Magyar Egyház, 1960 (39. évfolyam, 1-9. szám)
1960-08-01 / 8-9. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 9 YOUTH EAGER TO SEE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD FRUZSINA HARSÁNY I REPORTS ON THE FIRST F.CUMENICAL YOUTH ASSEMBLY IN EUROPE Lausanne, July, I960 On the afternoon of July thirteenth 3,000 people gathered in the great cathedral in Lausanne, Switzerland, for the opening service of the European Ecumenical Youth Assembly. Of these 3,000 people 1800 were young delegates who came from almost every nation and from every protestant and orthodox Church in the world. They knew that for ten days in large assemblies and small workgroups they would examine the task of the churches in a changing European situation, and their mission and unity. We were strangers to each other, yet I, a Reformed girl from America could talk with a Methodist from Madagascar and be conscious of one overruling sense, not that I was Reformed and he Methodist, but that we were Christians. The great theme of the conference was “Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.” Yet, although we had our common belief in Efim, we still belonged to our own denominations with their traditions. A Dutch group in a pantomime suggested that the churches of the world today each burn their own light, seeking to burn a greater flame with more members and more donations. Instead, why don’t we extinguish the importance of our denominational flame and give allegiance to Christ, the one light of the world. The whole ecumenical movement is working through the denominations for such a unity in Christ. Many speakers suggested that we live in a post-Christian era. In the United States it is fashionable to go to church; in Europe the Christian religion is something vague, diffuse, set apart from life. Dr. Visser ’t Hooft, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, in his opening speech remarked that “by coming together we have taken a great responsibility, for now it will have become clear where the Christian young people of Europe stand. Are we the “beat” generation in dying churches in an exhausted old continent? Or are we a real youth movement in churches which are being renewed in a continent which discovers a new vocation? The question is whether we belong to Him in such a way that it becomes true to us: ‘If anyone is in Christ, hie is a new creation.’ ” Thus, we began in the hope that the Lord would bring us together in spite of our misunderstandings and disagreements. And so, the American delegates participated, contributing their enthusiasm and active minds while being aware of the problems of European youth. We, from a relatively young country learned what it means to be bound by tradition and a long history. I myself an American, from a church with a European background, urged them to be proud of their traditions, to make it an asset rather than an hindrance. The conference spirit spread through the delegates as “ecumenical envoys” were whisked off in all directions, out into the beautiful Swiss countryside, to meet people of the Swiss churches, and spend the week-end at the homes of Swiss families. By Sunday we were really like brothers and sisters as we sat in the great assembly room of the Palais de Beaulieu to listen to Honegger’s oratorio “King David.” Then back to another week of rushing for earphones to understand the translations of the speeches in our miniature United Nations. We laughed, we talked seriously into the early hours of the morning, we struggled with language barriers, we were disturbed by our differences, and overjoyed by what we had in common. Suddenly, it was over, and we were charged with putting our experiences at Lausanne to the test in our local congregations. “We are deliberately returning home to our own denominations, but we are all going home as Christians who are profoundly disturbed by the knowledge of unity and the guilt of division. We are going home as Christians who have experienced what it means not to be able to become one at the Lord’s Table, and who do not want to shrug off this pain and no longer want to conceal this guilt from themselves. We are going home as Christians who know ourselves to have been made responsible by God for seeing that in our own denominations uneasiness about disunity and the passionate longing for visible unity grow constantly.” So we ended in the cathedral with prayers of thanksgiving, penitence and dedication. The youth marched out, pathetically carrying placards bearing the names of the confessions, while singing a hymn of hope for unity. We are gratful to God that we have caught a vision of the whole Christian Church, sent to meet the whole world in its need. and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.” (Mark 10:21, 22) The young man wanted to bargain for eternal life. He loved his wealth, however, more than he did following Jesus. He went away sadly from Jesus and remained far away forever. What does today’s youth love? Do they love Jesus more than the worthless temporal desires? Do they love more to work on their cars instead of going to church on Sunday? In how many cases could God tell us that we have one shortcoming. for certain, that we love something or someone more than we do God? We go to Christ like the young man did and ask what we must do to attain eternal life, and he tells us that we must overcome our shortcomings. Which should we choose? Can we trust ourselves and our shortcomings to Him, or will we just leave Christ because we value material possessions, the cause of many shortcomings, or earthly pleasures more than life eternal? Life will depress us if we don’t follow Him, who is way, life, and truth. The young people of our Hungarian Reformed Church in America are rallying to Perth Amboy in these days for their 22nd national conference. I trust and pray that they grow in faith during these days and return home knowing that they love God more than before: with all their heart, and with all their soul, and with all their mind. And I also pray that they fully realize: the traditions of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America, the faith of their fathers, is not something merely to be looked upon with reverence: it is a way of life to be praticed. The best we know. May God bless this conference. Stephen Bodnar
