Calvin Synod Herald, 1980 (80. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1980-09-01 / 9-10. szám

3

REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA

PRACTICAL RELIGION

It is a profoundly disturbing fact that religion and being religious means different things to different people. There are many for whom God means but one thing: I do not bother and disturb him, consequently I do not want God to disturb and bother my life. Often enough a person who is indifferent to religion discovers God and religion when difficulties arise, or perhaps sickness disturbs his family life and the doctors cannot give their expert help to restore him or one of his loved ones to complete health. Then the great problem arises: Why does God visit me with sickness or difficulties when I have always been good?

The number of those who know that they have to do more than that is considerable. They know that they have to pray to God, and even though they may even practice daily prayer, their prayers do not change their lives. Jesus speaks of these in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 7.): “Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” I do not have to emphasize that the man who prays is closer to God than the one who does not approach His presence with prayer; still the person who prays, but the prayers do not change his life creates for himself the illusion that he did all that God required of him, while he won’t be able to weather the storms that beset every life.

According to the 32nd, 31st and 27th verses of the 6th Chapter of the Gospel of Luke, there are certain steps that bring us closer to God, and may also make religion very practical. The three steps toward a practical religion mentioned in the above verses:

1) “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even the sinners love those who love them.” 2) “And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.” 3) ’‘But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.”

1) If somebody is willing to face himself in most cases he realizes that he is nice to those who are nice to him and cold, even emel to those who seem to be cold or emel to him. Neighbors become enemies because one or the other supposes that something inimical has been done against him. We deny friendship to those who are unfriendly to us. For this type of action and reaction the judgment of Jesus is clear: “Even sinners are good to those who are good to them.”

2) In man’s relationship to man Jesus introduces a much deeper rule. Jesus knows that it is not right that man should be governed by the behavior of others. Therefore he introduces the Golden Rule: “... as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.” A man should not wait to find out how his fellow man is going to deal with him. He should go out of his way and show others how he would like others to behave and deal with him. Many deep friendships began with the friendly overtures of one of the persons involved.

THE CRADLE OF THE HUNGARIAN PRESBITÉRIUM

The organizer of the first Hungarian presbitérium (session ) was John Palfi of Kanizsa. On the basis of his studies and experiences abroad, he endeavored to lift the Reformed Presbitérium out of its stiltedness and cautions orthodoxy which with its hardly discernible, polyp-like tentacles in various ways insensibly tied our church up with the form of government of the Roman Church. Accordingly he strove to cause the Reformed faith to flourish and grow strong enough to withstand the reconversion plans of the counter reformation under Roman auspices. During his sojourn at Heidelberg he became acquainted with the life of the church there, the role of the session in the life of the church. It was his fervent desire upon returning to the homeland to introduce the same into the church there.

RULES

So his plans were launched on their way to realization. He now began to draft the necessary rules or regulations. Upon their completion, he submitted them to Stephan Török of Enying, who according to the penned postscript, approved the same. After his death the Begedi Nyári family, as well as the manorial lords of the city and the honorable commons also approved it. Thus there was established in our land the first Reformed presbitérium in Pápa in 1618 which Bishop Stephan Pathai confirmed again on January 19, 1618 in the following: “The Lord God wills that in his Church all things be done in good decorum and order, we therefore recommend that presbyters be appointed to (aid) John Pálfi of Kanizsa . .. wherefore in attestation of our will a good pleasure with the common seal confirm this * 3

An elderly couple moved to Florida from Chicago and they visited all the churches in the area where they settled. A few months later they returned to Chicago for a visit and I asked them whether they have already found a church home? After a few seconds they replied that they joined the church where everybody was friendly to them from the moment they entered. There is no deeper indictment against a church than when a stranger feels that nobody is interested in the visitor. There are many who feel that the application of the Golden Rule is the deepest wisdom in the relation of man to man.

3) Jesus does not stop at the application of the Golden Rule. He points out the greatest and the most important step his followers have to make in their relationship to others when he tells his listeners in the 27th verse: “But I say to you that hear. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” This is the greatest and the hardest step. Even Peter struggled with this when he asked the Master: “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” The Master calls you and me to make this, the greatest step in our pilgrimage toward the kingdom of our heavenly Father: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.

Desmond D. Parragh, Bishop