Magyar Egyház, 1968 (47. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1968-12-01 / 12. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 11 MAGYAR CHURCH Bishop Dezső Abrahám: ®be (^reat Ülpőterp of (^oö “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” I. Timothy 3:16 At the time when our Lord Jesus Christ was born, the heathen religions had some kind of mystery, secret doctrines or practices which were only revealed to those who became initiated. Some of these pagan religions may sound foolish today, but Christianity, too, had its mystery according to the apostle, Paul, and this was the Lord Jesus Christ: his birth, his life and teaching, his death and resurrection and ascension into heaven. Paul writes in his epistle to Timothy: “without controversy great is the mystery of godliness.” Perhaps for Paul and the disciples, Jesus Christ and his birth, and all was the greatest mystery ever revealed, but even then, there were many who doubted and questioned and disbelieved. Much more, we do have people in our modern age, who criticize the Bible and do not accept the teachings of our Lord without controversy. Yea, among Christians, some go as far as denying the basic tenets of our faith, the virgin birth of our Savior, or many other parts of the Holy Writ. Therefore, we must emphasize with the apostle and all faithful witnesses of the church, that “great is the mystery of God.” Indeed, we have to admit, that Christianity demands no small portion of our mind and heart, hut all in all. Jesus Christ can occupy no secondary place in a heart, home, church or nation. He is either the first, most important or He is not present at all. This is why Christmas, the birthday of our Lord, is very important to all who follow Him. This mystery is great, because God was manifest in the flesh. He became like us, in every respect, sin excepted. For faithful and true believers of God, the nativity of our Lord, His holy conception and His condescension are all part of the revelation of Almighty God. Christians cannot remain indifferent in the controversies when godlessness tries to destroy everything our church and faith is based upon; no good Christian can remain undecided in this age of apostasy, followers of Christ must confess that Jesus is the Son of God. All other dogma of the New Testament starts from here, all thoughts flow into this wide ocean, all revelations of God enlightens this message: that Jesus Christ was born. The first Christmas brought happiness into the heart of Mary, the wise men who traveled from afar just to see him and to pay homage to him; the first Christmas brought a great deal of joy to the shepherds, who left their flocks by night, just to obey the angels and to go even unto Bethlehem, where they saw the little child. This Christin:.? has been a joyful holiday ever since, and it will he the same again this year, only you must come with the desire to worship this king of kings and honor Him. This Christmas joy could not be contained in one little circle, no, it was preached everywhere. This is what Paul tells Timothy. This is what we read in the Acts of Apostles, and in the other epistles: Jesus Christ was preached in Judea and in all parts of the world. The disciples went on from one trial to another, from one country to another until the name of Christ filled every heart: spread from generation to generation. This is the message in every land today: Jesus Christ w'as horn and preached unto the Gentiles. Then Paul tells Timothy that not only was God manifest in the flesh when Jesus Christ was horn, not only was he preached to everyone, but that they believed in Him. Indeed, it is a mystery that people believed in Christ. You know the jealousy in the heart of King Herod who ordered all little children to be killed in Bethlehem. You know how the Pharisees tried to destroy this Christ. You know the many obstacles in His way, yet there were still many who believed in Him and said: “Thou art the Son of God.” The lame walked, the leprous became clean, and the many sick all received help in their afflictions. Men who experienced the magic touch of His hand, or heard the voice of His power, all believed in Him. Christmas joy can be yours, if you not only understand that Christ was born, not only hear His gospel preached, but if you truly believe in Him. May God grant you such a real and true Christmas ioy this year!
