Kärlekens måltid : en studie av mässliturgier i Svenska kyrkan perioden 1986 - 2004

Sammanfattning: In this dissertation, I discuss issues concerning the liturgy and the theology of the Eucharist in new mass liturgies. The main task is focused on an analysis of 65 new mass liturgies that have been used in the Church of Sweden and which are here compared to the liturgy provided in the current Church of Sweden Service Book. Subjects closely related to the main task of this thesis include the renewal of worship, eucharistic theology and the place and function of music in the liturgy, and these are all treated in separate chapters. The new mass liturgies are first analysed in an overall perspective with regard to structural changes to the order of service as well as to the theological and musical visions that are evident in the prolegomena to these published mass liturgies. A selection of nine orders of mass together with a version of the High Mass provided in the current Church of Sweden Service Book are then analysed in greater detail, consisting mainly of analysis of the texts from a systematic-theological perspective. The analyses of the texts focus on the image of God, the relationship to God and the view of humanity as well as issues of gender in general and linguistic gender employed in the liturgical language used. Christology, human relationships to the surrounding world and eschatological expectations are discussed. I have also undertaken a musical analysis limited to issues of a pedagogical character. Following these analyses, I note that these new orders of mass are characterised by human community, primarily with God and Christ, but also between human beings. The communion with Christ is central, as is thanksgiving for what God has done, does do and for what God gives. Concepts such as salvation, suffering and sacrifice are rare, as are ideas about eternal life. The reconciliation of Christ is formulated as a service of love for humanity, which thereby receives liberation, restitution, hope and peace. A loving God is present in the lives of human beings and from this love grows human responsibility for the church, for society and for the world. The perspective of time utilised in these new orders of mass is, with some exception, life on earth here and now, and for the immediate future. Life beyond death is not a current theme. In some of these mass liturgies, new motifs, such as the eucharistic joy and the view of the Eucharist as a feast, occur. Compared to HB-86, the new mass liturgies do on the whole show a shift in the theology of the Eucharist, by which the emphasis on the forgiveness of sin and the remembrance of the sacrificial death of Christ have been abandoned in favour of a view of the Eucharist as a feast of love and communion.