Eating with Jesus: Reflections on Divine Encounters at the Open Eucharistic Table (a new book, perfect for Maundy Thursday!)

 It is Holy Thursday/Maundy Thursday. Traditionally, this is the day (evening) that the church remembers Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples. It is a supper commemorated in numerous paintings and other works of art, with the best known being Da Vinci's "Last Supper." We don't really know who gathered for this meal. Was it just Jesus and the twelve, or was the larger community gathered, including the women. This meal, which we continue to commemorate in remembrance of Jesus when we gather at the Lord's Table. While we continue to observe a meal Jesus instituted, and my tradition, gathers at least weekly, we need to ask the question of who is actually invited to the meal. Since at least the Second Century, fences have often been placed around the table The question is, does this fit with Jesus' own dining practices?

With that question in mind, I wrote a book that I have titled Eating with Jesus: Reflections on Divine Encounters at the Open Eucharistic Table (Cascade Books, 2025). My hope is that this book will help us adopt Jesus' table practices, making the table radically open to all who will come, such that a person could have a divine encounter with Jesus. There are even eucharistic prayers as well as a hymn written by Ruth Duck. 

Eating with Jesus has been endorsed by Tom Oord and Mike Graves.

 

“The Eucharistic table has been both a source of encouragement and a battleground leading to exclusion. Robert Cornwall explores the relevant issues and biblical passages to argue for an open table. Although some in the church erect fences to keep out the ‘unworthy,’ Cornwall removes barriers as an invitation of welcome and sign of unity.”

—Thomas Jay Oord, author of Open and Relational Theology

“Our ancestors in the faith, like most everyone in the Roman Empire, gathered nightly to do two things: enjoy a feast and enter into meaningful conversation. Robert Cornwall’s Eating with Jesus accomplishes something similar. After offering serious scholarly support for an open Communion table, the latter section serves up inspirational sermons from his own pastoral ministry. For dessert, several appendices offer liturgical nuggets for experiencing an open table. Here is a book to digest, with plenty of calories.”

—Mike Graves, author of Table Talk: Rethinking Communion and Community

You can purchase copies at Wipf and Stock, 

Or, my affiliate stores at Bookshop.com or Amazon.com or your favorite store.