The Feast

The Feast is now available on Family Christian Bookstore's website. Click here to order. If you are an Amazon/Barnes and Noble loyalist, I'll update when it's up there. If you are not interested in the book, please forgive my passion..this has been a work in progress for two years.

www.joshuagraves.com

In a few days, this site will become part of a new website (www.joshuagraves.com). When that happens, please change your rss feeds and bookmarks. I'm late to the game but I will also begin living in Twitter land (http://twitter.com/joshgraves) on a somewhat regular basis-- if you are interested. 

The Feast is scheduled to be available next week through Family Christian Bookstores (in store purchases are highly appreciated). LifeWay, Books-A-Million and some other regional stores will carry the book along with traditional avenues (Amazon, Barnes & Noble). These other carriers will have the book at some point during the next few months. I'll update the new site as that information is available.

Flags for Jeremy

I am constantly wondering how our churches can minister to military soldiers (both foreign and domestic). Mostly because both of my brothers-in-law have served in the U.S. military. My friend Andy recently shared something that happened in his neighborhood. I can't shake this story. I think you'll like it.

Jeremy has been in the military for a few years . He's newly married (I performed the wedding incidentally) to a wonderful young woman. Military life's been hard on him. Without going into unnecessary detail, his stint serving Uncle Sam has challenged his core identity, outlook on life, and close relationships.

Andy wanted to do something life-giving (first century Christians might call this "gospel") for Jeremy. In the midst of this burden a brilliant idea was born.

Fresh off of a military tour in Afghanistan, Jeremy returned home to Midvale street in Rochester Hills--the house he grew up in, the same street where Andy lives. Andy got word of what was about to go down. So he got his three kids together and hatched a plan: They would hunt local dollar stores in hopes to find as many tiny American flags as they could get their hands on.

They ended up with hundreds of flags.

The next day, Andy and his family walked up and down the street telling neighbors about Jeremy's return from war. Every single neighbor agreed to honor him (I'm guessing . . . even some of those who oppose both the war in Iraq and Afghanistan) by placing flags in their yard.

I walk in the tension of nationalism and patriotism. Nationalism is blind loyalty to the country one lives in over and above all other value claims (like Christianity). This breaks my heart for I am convinced some Christians are more influenced by Rush Limbaugh than Jesus's own teachings in The Sermon on the Mount.

Patriotism is not nationalism. Patriotism is different. Patriotism honors what is good and just about a particular country (e.g. The Allied Forces liberating Jews from Hitler's concentration camps) without handing over one's identity to said country.

I am not a nationalist because I've given my life over to the life and teachings of a rabbi, God-ordained prophet from Israel. I am a patriot however. There are so many beautiful things to love about this country. Equally, there are so many skeletons yet to have been fully brought out of the closet. Patriots talk about the good and the bad . . . the blessings and the curses.

Back to the flags for Jeremy.

When he returned home for this brief visit, he pulled onto the street he knew best: Midvale. As he drove slowly he noticed hundreds of flags lined up and down the entire street on both sides. He realized, in that moment, the flags were for him. I have not talked to Jeremy but I'm willing to bet that it was the first time in a long time he felt as if his life mattered. People noticed. He was a human after all, not a mere killing machine. Jeremy knocked on Andy's door and said, in genuine gratitude, "Thanks."

The flags for Jeremy are one way to make someone feel whole, complete. Whether you are for the current wars or against them, never let your passion for your side supersede your conviction that soldiers are often the pawns of a much larger war.

The church stands poised to expose this truth. One flag at a time.

If this subject interests you, this is a thread that runs throughout my book, The Feast (coming September 1).

The Feast

Thanks to my friend David Woodard for working on this project with me.

LET'S SAY YOU'RE IN A DITCH

I'm teaching today on Luke 10:25ff--one of the most popular stories in all of Scripture: The Good Samaritan.

Some who study this story say that the priest and the Levite are in a bind. They are men of God, but the law of God binds them from helping lest they become “unclean” by touching a dead body. Corpses, in this interpretive framework, are as welcomed as a preacher going to Vegas on Christmas—they just don’t go together. Out of this understanding, some believe that Jesus is challenging their love of keeping the law versus love of people.

Others who study this story say that the Samaritan in this story represents the minority person/group in a given culture. The Priest becomes the “conservative Christian” and the Samaritan becomes the “gay man some love to hate.” Or the Levite represents the “rich” and the Samaritan is the “homeless woman in Cass Park.” Or, the Religious represent “angry citizens” and the Samaritan is the “illegal citizen among us.” While all of those are challenging social constructs to consider, I don’t think they finally get at what is going on in the story.

Something deeper is going on in this story. One Jewish thinker has opened up this parable in drastic ways for me. She writes, “To understand this parable in theological terms, we need to see the image of God in everyone, not just members of our own group. To hear this parable in contemporary terms, we should think of ourselves as the person in the ditch and then ask, ‘Is there anyone from any group, about whom we’d rather die than acknowledge, She offered help or He showed compassion?’ More, is there any group whose members might rather die than help us? If so, then we find the modern equivalent for the Samaritan,” Amy Jill-Levine in The Misunderstood Jew (149).

The Feast

Things change. Things never stay the same. That's the one thing that you can count on. It's the one thing that stays the same. Make sense?

I got a call from my book publisher recently, "Josh, after talking with the marketing team and evaluating the book market . . . "

Of course I'm thinking, "They're about to pull the plug on my book. At least I'll get the contract money they've promised."

He continued, " . . . We've decided we're going to change the cover, title, and subtitle." After a carefully reasoned explanation was offered, my hear rate went down to somewhat normal levels. I actually agreed with the editor, told him, "thanks" and became excited.

So, the title is no longer Jesus Feast. The subtitle is no longer Spirituality for the Hungry. The cover is different. I still have not seen the new cover, but I'm patient.

I'm passionate about the content more than I am the look or vibe. If they think changing the book's title to The Feast: How to Serve Jesus in a Famished World will help the overall message, I'm all for it. Working with Leafwood Publishers has been outstanding thus far. I trust them a great deal.

We're a few weeks away from the book being printed. Release date is September 1st. Buy the book. That you read it is secondary (he wrote with a wry smile).