Magyar Egyház, 1985 (64. évfolyam, 1-5. szám)
1985-05-01 / 3. szám
10. oldal MAGYAR EGYHÁZ time to talk to the Pastor that he found his confidence, his strength, his joy for life. Meditation is necessary to keep the flames of Pentecost alive in the heart. The second piece of wood I would like to offer is “Prayer.” I imagine that prayer is talked about more and practiced least in the churches today. But we know from the past and from our everyday life that prayer is an essential part of our religious practice. It is recorded that when Solomon finished his dedicatory prayer “the fire of the Lord fell down from heaven and the glory of the Lord filled the house.” This is not ancient history, it will happen today, too. But we cannot expect the real Pentecostal fire to fall until we pray. The third piece of wood to make religious fire in our hearts is none other than the Word of God. The Bible not only contains the Word of God, — but the Bible is the Word of God. It is neither the book of the month or the book of the year, but it is the book of the centuries. To the earthy sojourner it is a map of the country here and the one to which he is going. To the pilot it is the chart by which he steers. To the pilgrim it is the staff to lean upon. To the soldier it is a weapon, the sword of the spirit. To the student it is the textbook to eternity. To the carpenter it is a hammer hat breaketh the brick into pieces. To the minister it is a guidebook for humanity. To the sinner it is a blueprint for salvation. The answer you see my friends for all the problems the Word of God is a sure solution. In fact there is nothing that confronts the human being that cannot be solved by the Word of God. But you ask: “What does the Word of God has to do with being on fire for the Lord?” This can be best answered by the Prophet Jeremiah: “But his word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones.” Whenever the Word of God is studied and kept purely in the heart it is like to continuous burning fire. After the resurrectiion when Jesus met the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and they were downhearted discouraged and He began to speak to them, their eyes were clouded with doubt and they did not recognize him, but as they walked the dusty road their eyes were opened and they knew him and they said to one another: “did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us.” Yes, the scripture will set our hearts aflame, for in them you will find fuel for your soul. Does not your heart burn within you when you read the Bible. My prayer is, that you will use these precious woods to strengthen the flames of religion in your heart that it could be said of you too: that your religion is on fire for God. YOUTH CONFERENCE August 11-17 AT MOUNT PLEASANT, PENNSYLVANIA Co-sponsored by the Hungarian Reformed Church and the Calvin Synod (UCC) For further information contact your local Pastor. AGING WITHOUT FEAR In the household of God there isn’t any coincidence. Ilona Racz — or Helen as she was called by her American friends — died on the birthday of David Meenan — the late husband of her niece —, whom she loved so much, and who loved her also very much. And she died a week before Good Friday, on Friday of March 29th. Her departure was synchronized by God. She was 77 years old. The official statement of the coroner made it clear that the cause of her death was a massive heart attack, and it happened in a moment, while she was sleeping. Her face showed peace and calmness. She prayed for a quick sudden death. I am convinced that she got it as a reward, which the Lord, the righteous judge, gave her. The circumstances, the dates of her departure connected with show strange, mystical involvements. The fear of becoming old in our Western world accompanied by the fear of not being able to live up to the expectations of an environment in which you are what you can produce, achieve, have and keep. Helen didn’t fear of becoming old. As everybody, she, too, had her shortcomings. But in the long run she was a happy, well-balanced, active woman with a lovely sense of humor. She used to say that life was gracious to her because — after loosing her parents in her early age — she got a wonderful home in the family of her niece, as well as she had a fine opportunity to start a new life in America. Yes, Helen fulfilled the cycle of her life, and life became a process of growth. Aging for her was not a reason for despair but a basis of gratitude, not a slow decaying but a gradual maturing, not a fate to be undergone but a chance to embrace and to be embraced. We can fairly say that Ilona’s life had two centers: Anikó with her family, and the Hungarian Reformed Church of Hollywood. She loved her niece more than her own life. And she served God with joy and with an incomparable activity in the community of the Protestant Hungarians. To look after the church-affairs for her was more than an obligatory responsibility and action of the president of the Woman’s Guild. It came from heart. It was a true devotion. She told me several times that she was blessed by letting her to work around and for the church because she felt herself a useful person, who belongs to life, and not an outsider, a helpless, hopeless victim of the lonely heart-syndrom. Her compassionate, loving heart always turned to people, who suffered needed warm words and a piece of bread. She was not rich but she was rich as far as sharing, loving gestures were concerned. Ilona Racz proved with facts, with a life-style what Jesus meant with these words: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21.). When we leave this world, we can be what we have given. I met a woman a while ago who had only one complaint to make against her husband: “My husband always praise me to other people — she said. Constantly I hear from friends the wonderful things he has said about me. But I miss something because be never gets around saying these same things to me, to my face.” This complaint, however trivival it may seem, shows something about our
