Calvin Synod Herald, 2016 (117. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2016-07-01 / 7-8. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 9 125th Anniversary of The First Hungarian Reformed Church of Cleveland, Ohio On Saturday, April 30, 2016 our church celebrated the 125th Anniversary of its founding. Our honored guests at this wonderful event were Dr. Péter Hoppál, Minister of State for Culture from the Ministry of Human Resources and his wife; Dr. Ferenc Szebényi and his wife; Dr. Adám Márkusfalvi-Tóth, Chief Consul, Consulate General of Hungary in Chicago; Mr. Kevin Hurst, Mayor of Walton Hills and his wife; and Mr. László Bojtos, Honorary Consul General of Cleveland and his wife. At the jubilant worship service thirteen pastors served - from different denominations - to the approximately 280 people, who attended the special service. The English sermon was given by Rev. Frank A. Endrei Pastor Emeritus of our church, then Rt. Rev. Dr. Csaba Krasznai, current pastor of the church, gave the sermon in Hungarian. Our church’s organist Ms. Judith Bluhm played on the organ and Presbyter Bill Nichols and musician John Toula made our worship service more colorful with guitar traditional hymns and contemporary worship songs. Our church is so delighted for this wonderful event, for the remembrance and great milestone in our congregation’s life. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the dedicated church members, our organizations, companies, businesses, and other volunteers who helped make this celebration a beautiful historical and spiritual event in our church’s life. Beata Krasznai Processional of Pastors - (see more pictures on page 15) kind and another a different kind” (ICor 7:7 NRSV). For example, I consider myself a theologian. This is what I have been doing for more than two decades. I “had set [my] heart to study the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach” (Ezr 7:10 NRS). Thus I decided to put my energies into the biblical-theological work to find our identity. I am planning to write a series of articles about “our religion.” My hope is that others will join in a fruitful discussion. Rev. Viktor Tóth The Human Face Divine Text: II Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17 St. Paul says that when we are “in Christ” we no longer see others from a merely human point of view. Surely he means that when we see others through Christ’s eyes the human is elevated to a new dimension. In a poem written when he was young, John Milton lamented that for all the gifts of life, because of his blindness, he could not look upon what he called “the human face divine.” William Blake, in a famous poem, wrote: And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon England ’s mountains green; And was the holy Lamb of God On England’s pleasant pastures seen? And did the Countenance Divine Shine forth upon our clouded hills? So we understand that our Lord’s human face was truly divine. And seeing through Christ’s eyes we see the divine dimension of every face around us. Here we are, face to face. What do we see? Well, a lot of physical traits—brown eyes, blue eyes, full heads of hair or receding hair lines, bushy or refined eyebrows, etc. Did you ever just sit in a park and people watch? Pick out a passerby and give him or her an instant profile? We might, for example, say: Black, young, extrovert, student. Or we might say: Latino, distinguished, attractive, casual, etc. These are the human ways we see each other, quite necessary and normal for processing our encounters in daily life. But... but... in Christ we are called to see each other, indeed, all people, from a deeper point of view, from a new perspective. As St. Paul said, “From now on we regard no one from a merely human point of view.” What may this mean? It means we are to look beneath the outer appearance to see each other through Christ’s eyes. What do we see in this way? Well, notice what Jesus saw according to the evangelist Mark: • He saw children as part of the inner circle, not distractions. Which is exactly what we see at Children’s Moment in worship. • Zacchaeus, the scrawny, deceitful tax collector, Jesus sees as a worthy host and benefactor of the poor. • Peter, in Jesus’ eyes is a fisher for people and not just for fish. • The maniac of the Gerasene tombs in Jesus’ eyes is
