Soren Kierkegaard

tiesshehadsufferedsinceshehadlastbeenthere....Servingmaidsaremy
favoritesortofpeople,bothinchurchandinFrederiksberg.”
ItistypicalofKierkegaard’stautandfine-tunedsensibilitiesthatthepa-
thos-riddenpastorwayupinthepulpitwasdisplacedbyaweepingserving
maidwhoincreasedinimportancefromhisperspective,becomingthecen-
tralfigureinthatholyplace,thatmorning’sunspeakingedification.Some-
thingsimilar,thoughinanuncomplicatedsensemuchcheerier,tookplace
severalweekslater,whenKierkegaard’sattentionagainwanderedfromthe
regularroutineofthereligiousserviceandfasteneduponaperipheralsitua-
tion: “The young mother (pretty, fine posture, a velvet shawl, stepping
briskly) with her little son. She was completely unperturbed by the boy’s
littlepranks,butcontinuedwiththeordainedprayer,followedalonginthe
hymnal during the communion....Alas! Ingeneral parents tend to be so
busygettingthechildrentositstill,asifthiswaswhytheywereinchurch.
How beautiful it was to see her choose the one thing needful, and how
beautifully she negotiated the difficulty. I gave thanks—purely aestheti-
cally—toallthegoodspiritsforlettingeverythingtakeplacesoquietly,and
Iwillnotsoonforgetthatbeautifulscene.”Andhedidnotforgetthatscene,
forheinsertedthelittleincidentinStages on Life’s Way,simplyaddingabit
moredetail,whichwasnoimprovementontheoriginalsketch.
Kierkegaard understood how to let himself be edified by the edifying
materials that were ready at hand, a weeping serving maid or the young
motherof alittle prankster,but ifabad sermondid notdepresshim more
than it did, it was because Kierkegaard’s theological center of gravity was
located in a completely different place: “For me, itis hymn singing that is
unquestionablyofgreatestimportanceduringthereligiousservice.Irequire
that a good hymn have quite simple and, to a certain extent, unimportant
words...andthenoneofthoseheartfeltmelodies.”InKierkegaard’sopin-
ion, Kingo’s hymns, which he knew “by heart,” were not at all suited for
singing;theyweretooviolentlylyricalforthat,andapersonoughtinstead
read them at home for “his edification.” Kierkegaard did, however, find
singableanddazzlinghymnsinThe Authorized Church Hymnal,andheem-
phasized the inner feeling that emerges from a hymn like “Heartfelt Do I
Now Long For”: “Just as I will never in all eternity tire of looking at the
grayautumnskywhenallthesoftcolorsalternatewithoneanotherinthe
finest pattern, so will it never be possible for me to tire of repeating the
quietmotionsofsuchamelody.”
Thisiswherethedistancebetweenthepenitentialsolitudeofthesouland
babble-happy superficial comradery of the Grundtvigians becomes quite
palpable: “Grundtvig knows nothing of the deeper, heartfelt pain that has
reconciled itself with God in quiet sadness, and it is precisely this which