Dec 15, 2024

Soren Kierkegaard

Once upon a time, there was a king who loved a humble maiden. She had no royal pedigree; she lived in a hovel, the humble abode of a peasant. But the king fell in love with her the way kings sometimes do. This put the king in something of a bind. How does a king express love to one of his royal subjects? His advisors told him all he had to do was command her to love him. It’s his prerogative as king to order subjects to obey him. He could summon her to his palace and crown her queen by simple edict. She couldn’t possibly resist him. After all, he’s the king and he could do whatever he wanted. But would she love him? Love must be freely given; it cannot be coerced. The king doesn’t need another cringing subject. He wants a lover, his equal. The king decides there is only one option. Since he cannot achieve this union by her elevation, he must attempt it by his descent. He must relinquish his crown, lay aside his royal robes, and come dressed as a peasant. He must become like the one he seeks to love. His method is risky since she may not love him in return. She may reject him, yet it is a risk he must take. It’s the only way.

The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) included this parable in a collection of writings called Philosophical Fragments in 1844. He conceived of this story to communicate the central meaning of Christmas. In Jesus Christ, God came down. The King became a commoner. God took on flesh. In the prologue to John’s gospel, he writes, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1.14). Soren leads us to pray:

Father in heaven! You have loved us first, help us never to forget that You are love so that this sure conviction might triumph in our hearts over the seduction of the world, over the inquietude of the soul, over the anxiety for the future, over the fright of the past, over the distress of the moment. But grant also that this conviction might discipline our soul so that our heart might remain faithful and sincere in the love which we bear to all those whom You have commanded us to love as we love ourselves.

You have loved us first, O God, alas! We speak of it in terms of history as if You have only loved us first but a single time, rather than that without ceasing, You have loved us first many times and every day and our whole life through. When we wake up in the morning and turn our soul toward You—You are the first—You have loved us first; if I rise at dawn and at the same second turn my soul toward You in prayer, You are there ahead of me, You have loved me first. When I withdraw from the distractions of the day and turn my soul toward You, You are the first and thus forever. And yet we always speak ungratefully as if You have loved us first only once.

Soren Kierkegaard, Philosophical Fragments.
The Prayers of Kierkegaard, edited by Perry LeFevre, 1956.

Rev. Dr. Peter James served 42 years as the senior of Vienna Presbyterian Church in Vienna, VA — 21 years in the 20th century and 21 years in the 21st century. He retired in 2021 and now serves as Pastor-in-Residence at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Even as a pastor, prayer came slowly to Pete. Read Pete’s story.