Stranger is fiction?

As an intellectual conceit, the idea of a dinner with Jesus Christ of Nazareth would be fascinating. Think of all the questions you would ask him. Think of all the great stories he would tell. Your evening might begin with a quick nosh on some appetizers as Jesus discussed his childhood growing up in Nazareth, and then somewhere over salad, he might begin to talk about his ministry. I would imagine that there might be a few surprises - some things we have never heard and some things that we don't want to hear. As with all meals that we've had over the years with old friends or distant heroes, the evening would be full of unexpected twists and turns that would nevertheless be entirely satisfying.

So it was with great anticipation that I started reading Dinner with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory (see details below). Its the story of Nick Cominsky, a young married man with a daughter, who is struggling with his marriage and his job. One day he gets an invitation to have dinner with Jesus Christ. Now, at this point, you could take the story in two directions - the one I suggested above or a more straight-forward, YEAH RIGHT approach. The author chose the latter approach and I found that it was oddly compelling because even though its represented exactly as the story appears, there was a part of me that kept wondering whether the author might weasel out at the end and have Jesus turn out to be an actor or something. Anyway, Nick is certain that this is a practical joke set up by his friends in the office, but he is curious enough to check it out and goes to the dinner. What follows is a conversation that stays with Nick and with us readers for a long time to come.

What would it really be like to have a conversation with Jesus? I love David Gregory's approach to have the conversation be very, very personal. His concept of Jesus is not the one that many of us would conjure up as a fascinating dinner guest - a virtual authority on anything and everything. By instead having Jesus be Nick's personal Lord and Savior - the type of Diety that might take an evening off from His busy schedule to spend an evening having dinner with us on a one to one basis - David Gregory makes Jesus even more real and powerful. This is not the sort of diety who needs to tell us about all the great things he's done, but is the sort that wants us to join him on our own personal journey into a more loving relationship with God. Jesus doesn't shy away from tough talk. He's not Nick's buddy. But His concern and love for Nick shines through - like the ultimate best friend and brother all rolled into one. This intimate conversation shared over the course of a meal at a local restaurant was profoundly moving by implication. It makes the reader want to have the same sort of conversation with Jesus, and at the same time, makes us realize that there is nothing preventing that but our own stubborness.

As soon as I was finished, I picked up the second book in the series, A Day with a Perfect Stranger (also by David Gregory) which picks up with Nick's wife, Mattie, a few weeks later as she contemplates ending her marriage to Nick because he's now become a Jesus Freak. I knew this was going to be a much harder sell because of two very important things - that Mattie was dead set against the idea of religion and that she was a woman. That's not to say that women are any less capable of having a relationship with God, but that they think differently about things and that the approach David Gregory took with Nick was not going to work with the character of Mattie. And I was right, it was a much harder sell... but it totally worked. In this book, the genius of a personal Jesus became much more apparent.

In this second book, Mattie is flying on a business trip while contemplating ending her relationship with Nick, when a stranger sits next to her on the flight and strikes up a conversation. As we begin to suspect that this stranger is, in fact, Jesus the conversation remains relatively neutral - probing, but neutral - not at all like the more or less direct conversation with Nick. The concept for this story might also be a lot more far fetched. We've all had the conceit of imagining dinner with Jesus, but who's ever thought that Jesus might sit next to you on an airplane? Though, to be fair, if you knew Jesus was on a flight with you, you would either breathe a huge sigh of relief knowing that it wasn't about to crash, or, conversely, imagine the worst and that Jesus was there to call you home. ;)

The conclusion to the second book was also more satisfying as we discover some of the very personal reasons for Mattie's rejection of religion and how a personal relationship with God is able to start the healing process of these feelings. It reminded me very much of the woman at the well and of Jesus saying that He will give us the water of life. Mattie's character begins as a normal woman who we only realize at the end was truly disfunctional and broken when Jesus begins to heal her. How many other people out there do we know that are completely normal? How many of them require Jesus's healing touch?

In the end, though both books were on the same subject, they were completely dissimilar in their methods. Each one brought a character into a relationship with God, but by utterly different means. And it left me with the impression that there is no one way to be a Christian because each relationship with Christ is going to be completely different depending on the individual - just as it would be with any other relationship. There can be no "fans" of Jesus - only brothers and sisters, only personal relationships are allowed. Jesus is more than just a guy we meet on a plane or a fascinating guy we invite to a cocktail party. He is the God who visits our home where our children want to play with him and our dog wants to cuddle with him and He asks us to sit down while He serves the hors d'ouvres because we've been standing on our feet all day. He is family, and yet, He is Father and Mother as well; comforting, stern, joyous, and helpful when we need it. David Gregory has written two books that made me feel I'd spent time with Jesus - and that's a pretty high compliment.

Books: Dinner with a Perfect Stranger and Day with a Perfect Stranger

Author: David Gregory

Summary: Dinner with a Perfect Stranger:

You are Invited to a Dinner with Jesus of Nazareth

The mysterious envelope arrives on Nick Cominsky’s desk amid a stack of credit card applications and business-related junk mail. Although his seventy-hour workweek has already eaten into his limited family time, Nick can’t pass up the opportunity to see what kind of plot his colleagues have hatched.

The normally confident, cynical Nick soon finds himself thrown off-balance, drawn into an intriguing conversation with a baffling man who appears to be more than comfortable discussing everything from world religions to the existence of heaven and hell. And this man who calls himself Jesus also seems to know a disturbing amount about Nick’s personal life.

…………..

"You’re bored, Nick. You were made for more than this. You’re worried about God stealing your fun, but you’ve got it backwards.… There’s no adventure like being joined to the Creator of the universe." He leaned back off the table. "And your first mission would be to let him guide you out of the mess you’re in at work."
………….

As the evening progresses, their conversation touches on life, God, meaning, pain, faith, and doubt–and it seems that having Dinner with a Perfect Stranger may change Nick’s life forever.



Summary Day with a Perfect Stranger:

What if a fascinating stranger knew you better than you know yourself?

When her husband comes home with a farfetched story about eating dinner with someone he believes to be Jesus, Mattie Cominsky thinks this may signal the end of her shaky marriage. Convinced that Nick is, at best, turning into a religious nut, the self-described agnostic hopes that a quick business trip will give her time to think things through.

On board the plane, Mattie strikes up a conversation with a fellow passenger. When she discovers their shared scorn for religion, she confides her frustration over her husband’s recent conversion. The stranger suggests that perhaps her husband isn’t seeking religion but true spiritual connection, an idea that prompts her to reflect on her own search for fulfillment.

As their conversation turns to issues of spiritual longing and deeper questions about the nature of God, Mattie finds herself increasingly drawn to this insightful stranger. But when the discussion unexpectedly turns personal, touching on things she’s never told anyone, Mattie is startled and disturbed. Who is this man who seems to peer straight into her soul?

Author Bio:

David Gregory is the author of the best-selling books Dinner with a Perfect Stranger and A Day with a Perfect Stranger, and coauthor of two nonfiction books. After a ten-year business career, he returned to school to study religion and communications, earning graduate degrees from The University of North Texas and Dallas Theological Seminary. A native Texan, David now devotes himself to writing full time.

Check out the books here:

Dinner with a Perfect Stranger

and

Day with a Perfect Stranger