Feasting
Whenever the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi rolls around, I often think about feasting and its meaning. Throughout the Scriptures, we encounter the theme of feasting repeatedly. We also see this in the liturgical year, with nearly every day being the feast of something or someone. It would follow that we should be good at feasting and practice it regularly – but would you identify as an experienced feaster who can easily set aside time to simply delight in something?
St. Francis of Assisi gives us a fantastic lens for thinking about feasting. Legend has it that on one of the great feasts we celebrate each year, Christmas, it is noted that Francis presented a memorable perspective to the rest of the brothers, exclaiming: “Even the walls must eat meat in celebration!” [1] I’ve heard others note that he said if the walls can’t eat the meat, then the meat should be spread all over them! In many religious traditions, a feast has come to be known as a day dedicated to a certain saint or religious figure. I think, however, there is a lot of wisdom in considering Francis’s perspective of excess. Perhaps Norman Rockwell’s “Freedom from Want” painting of a Thanksgiving dinner comes to mind, or a wedding banquet, or one of those church fundraisers where you could just keep eating pancakes. I want to offer that we should think about God when we think about feasting.
Consider Ephesians 5:18 (this is from The Message, a paraphrased translation of the Bible): “Drink the Spirit of God, huge drafts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ.” Part of the compelling nature of God is that whatever circumstances we are experiencing, there is joy to be had because there is God: the inexhaustible, always accessible feast. Don’t let your circumstances dictate your happiness and peace. Feast on the realities of God instead – rest secure in His promises now.
Here are a few Scripture references on which to dwell:
Jeremiah 15:16 – “When your words came, I ate them: they were my joy and my heart’s delight…”
Psalm 34:8 – “…taste and see that the Lord is good…”
Psalm 36:7-8 – “The children of mankind…feast on the abundance of your house and you give them drink from the river of your delights.”
1 Peter 2:2-3 – “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into the full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.”
Matthew 22 – “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.”
I encourage you to consider the theme of feasting seriously. Start feasting on God now – His faithfulness, love, peace, righteousness, and joy – through prayer, fasting, silence, solitude, generosity, Scripture study, and worship. Live eternal life now by making God your unfailing source of nourishment: your feast. [2]
Timothy Nagy
Academic Advisor & Spiritual Life Fellow
St. Francis College
[1] Stephen Copeland, “St. Francis, Kurt Vonnegut and the radical absurdity of the Incarnation,” National Catholic Reporter (December 23, 2022).
[2] For further perspective on this topic, see John Piper, “Ingredients for a Theology of Feasting,” Ask Pastor John Podcast: Episode 1687 (October 4, 2021). Ironically released on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi!