Calvin Synod Herald, 1978 (78. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1978-03-01 / 3-4. szám
REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA 3 The Spirit Helps Us ♦ . . Romans 8:26 The main message of our text is expressed in these words: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.” First we have to learn the great difficulty of help. The difficulty we can see there is that the word Spirit is written with a capital letter. Our spiritual transformation will not overcome our imperfection, but the Spirit of God takes part in our life. However, this is a very questionable thing, because even God told us, that God and man do not match: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Issaiah 55, 8-9). Our weakness becomes evident when we carry our request before God. God is standing beside us, but we cannot speak in such a way that He may understand. However we are speaking in many languages and many among us know the art of eloquence — before God we lose the power of speech: “for we do not know how to pray as we ought.” This Biblical judgment means that even if we find the right word and voice, we do not find the meaning which reaches the goal. Paul had to struggle with meaningless sermons and we often have the feeling that our sermons delivered to the congregation and before God are empty words. How often do we speak in the way that Erasmus has made fun of, sermons which miss the mark where our words are hovering over the earth but didn’t reach the heights of heaven. When our weakness, because of our muteness, turns into humiliation, then comes the consolation of the Word, which makes possible our turning toward God: “Likewise the Spirit helps us.” This means that the Spirit of God along with us, submits Himself to the burden which is upon us and prepares us so that we can express the request in such a way that God understands and accepts our prayer. That picture with which Paul expresses the help of the Spirit is not unknown to praying Christians. In the experience of the Apostle, our souls are so weak and helpless that we are no longer able to call out: Abba, Father We often say thoughtlessly, if I can’t do anything else, at least I can still pray! No, says the Apostle, the weakness of a Christian is so farreaching that praying is just the very thing that he can no longer do. A short story can serve as an illustration: Two small children are playing outside in a park when a storm breaks out. They can find no other shelter than under a park bench. In the midst of the thundering and the lightning the children are terribly frightened. It occurs to one of them that they should pray. They want to say the Lord’s prayer but it turns out neither one of them knows it. Then the other child say: Let’s KOSSUTH Type of two mighty continents! — combining The strength of Europe with the warmth and glow Of Asian song and prophesy, — the shining Of Orient splendours over Northern snow! Who shall receive him? Who, unblushing, speak Welcome to him, who, he strove to break The Austrian yoke from Magyar necks, smote off At the same blow the fetters of the serf, — Rearing the altar of the Father-land On the firm basis of freedom, and thereby Lifting to heaven a patriot’s stainless hand, Mocked not the God of Justice with a lie! Who shall be Freedom’s mouth-piece? Who shall give Her welcoming cheer to the great fugitive? Not he who, all her sacred trusts betraying, Is scourging back to slavery’s hell of pain The swarthy Kossuths of our land again! Not he whose utterance now from lips designed The bugle-march of Liberty to wind, And call her hosts beneath the breaking light, — The keen reveille of her morn to fight, — Is but the hoarse note of the bloodhound’s baying, The wolf’s long howl behind the bondsman’s flight! O for the tongue of him who lies at rest In Quincy’s shade of patrimonial trees, — Last of the Puritan tribunes and the best, — To lend a voice to Freedom’s sympathies, And hail the coming of the noblest guest The Old World’s wrong has given the New World of West! John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier, the “Quaker Poet,” and the “Poet of New England” (1807-1892), saw in Kossuth a man after his own heart. Ardent lover of freedom, pure of heart and soul, he rejoiced at the sight of Kossuth, and greeted him as “the noblest guest, the Old World’s wrong has given the New World of the West.” Whittier’s poem has been translated into Hungarian by Antal Radó. say the letters of the alphabet and dear God will put them together the right way. Actually, the help of the Spirit is an act of interpretation of our stutterings, cryings and groanings. As the words of a sick child, which were expressed in a febrile, unconscious state, are interpreted by his mother in a relevant prayer toward God, in the same way the Spirit gathers together our imperfect, shapeless, stuttering words and shaping them into a prayer takes them into the sanctuary of God. This expression “the sanctuary of God” means that when through the office of interpretation of the Spirit our prayers arrive at the throne of God — than
