Calvin Synod Herald, 2008 (109. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)
2008-01-01 / 1-2. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HF.RALD 9 overall losses. Most of the professionals agree, however, that neither the roots of the problems nor the promising solutions are simple and easy. You may have your own idea what is wrong with the churches and how it can be corrected. (If you have the foolproof solution, please let us know it.) The Fearful Prediction of Prophet Amos. See Out Text. Is not it “Bittersweet?” History shows, whenever a major disaster, tragedy, loss, or disappointment shook up a nation; people fell on their knees and turned to God. When the self-confident and self-righteous people had to realize that the wise, sophisticated, educated, and powerful leaders and scholars became helpless, they looked up to the Almighty. May we pray and hope that we will be spared to face one of these painful experiences. What might shake up our whole existence, change our mind, and start us to pray? • A series and very destructive terrorist attacks, killing many thousands of people. • A major natural disaster affecting most part of our country, destroying or taking innumerable lives; earthquake, hurricane, tsunami, volcanic eruption, for instance. • A nationwide civil unrest, or a civil war, where bloodshed, looting, and revenge have no limit. What will happen when unhappy minorities will become majority? • A total financial breakdown that will cause millions to lose their savings, pensions, and life insurances. The rich will become penniless overnight. • An incurable and unknown plague, when death will mercilessly harvest, because the medical science is unable help. Who is healthy today will be dead tomorrow. These are rather dark and grim pictures, however, if you studied history then you know that these tragedies have already taken place (what is the situation in some of the countries in Middle East?) and those who survived were spiritually renewed. Jesus did not exclude such lamentable situations: “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars ... Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” Matthew 24:6-7. Here are a few Bible quotations that will help us to anticipate, lessen, and if possible even avoid these disasters and tragedies: - “Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land.” Leviticus 25:18.- “Anew command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34. - Ifit is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:18.- “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:12-13. - “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28 Rev. Alexander Jalso First Hungarian Reformed Church of Homestead Munhall, Pennsylvania A Christian View of Time Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father. ” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you. Galatians 4: 6 -11 NIV One of the most amazing things about the Christian Faith is its calendar. Given Christianity’s origins as the faith that emerged from Judaism with its rigorous calendar, isn’t it rather amazing that we are not celebrating the Feasts of the Old Testament assiduously? To be sure, some sects in the modem day have tried to recreate those, but by and large, the coming of Jesus Christ into the world broke mankind’s devotion to the calendars of the pagans - and even the Old Testament calendar. Allow an explanation. Judaism from the Exodus onward has followed a lunar calendar. One sure sign of repentance for the ancients of Israel was their return to the practice of the calendar as in 2 Kings 23. One might think that since the Hebrew calendar itself pointed to the coming Messiah, the New Testament would encourage us to follow it as well. What better example to follow? But in reality, the early church focused only on a small segment of Hebrew calendar... the Passover reinterpreted through the lens of Our Lord’s Passion (1 Corinthians 5: 6-8) and Pentecost as it was transformed by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as the sign of Christ’s reign at the right hand of God the Father (Ephesians 4). Perhaps that’s because the general theme of the New Testament is that Jesus Christ fulfills the Torah. He even brings an end to the significance of the Old Testament calendar. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians they were warned that observing a calendar that had its intrinsic focus on something less than Christian - even one with such a distinguished pedigree - was nothing less than a return to spiritual slavery. Why might that be? Because it distracts us from the essential Christian doctrine of justification by faith. The Galatians were being told that they would enter the fullness of Christ only by becoming Jews. Israel’s history showed that entering the fullness of the Father’s blessing by obedience to Continued on page 10
