Discourses at the Communion on Fridays
Publication Year: 2011
Søren Kierkegaard's 13 communion discourses constitute a distinct genre among the various forms of religious writing composed by Kierkegaard. Originally published at different times and places, Kierkegaard himself believed that these discourses served as a unifying element in his work and were crucial for understanding his religious thought and philosophy as a whole. Written in an intensely personal liturgical context, the communion discourses prepare the reader for participation in this rite by emphasizing the appropriate posture for forgiveness of sins and confession.
Published by: Indiana University Press
Cover
Title Page, Copyright
Contents
Abbreviations
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pp. ix-xi
Introduction
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pp. 1-33
The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, Eucharist, or Holy Communion is regarded by many Christians as the central rite of the Christian religion. Yet in the history of Christian thought there is little liturgical . . .
Part One: “ Discourses at the Communion on Fridays,” Part Four of Christian Discourses (1848)
[ 1 ] Luke 22:15
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pp. 37-48
Father in heaven! We know well that you are the one who enables both willing and completing1 and that longing, when it draws us to renew communion with our Savior and Atoner [Forsoner],2 is also from you. . . .
[ 2 ] Matthew 11:28
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pp. 49-54
Father in Heaven! Just as the congregation’s intercessory prayer usually asks you to console all those who are sick and sorrowful, so at this hour it asks that you will give those who labor and are heavy laden . . .
[ 3 ] John 10:27
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pp. 55-61
Father in Heaven! Your grace and mercy change not with the changing of the times,1 age not with the course of the years, as if you, like a human being, were more gracious on one day than on another, more . . .
[ 4 ] 1 Corinthians 11:23
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pp. 62-68
Yes, you our Lord and Savior, not even in this respect do we dare put trust in our own strength, as if we were able by ourselves to evoke deeply enough or constantly to hold fast your memory, we . . .
[ 5 ] 2 Timothy 2:12–13
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pp. 69-75
Lord Jesus Christ, you who loved us first,1 you who until the last loved those whom you had loved from the beginning,2 you who continue until the end of time to love everyone who wants to belong to you: Your . . .
[ 6 ] 1 John 3:20
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pp. 76-82
Great are you, O God; although we only know you as in a mystery and as in a mirror,1 we still adore your greatness in wonder—how much more must we one day extol it when we learn to know it more fully! . . .
[ 7 ] Luke 24:51
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pp. 83-87
You who came down from Heaven to bring blessing to the fallen human race; you who walked here on earth in poverty and lowliness, misunderstood, betrayed, insulted, condemned—but blessing; you . . .
Part Two: “The High Priest”—“The Tax Collector”—“The Woman Who Was a Sinner”: Three Discourses at the Communion on Fridays (1849)
May “that single individual, whom I with joy and gratitude call my reader,”1 receive this gift. I dare say it is more blessed to give than to receive,2 but if this is so, in one sense the giver is precisely the needy . . .
[ 8 ] Hebrews 4:15
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pp. 91-99
Where should we go if not to you, Lord Jesus Christ!1 Where should the sufferer find sympathy if not in you, and where the penitent, alas, if not in you, . . .
[ 9 ] Luke 18:13
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pp. 100-107
Lord Jesus Christ, let your holy spirit truly enlighten and convince us of our sin, so that we, humbled with downcast eyes, acknowledge that we stand far, far off and sigh: “God be merciful to me a sinner.” . . .
[ 10 ] Luke 7:47
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pp. 108-115
Lord Jesus Christ, in order properly to be able to pray to you about everything, we pray to you about one thing: help us so that we may love you much, increase the love, inflame it, purify it. Oh, and this prayer . . .
Part Three: “From on High He Will Draw All to Himself.” First Christian Exposition from Practice in Christianity, No. III, by Anti-Climacus (1850)
[ 11 ] John 12:321
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pp. 119-124
Lord Jesus Christ, there is so much to draw us back: empty exploits, trivial pleasures, unworthy concerns. There is so much to frighten us back: a pride that is too cowardly to let itself be helped, a cowardly . . .
Part Four: Two Discourses at the Communion on Fridays (1851)
A gradually advancing author-activity that began with Either/Or seeks here its decisive point of rest at the foot of the altar, where the author, personally most conscious of his own imperfection and guilt, by no . . .
[ 12 ] Luke 7:47
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pp. 127-135
Lord Jesus Christ! You who certainly did not come to the world in order to judge,1 yet by being love that was not loved, you were a judgment upon
[ 13 ] 1 Peter 4:8
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pp. 136-143
Lord Jesus Christ! The birds had nests, the foxes had holes, and you had nowhere you could lay your head;1 you were homeless in the world—yet were yourself the hiding place, the only one where the . . .
Index
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pp. 145-147
E-ISBN-13: 9780253005571
E-ISBN-10: 0253005574
Print-ISBN-13: 9780253356734
Page Count: 168
Publication Year: 2011
Series Title: Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Religion
