Three Discourses at the Communion on Fridays
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 Church of Our Lady, Copenhagen, where Kierkegaard attended communion | |
| Author | Søren Kierkegaard |
|---|---|
| Original title | Ypperstepræsten, Tolderen, Synderinden, Tre Taler ved Altergangen om Fredagen |
| Translator | Walter Lowrie 1940, Howard Hong and Edna Hong 1997, Sylvia Walsh 2011 |
| Language | Danish |
| Series | Second authorship (Discourses) |
| Genre | Christianity, psychology |
| Publisher | C.A. Reitzel |
Publication date | Nov 13, 1849 |
| Publication place | Denmark |
Published in English | 1940 – first English translation |
| Media type | hardback |
| Pages | 27 of 168 pages |
| ISBN | 9780253356734 |
| Preceded by | The Sickness unto Death |
| Followed by | Practice in Christianity |
Three Discourses at the Communion on Fridays is a book of religious discourses written by Søren Kierkegaard.
These discourses are written with The Lord's Supper or Holy Communion in mind. Kierkegaard wrote thirteen discourses for Communion services from 1848 to 1851 and delivered three of them at the Church of Our Lady.[1]
Sylvia Walsh notes that these discourses are designed to be read aloud, aiming to transform the discourse into a conversational format. She explains that the discourses were intended for Friday communions rather than Sunday services due to the smaller congregations on Fridays.[2] The works were published under Kierkegaard's name and dedicated to 'that single individual whom I with joy and gratitude call my reader'. Walsh says, these discourses reach the decisive point of rest at the foot of the altar.[3] These discourses deal with the forgiveness of sins and the power of love.
Discourses
The High Priest
Kierkegaard asks whether its better to give than receive or if its better to receive than to give in his Preface. He's looking for the one who seeks his book, 'that single individual'.
The first discourse is based on Hebrews 4:15: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to have sympathy with our weaknesses, but one who has been tested in all things in the same way, yet without sin."
Kierkegaard takes up the "universal complaint of sufferers: “You do not understand me, you do not put yourself in my place; if you could put yourself entirely in my place, then you would speak differently.”[4] He points to the one who can entirely put himself in your and his place. Howard Hong said this discourse was related to the theme of The Sickness unto Death[5] Kierkegaard has written in his Journal that the three Friday discourses were related to his last pseudonym, Anti-Climacus.[6]
The Tax Collector
The second discourse is based on Luke 18:13 "And the tax collector stood far off and would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast and said: God be merciful to me a sinner".
Kierkegaard writes about two individuals who went to the temple. But he inverts the picture.[7] One of them stood before God and became "dizzy" and the other one stood before the "others" and learned "hypocrisy and pride".[8] One was a single individual before God.[9]
The Woman Who Was a Sinner
The third discourse is based on Luke7:47: "Therefore, I tell you, her many sins are forgiven her, for she loved much."
This woman with no name, who was a sinner, loved much according to Kierkegaard. He mentioned that "she hated herself:she loved much" several times in the discourse. He makes her a "guide", a "picture" and a "prototype" for his listener. She went to confession and “she sits at Christ's feet, anoints them with ointment, dries them with her hair, kisses them – and weeps.”[10] She doesn't say anything, but she acts.[11] And she is transformed and loves much.[12]