Bierkergaard: The Writings of Soren Kierkegaard

Soren talks about how our conscience can be drowned out by the crowd that thinks it knows all. He writes, “You are not obliged to have an opinion about what you do not understand.” Do you judge, on social media and elsewhere, in the capacity of a crowd and playing to the crowd? There is no safety in numbers. Only in the Truth and in our conscience.

All the world’s a stage and God is the audience.

When we have the Purity of Heart to Will one thing, we willingly embrace suffering. If we do, we have both depth and transparency like the ocean, unperturbed by life’s storms of suffering. We are free.

Attention, sacred attention, is godly. For God is attentive to us. Paying attention is a form of voluntary suffering. So little means much. Take comfort in God’s attentiveness to us and give comfort to others by being attentive to them.

Jesus gives us the tranquility of soul to bear the burdens of life. For, he too has suffered.

Christ came to earth as a servant. Truly God and truly Man. He assumed his station as one who was to suffer from the Manger to the Cross. Let us not turn aside too quickly from his story of love and sorrow for us. Take time to ponder this in this season.

This is a one man production and acting of the life of Soren by Jeremiah Miller that is tonight (Friday), tomorrow, and Sunday. I wanted to post it now rather than talk about it next week when it would be too late to see it. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/218326218597

The end of this Chapter about the conflict between the temporal and eternal aligned very nicely with a parable that Soren told about the Incarnation where the king becomes a servant to show his love to a peasant girl by becoming like her in station; in her suffering.

Using evasion as a means of avoidance is a strategy that will ultimately fail, if not in this life, most certainly in eternity. We are to face our fears and trust that God will provide what we need. Which is actually not a lot. Food & Clothing. That’s it. And Faith and Friendship. With God and with others. That’s true richness. So, let us chill out in this season of Advent.

Soren develops the idea that being willing to suffer for the good is a true test if we really want the good. When to stick with something vs. bailing out requires wisdom. No easy formula.