Calvin Synod Herald, 2010 (111. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2010-09-01 / 9-10. szám
4 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD The Rt. Rev. Dr. John Butosi’s cremaines were buried on August 6, 2010, next to his wife Loraine at the Ligonier Cemetery. Joining in the service were Rev. Dr Joseph Posta; Rev. Alexander Jalso; Rev. Ilona Komjáthy; Rev. Imre A. Bertalan, Rt. Rev. Koloman K. Ludwig; Rt. Rev. Louis Medgyesi; Rev. Gábor Nitsch and Rev. Albert W. Kovács services. After all the praise by the preacher, and the service is over, many who come by for the final viewing of the body look to make sure they were at the right funeral - because the person they knew wasn’t nearly the person portrayed! I say it would be easy because if I were to do that today, all of you would know exactly who I am talking about - John Butosi - pastor extraordinaire! But the Rev. John Butosi would be disappointed. I think we would better remember his life if we examined why one could fill this sanctuary with the kind of words many would love to have said about them. Besides, we shouldn’t praise a person - John’s autobiography was entitled “Praise the Lord, O My Soul!” I think that is a good starting point to discover the secret to John’s life. He learned that only the Lord is worthy of praise - and he actively endeavored to bring this to life in all he did. I was honored to be asked to proofread Dr. Butosi’s faith journey, and while doing this I discovered what I consider some gems of faith and wisdom which begin to explain this servant of God who was able to focus his life following what he believed. First, of course, his discovery of Jesus the living Savior. Young John says this happened when he was 14 or 15 years old. He was reading a religious pamphlet in which his eyes were opened to the fact that not only did Jesus live 2,000 years ago, not only did Jesus die 2,000 years ago, not only did Jesus rise from the dead 2,000 years ago and not only did Jesus ascend into Heaven 2,000 years ago - all history - Jesus lives even now - today!!! Even now He lives amongst us, even now He walks amongst us, and He is here even now. Not history, not myth, not just a “confession of faith” - this is fact - He is here now! One would say this was his meeting of a personal Savior. Young John became Rt. Rev. Dr. John Butosi because of this awakening in his life. Jesus is not confined to the Bible, nor to this sanctuary, nor to Sunday morning. He is always with us. This became the very basis for everything John did after that moment in his life. John realized that “Religion” was meaningless unless one was in total adherence with that power which the religion espoused. As a result, as a seminary student John was even suspect, because he took Jesus too seriously! But that was the big difference in his life. He understood that just knowing about God, just knowing about the Creeds, just knowing about Christianity - this is not what Christianity is about. If that is all our Christianity is in our lives, then, as Paul says in I Corinthians 15, “we are of all men most to be pitied”. John came to realize that in all that we do, Jesus IS with us! John knew this, and welcomed Jesus as his partner for life. The next step was giving God all the recognition in life. John was a man of many talents, many gifts. But he knew that these are meaningless, even futile, without his partner Jesus, and it was just logical that if Jesus is the reason for his life, then so Jesus is the one who deserves credit for the successes of life. “Praise the Lord, O my soul” was not just the title of his autobiography, it was his motto in life. Praise the Lord for all the things He provides, both good and less desirable. During the war, working in a hospital, he found God’s presence, and even then learned of God’s power and grace. And he praised God. Praise the Lord for all the things He provides, success in school, a journey that led him to a new land, a wonderful loving wife who would be a partner in his Calling - a fitting partner, as it were, as if the two were created by God with His plan in mind that they would be united as one in marriage. That is what Christians believe, isn’t it? Their meeting was not an accident - it was planned by God himself! Then John was blessed with a loving family: Praise the Lord for his blessings! John did indeed live the 103rd Psalm. He praised the Lord, he did not forget the many benefits, the many blessings, the many gifts he received. He was cognizant and attributed to God all that he experienced in life. And indeed he was healed of his diseases, his life was redeemed so that he received not only the proverbial “threescore and ten ”, not even “fourscore” years spoken of in the 90th Psalm, but more! When other men his age faded away into retirement, John began a new career as a seminary Professor - his strength and zest for life was indeed “renewed like an eagles ”! And life was good, because Jesus was always his companion. Early in life he had pondered the question: “ What would happen
