Affiliation:
1. The University of Notre Dame Australia, Australia
Abstract
Central to a theology of feasting is the nearness and newness of the Kingdom of God. Engaging Levinas’s philosophy, this article develops a theology of feasting to portray the intimacy of encountering the risen Christ’s word of goodness, mercy, and joy in the poor one’s face. Such intimacy relates the joy of being children of God, seeking to know the Father’s forgiveness and prophetic call not to forget ‘the least of these who are members of my family’ (Mat 25:40), namely, ‘the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame’ (Lk 14:3), chosen by God to feast in the Kingdom of God. In the small goodness of being-for-the-other, especially for those on the margins of society, a theology of feasting signifies the hope for Parousia and the resounding of a theological and creative imagination of faith.