Magyar Egyház, 1962 (41. évfolyam, 2-12. szám)
1962-11-01 / 11. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 9 You remember that in the Lord’s parable of the Last Judgment (Matthew 25) those who are standing at the left hand of the king are there not because they committed some great evil. So they try to defend themselves by saying: Lord, when did we see you in any need and did not minister to you? Then the king answers them: “Truly, I say to you as you did it not to one of the) least of my brethren, you did it not to me.” Let us open our eyes and see how we all can serve our Lord in matters of race relations. Z. F.--------------o-------------"ONLY...” BISHOP BEKY’S MESSAGE TO THE ELDER S CONFERENCE “Only hold fast what you have, until I come.” Revelations 2:25 Dear Brethren: Praising anthems of thanksgiving fill our hearts today. In this sanctuary, elders of two Classes are united in prayer and worship, dedicated people who want to serve our Lord Jesus Christ in the Hungarian Reformed Church in America. How many times we heard in the past: “the Hungarian Reformed Churches have no future.” How many Hungarian Reformed pulpiteers conceeded defeat by saying: “we are close to the end of our existence.” Today we know that these prophecies were false. God preserved us as Hungarian Reformed Christians and Hungarian Reformed Churches. God was merciful and full of loving kindness to us. The weak churches of uprooted immigrants became parts of the communities in which we live. It is with gratitude to Almighty God that we can say: “We, members and leaders of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America are here to stay.” In the word of God we read: “only hold fast what you have . . .” What do you have in matters of faith and worship? What is it that God wants you to hold, that is to preserve and maintain? One of the basic doctrines of the Reformed faith says, and I quote it from the Heidelberg Catechism, “without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head.” It is not insignificant and indifferent that God created you as a Hungarian Reformed Christian. It is not at all irrelevant that He called you to be an elder in His Hungarian Reformed Church. God does not want you to work miracles in this text. There is that little word at the top of our Bible verse: “only.” Hold your faith, the faith of your fathers in your life today. It is only this He wants you to do. This thing I want to emphasize, “only hold fast what you have.” Only that simple, time-honored faith. And what is faith? According to our Reformed creed true faith means not only the knowledge of the doctrines we hold to be true, but it is also trust in Him, who gave us that knowledge of salvation. Know that faith and have trust in the Lord in whom we believe. This question should never be formulated: “do we have a future as Hungarian Reformed elders in America?” That what God called to life, His work must never be questioned by men. In our calling as Hungarian Reformed elders we should hear the word of God speaking to us: “hold fast” what you have. It is a precious gift of God that you may believe, may know Him and may have courage to live. Cherish this great divine gift. It is not only a free gift, it is also a comandment. A divine imperative. Only hold fast what you have . . . Hungarian Reformed Elders, today we speak about your calling and your responsibility. God calls you to cherish, to love what you have in the faith and church and your fathers. If you hear God’s word: it is your calling. The place and the time where you hear it is the place and fellowship God wants you to be in: the Hungarian Reformed Church. Now what is your responsibility? The big word responsibility means: the person who was called responds to the voice of calling. God called you to serve as a Hungarian Reformed elder, here in America, and today in the nineteen-sixties. Your responsibility lies in the life and service you can render to God while accepting your responsibilities in these churches. The responsibility of a Hungarian Reformed elder is simply a positive and active Christian life and service within the fellowship of God’s Hungarian Reformed people. How could we ever define it better than the Heidelberg Catechism, that precious book of comfort for all Reformed Christians does it in its first question: That I belong — body and soul, in life and death — not to myself but to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who at the cost of his own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of the devil; that he protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that everything must fit his purpose for my salvation. Therefore by His Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him. O respond with your life and service to the call of your Lord. You heard His Word as a child of His Hungarian Reformed people, let your responsibility be “to hold fast what you have” until He comes again.--------------o-------------EASTERN ELDERS' CONFERENCE ELECTS NEW OFFICERS The Elders’ Conference, held November 4 in Trenton, elected the following new officers: Sándor Kiss (New York) — president, Andrew Turi (Trenton) — vice president, Stephen Deak (Perth Amoby) and Stephen Bajzath (Roebling) — secretaries, William Lazar (Carteret) — treasurer, Michael Gonczy (Cliffside) and Jeno Barath (Poughkeepsie) — auditors. A detailed report on the conference will appear in our next issue.
