Food Justice and Hospitality in Luke-Acts: A Historical and Contemporary Interpretation
Ebook
Food security is a multifaceted concept and extends beyond the production of, availability of, and demand for food. This book attempts to explore the meal narrations in Luke-Acts as a source for a theology of hospitality to ascertain Luke's concern for the immigrant, the poor, the homeless, the hungry, and the outcasts. This book focuses on fifteen meal scenes in Luke-Acts and contributes to Lukan scholarship on meals, particularly in addressing the issue of food insecurity. Firstly, by incorporating cultural dimensions and anthropology to understand the social context of the first-century world, this book contributes a new perspective on the Lukan audience, which was stratified by socioeconomic and religious disparities in terms of privilege, wealth, and power. Secondly, this book analyzes the Lukan concern with the social structure and the social, political, economic, and religious setting behind his emphasis on the pto[set macron over o]choi and the marginalized concerning livelihood needs such as food and shelter. Thirdly, this book connects Lukan concern with contemporary theologies that include an emphasis on hunger and hospitality, such as liberation theology, Dalit theology, and practical theology. Thus, the book challenges readers and offers a few recommendations for implementations to combat hunger and destitution.
“This marvelous book challenges us to see the familiar in Luke-Acts in a life-changing way. What happens if we interpret ‘the poor,’ as those who are starving? What happens when we honor dishonorable, destitute persons by inviting them to our banquets? What happens to our traditional Christology when we highlight Jesus who reveals himself as stranger, guest, host, and servant at the table of life? Let’s apply Luke’s meal Christology to contemporary crises such as food insecurity in India.”
—Robert J. Karris, author of Eating Your Way Through Luke’s Gospel
“This work on a Lukan theology of the poor is remarkable because it deals with the past as well as with food insecurity today. India is the context in which the voice of the poor and the marginalized as hungry people appear, and contemporary India is challenged by those marginalized who read the reflections of the communities reflected by Luke-Acts. I commend this work to all those working for justice and for the end of hunger today.”
—Mario I. Aguilar, author of After Pestilence: An Interreligious Theology of the Poor
“Unexpectedly, some of us in the West are now faced with the reality or threat of food shortages. In this timely publication, Paulraj combines a careful analysis of the rich treatment of the themes of food poverty, justice, and hospitality in Luke-Acts with a thorough understanding of contemporary policy debates. It provides a vital resource for anyone engaged in those debates, whilst shedding fresh light on the meaning of several Lukan passages.”
—Crispin Fletcher-Louis, visiting research fellow, University of Gloucestershire
- Title: Food Justice and Hospitality in Luke-Acts: A Historical and Contemporary Interpretation
- Authors: Philip F. Esler, Gideon S. S. Paulraj
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666755374, 9781666755350, 1666755354, 9781666755367, 1666755362, 1666755370
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666755374
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-05-31T00:10:46Z
GIDEON S. S. PAULRAJ is an ordained minister of the Church of South India, a Church in the Anglican Communion, and teaches courses in New Testament, Greek language, and theology. He received his PhD from the University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham. Having been born and brought up in India, he is concerned about the destitute (beggars), and this concern motivates him to read Luke-Acts and to propose a Lukan theology of hunger and hospitality.