Feasting on Abundant Love 

“When you pass around the loving cup, and you’re sharing spice cake and testimony, you get a profound sense that you’re no longer alone.” To those unfamiliar with the Methodist love feast tradition, Dr. Barry Bryant might sound like he’s describing a modern, experimental communion liturgy. Instead, Garrett’s associate professor of United Methodist and Wesleyan studies is inviting the community to participate in a centuries-old ritual, adapted from Moravian Church traditions. In chapel this week, the practice will find new life as Dr. Bryant leads worship, trusting the Holy Spirit will likewise move through our midst. Particularly amid the widespread fear and anxiety, as ICE helicopters swirl above Evanston, it’s a chance to root ourselves in love that connects us and faith that sustains us. “The love feast is about being able to relate to what is, quite often, the suffering of another, to come out of that by providing mutual support,” Dr. Bryant explains.

The feast itself harkens back to the meals Jesus shared with his disciples, reclining at table, cultivating intimacy and belonging. It was widely promoted by John Wesley, Dr. Bryant explains, in part because—unlike communion—it did not require an ordained minister to preside. “The ironic thing about the United Methodist Church including it as a liturgy in the book of worship is that there was no written liturgy,” he laughs. “It was a more spontaneous thing, where the tea and spice cake would go around, people would stand and answer the question, ‘How is it with your soul?’” Participants would offer testimony, recite scripture from memory, and sing a capella hymns that they thought would support the other members gathered. As United Methodist Church worship drifted from its charismatic roots, churches began to favor more formal liturgies, and the prevalence of love feasts declined. “Many folks are not as comfortable with sharing their testimony, being able to articulate the simple question, ‘How is it with your soul?’” Dr. Bryant reflects. It’s a part of our Wesleyan heritage he believes we should reclaim. “Coming out of the pandemic, we’ve lived through an extended and intense period of isolation. We must recapture that intimacy,” he notes. “I’ve always said that six people caught on an elevator between floors is not community, it’s proximity. To create community entails a level of trust that the vulnerability of sharing can cultivate.”

There’s also a tacit promise and reassurance that comes from passing cake and tea in a moment where so much is fraught and dangerous. “One of the common reflections after the love feast was that it was, in a sense, liberating,” Dr. Bryant observes. “We learn to trust not just the other participants in the room, but also the Holy Spirit.” It’s no coincidence that this ritual emerged from the Moravian Church, who repeatedly endured violent persecution. In the same way that the Jesus feeding the five thousand has always been a foundational part of how Christians understand God’s abundant love, feeding one another proclaims a vibrant future that will not yield to threat and scarcity.

In gathering for the love feast, Dr. Bryant hopes that Garrett can rehearse power that repudiates the abusive cultural narratives that surround us. “When the body of Christ comes together, it’s more than just sharing in the community of goods,” Dr. Bryant says. “It’s one thing to have a food pantry at a church, that’s an act of compassion. The more difficult question is why are people hungry and thirsty to begin with? That’s a question of justice.” When participants spend the time to honor each other’s testimony, to affirm our interdependence as we nourish our neighbor, the ritual invites us to affirm God’s intention for the world. “Justice is not when we get what we deserve. Justice is when we get what God wants us to have,” he explains. “When you operate from that understanding, it causes us to think beyond punitive or retributive justice, to view life from God’s perspective. It’s charismatic in the deepest sense—charisma, or gifts, offering the reminder that in God’s economy there’s always multiplied fishes and loaves.”

This deeper mutuality can ignite a hope that ripples outward from our campus. “For me, it goes back to that Sunday school hymn, ‘This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine,” he says tenderly. “If nothing else, it helps those who experience the love feast to know that love is the light that shines in the darkness.” When we capture that spark, and bear witness to God’s love, it doesn’t banish the trauma that surrounds us. But it reminds us that this has always been the Church’s story: We gather close when what we cherish most is threatened. We trust God to enter our midst and herald life abundant. “If even just a little light leaves that room and goes out into the world, we will have accomplished the whole purpose,” Dr. Bryant adds softly. “In the love shared between those who gather, we reflect the love of God.”

You are invited to join the love feast at Garrett’s chapel on Wednesday, November 12, 4:00 p.m. CT, in-person or online. Click here to learn more!