Magyar Egyház, 1981 (60. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1981-03-01 / 3-4. szám
KAGyflK GGYhm 10. oldal MAGYAR CHURCH “Why Do You Seek The Living Among The Dead?...“---------------------------------------------------------- Luke 24:5b ----------------------------------------------------DEAR BRETHREN AND FELLOW BELIEVERS IN THE RISEN SAVIOR! A well-known hymn begins with this statement: “I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today!” The title of the hymn is: ‘‘He lives!” The story of Easter in two words! What more, what less could or should be said of Easter, than these words: ‘‘Jesus lives!” This statement of faith is so strong that it escorts us to our grave, as the Hungarian Reformed hymn is sung at the graveside, stating that it is not to our hearts’ fear to look into our own grave! Jesus has risen from the dead, He lives, therefore, we, too, will live forever. As the first Good Friday came closer and closer, Christ had to make His choice: to follow popular demands on Palm Sunday, to follow his human instinct Maundy Thursday night and ask that the cup be removed from him, or to submit Himself to the Father’s will on the cross, when Good Friday dawned. We know, what His choice was, How His obedience overcame temptation. Easter’s story tells us that God rewarded His loyalty and submission with the fulfillment of the promise of resurrection. By Hungarian Reformed tradition, Good Friday is the most important holiday in our church calendar. Yes, without Good Friday there could not have been an Easter Sunday, but the opposite is just as true: without Easter Sunday Good Friday would have been in vain! The faithful women, unaware of the Easter miracle, came to seek the dead Master, to perform the last rites of respect. They were seeking the dead among the dead. What a joyful surprise, when the story unfolded completely, and they found out that the Master rose from the dead! It was such a joyful discovery that they ran back to the rest of the followers to share with them this story of unexpected happy ending of the original tragedy. This is one of the reasons why Protestant churches, our Hungarian Reformed churches in particular do not display the crucifix, the sign of the cross with the figure of Jesus crucified on it as a center of attention. Our Savior was taken off the cross, after being buried, rose from the dead; we don’t have to look for Him among the dead, or see Him on the cause of His death, on the cross, because He lives! How wonderful it is that usually even nature herself symbolizes this new life by the arrival of spring. How wonderful it is that the accepted symbol of Easter is the lily, the flower that symbolizes purity, immortality. The empty cross, the empty tomb show the end of the story, in the words of the young man, the angel (Mark 16:6): ‘‘He has risen, he is not here',...” Easter Sunday means a new birth, new life for us, also. From sin’s wages, death, we are redeemed, and we are given the hope and promise of a new life, through the example of our Risen Savior. He had to die and be resurrected so that we may live! This is the general joy and glory of Easter. However, Easter has a special meaning for us, Hungarian Reformed Christians in America. Each and every Easter means the emphasis of desire and hope and another chance for unity. It is my fervent prayer that this Easter resurrects, again, the desire and hope and chance for our unity. Jesus prayed constantly, but John the evangelist lists three prayers in particular, these prayers were on our Savior’s lips as He was ready to depart, as He prayed in the garden. The prayer to be glorified, the prayer for the disciples, and the prayer for the church were His last request from the Father. In each and every one of the prayers Christ speaks of oneness, unity. When I studied in Bonn, Germany, our student congregation attended a Lutheran church. There is only one Evangelical church in Germany, though individual congregations may be different: Reformed or Lutheran. This particular congregation belonged to the Lutheran “side”. It took a long time and it was a hard decision for me to go to communion in that church, but in Christ finally I became one with them. I followed the wonderful decision German Protestants made, when, in spite of the political division of East and West, they professed the slogan: Still, we are brethren, we are one! Can we, Hungarian Reformed Christians in America afford less than our German brethren did? Can we afford to continue to deny Christ’s request, prayer to the Father, as He was ready to ascend the cross, as He was facing the agonies of crucifixion? Can we, children of comfort and wealth and freedom be less faithful than our galley slave forefathers were, when they rather chose slavery than to deny their allegiance to Him? It is time that we acknowledge and put into practice fellowship and brotherhood across the denominational divisions. It is wonderful to see that our youth spends time and receives valuable nurture in the same camp! History did and will answer the question of the necessity of division in the past; history does and will answer the question of the necessity of unity now and in the future. Nations claim that united they stand, divided they fall. God’s kingdom is built upon a similar choice, it is built upon One Rock, the Risen Saviour. On judgement day the Lord will pass the final judgement upon all of us, and our Defender will have to include our attitude of love or hatred toward our brethren in His argument during that trial. Looking forward to Easter we, too, have the threefold choice of our Savior: popularity, selfishness, or God’s will. Unfortunately the failure of the church and
