The meal could be an elaborate dinner
party or it could be breakfast or even
just coffee and a donut. Just sit across a
table from three people this week and…
talk. The table is the great equaliser in
relationships. When we eat together,
we discover the inherent humanity
of all people. We share stories. And
hopes. And fears. And disappointments.
People open up to each other. And we
can open up to them to share the same
things, including our faith in Jesus. As
Alan Hirsch and Lance Ford write:
“Sharing meals together on a regular
basis is one of the most sacred
practices we can engage in as
believers. Missional hospitality is a
tremendous opportunity to extend
the Kingdom of God. We can literally
eat our way into the Kingdom of
God! If every Christian household
regularly invited a stranger or a
poor person into their home for a
meal once a week, we would literally
change the world by eating!” ii
I agree. Of course, inviting well-
mannered Christian folks into your
home is easy. But what about inviting
unbelievers or the poor to our table?
What’s more, what if they reciprocate
our hospitality and invite us to their
home? Would our presence at their
table imply that we affirm all their
values? Ben Meyer addresses this in
the example of Jesus himself. After
explaining that in Jesus’ time a person
wouldn’t eat with someone of different
social standing, and certainly never with
someone of a different religion (i.e. Jews
eating at the table of Gentiles), he tells
us that Jesus turned this on its head:
“… the act of Jesus was to reverse
this structure: communion first,
conversion second. His table
fellowship with sinners implied
no acquiescence in their sins, for
the gratuity of the reign of God
cancelled none of its demands. But
in a world in which sinners stood
ineluctably condemned, Jesus’
openness to them was irresistible.
Contact triggered repentance;
conversion flowered from
communion. In the tense little world
of ancient Palestine, where religious
meanings were the warp and woof
of the social order, this was a potent
phenomenon.” iii
Conversion flowered from communion.
What a beautiful expression. We see
it in Jesus’ attendance at a meal at the
home of the tax collector Zacchaeus. iv
His communion with the sinful tax
collector led to repentance and
conversion. Likewise, we should be
as prepared to eat with sinners as a
habitual missional practice.
Initially, all I’m asking is that you invite
three people to share your table, at
least one of whom isn’t a churchgoer.
But what you’ll find happening is
that people will reciprocate your
hospitality. You’ll start getting return
invitations. And when that happens
you’ve got serious missional traction.
Don’t judge the lifestyles or eating (or
drinking) habits of your host. See the
opportunity as a goldmine for missional
relationship building. Let communion
precede conversion.
i 1 Cor. 11:17-34
ii lan Hirsch & Lance Ford, Right Here, Right Now
A
(Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2010) p. 203
iii en F. Meyer, The Aims of Jesus, (London: SCM,
B
1979) p. 161.
iv Luke 19:1-10
Global Interaction team members
share what the ‘Eat’ missional
habit looks like for them:
Rob in Cambodia Kevin in Central Asia Petina in Thailand
Since we arrived, we have looked for
opportunities to build relationships with
local Khmer people. Enjoying a morning
coffee has been a routine for many
years, so I was pleased to find a coffee
cart in our street that served a very
nice coffee with locally roasted beans.
While my wife Deb doesn’t like coffee,
she is a midwife and has enjoyed
following the progress of the coffee
cart lady’s pregnancy. Being welcomed
into the lives of the coffee cart family
gives us a sense that God is involved in
these interactions. I have befriended a local married
couple with a baby daughter. On
occasion I have invited them to my
apartment and cooked for them. It
has been so easy to talk over a meal
together. They have often invited me to
go on outings in their car. One day my
new ‘mate’ (as he calls me) informed
me that his aunt had been admitted to
hospital and was unlikely to recover
from a serious illness. I told him I would
pray for healing in the name of Jesus.
Days later he excitedly told me that the
doctors were amazed at her recovery
and she had been discharged from
hospital! This incident has galvanised
our friendship and our catch-ups
are more frequent. While sitting and
eating together at our favourite café,
complete with sleeping infant in tow,
he asks questions about being a
follower of Jesus and his wife has also
expressed interest in knowing more! I have an intentional habit of visiting
my local café at least once a week. It’s
a rustic open space with no walls, a tin
roof, wooden benches and a constantly
changing menu – whatever the owner
chooses to sell that week. Fried banana
chips, Thai green tea, whole coconuts,
bananas or meatballs on sticks (not
like the frozen Ikea variety). It’s in a
central point to town, it transforms
into part of the market precinct each
Monday and is a popular place for
people to meet. I sit and eat with the
Thai villagers, hearing about everything
that is going on in the community and
I often meet new people there. These
meals together are an important way to
be part of my community and enter into
the lives of those I am serving among –
a key part of a mission-centred life!
resonate · issue 29 · page 13