In this beautiful selection by Danish thinker Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), the philosopher at prayer shows us that tough-minded thinking and tenderhearted reverence are friends, not enemies.Editor Richard Foster notes, "We have for too long separated the head from the heart, and we are the lesser for it. We love God with the mind and we love God with the heart. In reality, we are descending with the mind into the heart and there standing before God in ceaseless wonder and endless praise. As the mind and the heart work in concert, a kind of 'loving rationality' pervades all we say and do. The brings unity to us and glory to God."
- In your own life of faith, what is the relationship between your intellect and your heart?
- As you read these prayers by Kierkegaard what line, phrase or concept really moves you? Write it out as a "comment" to this post to share with the group.
- Kierkegaard writes of God's unchangeableness (section 1). Why is this changelessness important?
- My favorite prayer is in section 2, in which we are reminded that God loved us first and loves us all the time. What does this truth mean for you?
Next week we will read Annie Dillard: To See Clearly / Devotional Classics, p.345
1 comment:
* In my faith life, the relationship between intellect & heart has been one of ongoing struggle. Being a dyed-in-the-wool Catholic w/ 16 yrs+ of same education, it took me about 20 years to iron out the intellectual wrinkles and then another 20+ to work on the refinements -- still going on.
* As I read the Kierkegaard prayers, the unchangeableness of God moves me most because (given the previous readings) that characteristic makes His promises so comforting and believable. It also makes striving for the Eternal Now such an attractive -- and practical –- goal because in that “moment” there is no Time and only Presence. Stunning. How important is that?
* We are so finite, such little specs in Time & thus limited in our ability to understand and communicate with our Maker. So, even hampered as we are, when we strive to be in the present moment, it is the closest we can come to experience God. With whatever metaphors, images, similes that we might use to contemplate the Almighty, we worship our Creator who in the words of Thomas Merton, (very roughly paraphrased) sees the reflection of the Trinity in us when we are contemplating Him. Wow!
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