Calvin Synod Herald, 1974 (74. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1974-01-01 / 1. szám

REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA

3

0 Christ, with an empty cup I have come

to the well.

The walk has been long and not altogether lovely.

1 have carried with me the heat of my

turmoil that it may be tempered in the stream of eternity.

I have brought the dryness of my thought that it may know trickles from the Spring.

I have brought the clay pieces of my broken promises to Thee that they may be re-molded.

Lead me from the tempestuous waters of life to the quiet well of refreshment.

Guide the rope as I lower my cup into deep resources and use my hands to pull it up again.

I thank Thee for fresh water from the well which is given so abudantly.

I would share it for Thee all along the way.

Always for Thee, always for Thee.

Amen.---------------------------------------CHURCH UNION “PRO AND CON” OF THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED CHURCHES

In the Church, in the living body of Jesus Christ our people received a decisive life-forming teaching. No other people of the world were touched mere deeply by the Institution of Calvin than the Hungarian people whose hearts became ebullient, souls humble, lives transformed under the almightiness of the sovereign Lord of all. Among the constant struggles of life, in the persecution for faith we learned that God is All in all. Everything else, even man with his beauty, strength and ability, with his wealth and power is nothing. Every moment of life must be an occasion of the service of the inmeasurable and incomprehensible glory of the Lord. To this service He gave us the community of the chosen which has to be a living and ever active Church, the power of which is the sovereignty of the redeeming and saving Grace (Gratia Dei). Therefore, the members of the Church with the knowledge of their whole responsibility have to take seriously the living God. They have to give glory only to Him and they have to look for the certainty of their salvation in His Grace only. This certainty may be available in the absolute obedience to the holy will of God. This Church —- mentioned — must be the Church of the Word of God. Everything which serves either human philosophy or vain aesthetical interests, or blind superstition and deprives the soul of this living Word of God — must be left out of the life of Church. Only the Holy Scripture must rule over every moment of life. Only the complete subordination to the will of God gives man heroism and enables him to develop all his abilities most completely against every menace of this godless world. Timor dei expellit timorem hominum: the fear of God expels the fear of men. Such a man living

and obeying the heavenly will is a fellow-worker with God whom He for the sake of Jesus Christ out of His free grace and sovereign will entrusted with the service of His Glory among his fellow men. He depends on his Creator and Law-giver, but he is free and independent of everything in this world. He is a servant only, but the servant of a heavenly goal. He is small and weak, but the Lord- God shows His power in this feebleness.

This religious determination is a characteristic in our theological conception and it is reflected in the life and behaviour of the faithful members of our Church. It is good to know that this determination is the foundation of the clear self-consciousness of every good Christian personality. It is the “conditio sine qua non,” preliminary condition of the correct development of every social community. It is the only guarantee of the freedom of nations, and a blessed pledge of the integrity of the visible Church of Christ (Ecclesia Militant), whose undivided unity we have to serve with all our heart and strength.

Our ardent problem is the future life of our Church. How long and among what circumstances can we guarantee the existence of our Church? One thing is inevitable. The language of our fathers will slowly ease in our worship services; but not our ancient religious heritage: our Reformed faith, the special religious character of our life, the unique Calvinistic piety and spiritualty and the genuine Christian heroism. Without these spiritual values we cannot stand. So, the first duty we have now is to make a union between the Reformed Churches, that we may plant our common sacred heritage into the hearts of our children “Viribus Unitis” with joint effort, using the same symbolic books: The Second Helvetian Confession and Heidelberg Catechism, and the Hungarian Hymnal; obeying the same doctrine and discipline, keeping our worship services according to our own liturgy and order of worship. Doing this, I do believe our Gracious Lord will bless the “United American Hungarian Reformed Church” in and through our young generations with a blessed and prosperous future.

I do know that among the present circumstances it is not easy. The great tragedy of our lives is that our “Dear Zion” together with our beloved Father-land was torn to pieces. Her powerful life-tree was mutilated. Some of her lopped branches are writhing for life in inferiority. Some are in dispersion (diaspora) fighting their fight for their existence. A strong part of the Mother Church in America is in division (cleft, split) struggling for a more blessed future. The prophecy of Daniel — through which God condemned the kingdom of Belshazar to distruction, was fulfilled in our life, too: “Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin” we were numbered, weighed, then disjoined, split off, divided, scattered. (Dan. 5:25-28.) The words of St. Paul written to the Corinthians “akuo schismata en hymon,” (Latin: “audio scissuras esse inter vos”) “I hear that there be splits among you” (1. Cor. 11:18) can be applied to our lives, too. This split is our adjudication. It measures what we have done, and what for? What we have left undone, and why? Let us ask ourselves: in the service of God’s glory did we submit our personal interests and ambitions, our will and energy to the holy will of God?... It is sad to mention that during our sojourn on the land of liberty and wealth because of the constant contentions with one-another we could not produce as rich results as the Dutch Reformed and Christian Reformed Churches. May our gracious Lord be blessed for the Hungarian Re