Calvin Synod Herald, 2012 (113. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2012-11-01 / 11-12. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HÉRÁI D 7 sense of purpose in their lives. This lack of purpose leads to depression and self-destructive behavior. This lack of purpose leads to a sense of hopelessness that is heightened during the holiday season for many people. However, Christmas is about hope and purpose and rather than feel defeated and lost during the holidays, I can have a sense of true hope because Christmas gives purpose to my life. Christmas brings hope because it drives home the fact that I was made for a purpose. I was made to have fellowship with God. I was created to have a relationship with God and that relationship is so important to God that he sent his one and only Son, Jesus, to repair that relationship when it was broken. My life has purpose and my purpose is to love God and serve man. Jesus came, becoming one of us, so that we could fulfill our purpose, that of having a love relationship with God. Jesus, full of grace and truth, came from the Father, he became one of us so that he could pay for our sins and restore the relationship we were created to have with God. His birth, his death and his resurrection give us purpose in our lives. Imagine living life everyday with a clear sense of purpose - to know God and to please God. Everything else fades away when I make this my focus. I have hope and purpose everyday when I understand that in everything, big or small; I can grow to know God more and I can live to please him. How does Christmas change my world? It’s not through the gifts or the memories made. It’s not through the time spent with family. It’s not through any of the trappings of the holiday. Christmas, as we celebrate it doesn’t change my world. But Christmas - as the birth of Christ, the Son of God made flesh, the birth of Jesus - Immanuel - God with us, changes my world by. Christmas will change your world too if you will allow Christ to be the reason for and the center of Christmas. By S. T. Recognizing the Revelation Text: Luke 2:15-40 Several years ago, on the British equivalent of American Idol, a somewhat frumpy, middle-aged woman appeared as a contestant. Simon Cowell yawned and prepared to listen to the next also-ran. Then Susan Boyle opened her mouth and began to sing, “I dreamed a dream ...” Mr. Cowell’s mouth dropped open in amazement. Some time later, my wife, Dianne, called me to the computer screen. She said, “Listen to this.” Up came this Scottish woman standing on stage in front of a microphone. She began to sing. Then my mouth dropped open in amazement. Not the greatest voice I’d ever heard, but certainly one I’d buy a ticket to hear again. A revelation from an unexpected source. St. Luke tells us that some shepherds were singled out to receive the revelation. At the divinely given impulse they left the Bethlehem hillside and traveled into town. The evangelist gives only a bare description. They hurried “and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger.” Boldog Karácsonyi Ünnepeket Kívánunk! 1Wishing you a Merry Christmas WILLIAM PENN ASSOCIATION Fraternal Life Insurance and Annuities Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Toll-free: 1-800-848-7366 www.williampennassociation.org Am The Only Hungarian Fraternal Benefit Society in the U.S.A. Now they could have just returned to the sheep. “What a pretty baby!” they might have said. Or, “We hope that family in difficult circumstances gets along okay.” They could have become too busy with the sheep to do anything more. But St. Luke says instead, “They made known what had been told them about this child ...” and they returned to the fields “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen...” If they had not witnessed St. Luke never would have known so he could tell it. St. Luke tells another story near to the time of the birth: Mary and Joseph, after eight days, present the baby in the temple for circumcision and make an offering of sacrifice as their poor circumstances allowed. Then came another recognition of revelation. A man named Simeon, described as a just and pious man, and a woman named Anna, described as a prophet who fasted and prayed daily at the temple, appear. Both of them recognize the uniqueness of this baby in Mary’s arms. For Simeon, an old man, it was the moment for which he had been waiting: “A light for revelation to the Gentiles” and “for glory to God’s people, Israel.” He prayed, “Now let your servant depart in peace ... for my eyes have seen your salvation.” And Anna, aged 84, receives the revelation too. Immediate recognition! St. Luke says, “At that moment she came, and Continued on page 8
