Harvey Browne Presbyterian Church in Louisville. They were joined by the late Kevin Burns, who provided artwork and reflections to accompany the reflections offered by Campbell and Fohr.
Lent is a season of reflection and preparation for the coming of Good Friday and Easter. As such it essentially moves toward its culmination on Maundy Thursday. Many congregations and individuals use this time for devotional reading and study groups. This particular book is designed to assist in that purpose. Some Lenten materials are designed for daily reflection, but this book is designed for weekly study and reflection. There is a "Guide for Church Leaders" at the end of the book that provides guidance on setting up study groups and designing preaching series focused on the texts and reflections in the book, as well as hospitality and outreach suggestions.
The authors provide us with eight reflections, each about six pages in length, that take us through Lent to Easter Sunday, the final chapter. They draw texts from all four gospels, inviting us to consider Jesus' feeding of the multitude, eating with tax collectors and sinners, a dinner interruption (Luke's story of the woman who broke into the dinner party and anointed Jesus' feet), Jesus' instructions about who to invite to the Table, filling seats at the Table when the invited guests don't show up; a meal with friends (Mary, Martha, & Lazarus in John); what the authors call "not the Last Supper" (Matthew's version of the "Last Supper"); and finally, the Easter encounter on the road to Emmaus. Each of these chapters includes a series of questions for reflection and discussion, as well as the illustrations and the artist's reflections.
The authors remind us that while the New Testament doesn't tell us very much about how the Lord's Supper was observed in the early church, stories about dining together are found everywhere in the New Testament. Thus, they write in the introduction that "in this study, we invite you to explore some of the stories about Jesus and tables, and through them, to reflect on how tables shape our identity as followers of Christ" (p. xi). They acknowledge that there is no agreement as to who is welcome at the Lord's Table in our contemporary churches. They leave that discussion up to others (something I am working on in my own writing projects), but these reflections raise enough questions that it might come up in conversation!
Since I believe that the Lord's Table is central to our life together as Christians, I believe it's important to have conversations around the subject. Since Jesus' own practices and teachings touch on these matters, it's important that spend time with these texts, especially passages from the Gospels. For that, we can be thankful for this Lenten study.
I can heartily recommend this book to anyone considering how to approach Lent. If not this year, surely it should be put on the front burner for the following year! In the meantime, it will do the heart and the spirit good to reflect on these readings.
"Meeting Jesus at the Table: A Lenten Study" was written by Cynthia Campbell, former President of McCormick Theological Seminary, and Christine Coy Fohr, pastor of Harvey Browne Presbyterian Church in Louisville. They were joined by the late Kevin Burns, who provided artwork and reflections to accompany the reflections offered by Campbell and Fohr.
Lent is a season of reflection and preparation for the coming of Good Friday and Easter. As such it essentially moves toward its culmination on Maundy Thursday. Many congregations and individuals use this time for devotional reading and study groups. This particular book is designed to assist in that purpose. Some Lenten materials are designed for daily reflection, but this book is designed for weekly study and reflection. There is a "Guide for Church Leaders" at the end of the book that provides guidance on setting up study groups and designing preaching series focused on the texts and reflections in the book, as well as hospitality and outreach suggestions.
The authors provide us with eight reflections, each about six pages in length, that take us through Lent to Easter Sunday, the final chapter. They draw texts from all four gospels, inviting us to consider Jesus' feeding of the multitude, eating with tax collectors and sinners, a dinner interruption (Luke's story of the woman who broke into the dinner party and anointed Jesus' feet), Jesus' instructions about who to invite to the Table, filling seats at the Table when the invited guests don't show up; a meal with friends (Mary, Martha, & Lazarus in John); what the authors call "not the Last Supper" (Matthew's version of the "Last Supper"); and finally, the Easter encounter on the road to Emmaus. Each of these chapters includes a series of questions for reflection and discussion, as well as the illustrations and the artist's reflections.
The authors remind us that while the New Testament doesn't tell us very much about how the Lord's Supper was observed in the early church, stories about dining together are found everywhere in the New Testament. Thus, they write in the introduction that "in this study, we invite you to explore some of the stories about Jesus and tables, and through them, to reflect on how tables shape our identity as followers of Christ" (p. xi). They acknowledge that there is no agreement as to who is welcome at the Lord's Table in our contemporary churches. They leave that discussion up to others (something I am working on in my own writing projects), but these reflections raise enough questions that it might come up in conversation!
Since I believe that the Lord's Table is central to our life together as Christians, I believe it's important to have conversations around the subject. Since Jesus' own practices and teachings touch on these matters, it's important that spend time with these texts, especially passages from the Gospels. For that, we can be thankful for this Lenten study.
I can heartily recommend this book to anyone considering how to approach Lent. If not this year, surely it should be put on the front burner for the following year! In the meantime, it will do the heart and the spirit good to reflect on these readings.
sponsler's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A Lenten study that explores several aspects of Jesus's teaching, especially involving food and the community interactions that surround food. A worthwhile study.
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