The Hunger for Home - by Matthew Croasmun & Miroslav Volf (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Through a set of passages focused on the theme of food in the Gospel of Luke, Croasmun and Volf offer readers a vision of a meal as the quintessential enactment of home: a site of nourishing mutual encounter between people, places, and God that makes present the eschatological home that it represents"--

Book Synopsis

What do the fields, rivers, and streams that provide food have to do with the God who created them? How do we become at home in this world where so many hunger for food, for companionship, or for the presence of God?

"Scripture is also a feast." As an invitation to feast at the table of God's word, The Hunger for Home explores the deepest human longings for home through the simple ingredients of bread, water, wine, and stories. Matthew Croasmun and Miroslav Volf read the meals of the Gospel of Luke as stories of God eating with God's people. By making a common home with us in this way, God turns all our meals into invitations to eat in God's home--a home with a seat open for all who are willing. No longer is bread simply fuel for getting through the day, but also a call to be present to the agricultural workers, grocers, chefs, friends, and strangers with whom food connects us: everyone God is calling to the banquet. As Croasmun and Volf show, Luke gives us an image of creation at home by bringing God into the home, as it was always meant to be.

Review Quotes

This book holds particular value for those operating within practical settings, such as small groups and spiritual formation classes, but it is also of interest to individuals looking to deepen their understanding of the subject. It serves as an effective point of discussion, made particularly digestible due to its brevity and clarity. Additionally, students who are seeking to write on topics of community, hospitality, embodiment, and, most straightforwardly, meals would be wise to utilize this resource in their research.

--Jacob L. Bishop "Reading Religion"

Of special and particular interest to readers focused on the subjects of Christian Eschatology, Christian Meditation, Christian Worship/Devotion, and New Testament Studies, The Hunger for Home: Food and Meals in the Gospel of Luke is an informative, thought-provoking, and ultimately inspiring study that is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, clergy, seminary student, and academic library Christian Studies collections.

--Wisconsin Bookwatch "The Midwest Book Review"

At once theologically constructive and historically inflected, this text is versatile: it would serve well both as the centerpiece of an adult education series and as devotional literature for individual readers.

-- "The Christian Century"

About the Author

Matthew Croasmun is Associate Research Scholar and Director of the Life Worth Living Program at the Yale Center for Faith & Culture.

Miroslav Volf is the Henry B. Wright Professor of Systematic Theology at Yale Divinity School and the Founding Director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture.