Magyar Egyház, 1953 (32. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)
1953-10-01 / 10. szám
10 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ ENGLISH SECTION REJOICE! GOD IS WITH US! In true commemoration of the season we sing the well known refrain of our Advent hymn, “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!” Even though we do this in the spirit of expectancy, there is a certain amount of anachronism in it, unless we already see the fulfillment of that expectancy: Christmas in Advent, as well as Golgotha in Bethlehem, as Easter in Good Friday. It is true that the less used name of Jesus, Emmanuel (or Immanuel—God with us) is the key to an understanding of the spirit and message of Christmas, but only if we couple it with the very words of the Master, “I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me . . . Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Rejoice! God is with us, now and always. At Christmas God appeared in human form to be with us forever. We live in a world in which He lived. Men have seen His face, listened to His voice, touched His body even after his resurrection. Men witnessed for Him. The land He walked on we call the Holy Land. Millions travelled thousands of miles just to walk on the very ground He walked on. There is a great deal more behind this than the historic fact that He lived amongst us — there is a revelation in this. Through Jesus of history we have come to know God, and know Him as our Heavenly Father. The kind of God we have is the kind who was able to give us Jesus Christ. The character of God is manifested by the very fact that He loved us so much as to give His Son for us, and it is revealed to us by the character of Jesus himself. The love of God in sending Jesus Christ to die for our salvation is beyond human understanding, it is too deep for us to measure — but the character of Jesus helps us to come close to Him. Christ represented and revealed God in such a way that now we can say: God is Christlike; “henceforth you know him and have seen him” (John 14:7). It is not necessary to repeat the well known facts that which Jesus did—how He delivered to us the words of life, healed the sick, assured us of the love of God in the forgiveness of sins. But these are the facts which should remind you of the truth, when clouds are dark, fear engulfs your heart, and sin seperates you from Him: You have a God who understands you, who is with you. God is with us in sympathy, in understanding, in grace, and in love. He not only stepped into history in the fullness of time: he is still with us. Because He lives, He is not of history, He is beyond the limitations of time and place: Fie is the everpresent companion of our days. He is still and always will be, Emmanuel — God with us! What do men dread most? Death. Or is it the judgement after death? “Fear not!” — said the angel of the first Christmas. Rejoice! God is with us even after death. Because He lives we shall live also. Judgement is there, but so is mercy and love, for there sits on his throne the Lamb of God, our Lord, who redeems life. At Christmastime we worship the King of kings and Lord of lords. “We hear the Christmas angels The great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel!” Stephen Szőke. IN MEMÓRIÁM TO ARTHUR M. WARGO April 4, 1927 October 29, 1953 Even as the ink dries on this printed page so wither the wreaths on the newly formed mound in the Hungarian Reformed Cemetery of Duquesne. Many among you who read these lines recall the name as that of our past president of the Bethlen Youth Federation, 1950- 1951. The event of his passing from our midst was a blow not only to his immediate family and loved ones, but also, to those of us who had shared his fellowship, his spiritual leadership and his undaunted courage which never faltered even to the end. It is not my aim to philosophize in these lines to the whys and wherefores of so short an existence for one so young, so vital, aind so eager to meet the challenges of life. In my own humble way, I too live expecting the inevitable. We all should, keeping in mind the fact that without God we are nothing, but God in us we are the children of his blessing. So lived Art, with the serenity of his spirit reflecting the impact of a deeply endowed faith in His Creator. Is it little wonder then that he made such a memorable and lasting impression upon all who moved past him through-out his life-span? We remember well his role at the Akron, Trenton and Duquesne Conferences, of his diligence in aiding to institute our present Constitution and By-Laws giving the Federation the structural foundation which it lacked. Locally, his diversifications were multi-fold, including the secretaryship of the Church Council, Assistant
