Magyar Egyház, 1991 (70. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1991-01-01 / 1. szám
12. oldal MAGYAR EGYHÁZ with one another is precisely what the sacred author is talking about in the book of James. And it is precisely what Jesus is talking about in today’s Gospel Lesson. He has returned to Nazareth, the town in which He was reared and, as was His custom on the Sabbath, He stands up in the synagogue to do the reading. He unrolls the scroll and finds the passage where it is written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; Therefore He has anointed Me. He has sent Me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, Recovery of sight to the blind and release to prisoners, To anounce a year of favor from the Lord (Lk. 4:18-19). Jesus devoted His whole life and ministry to carrying out this mandate. He didn’t just talk about ‘the poor” and “the captives” and “the blind” in an abstract way. He saw particular persons with particular needs and He used His unique, particular gifts to bring them hope; to bring them healing; to set them free from the bonds of despair, free to embrace the gift of New Life He was offering. Christians who believe that if you have faith it doesn’t really matter what you do your life are grossly misunderstanding the Gospel Message. The Gospel Truth is, “Because we have faith we are called into a ministry of demonstrating that faith through works of love.” To give life to the world our faith must be demonstrated in ongoing, particular, practical ways. When it comes to our faith, let’s be particular! Let’s get practical! HUNGARIAN SORROW AT PERSECUTION OF JEWS A statement issued by the Synod of the Reformed Church, expressed sorrow at the twentieth century persecution of Jews. It states that, in dialogue beween Christians and Jews, neither group is expected to give up their confessions of faith. Further, dialogue would not be used “to rouse bitter experience in our Jewish brothers,” said the statement. Finally, it suggests that allegedly anti-Jewish Biblical texts should be “interpreted in their own context” and not “manipulated and considered as universal and of eternal validity.” In Papa, where some 131 years ago, one fifth of the population was Jewish, their lives and work are now preserved by numerous architectural and cultural relics, such as the recently-restored Jewish cemetery. In the cemetery, a memorial has been erected to commemorate victims of the Second World War and Nazism. Also set up to commemorate Nazi victims, is the Hungarian Holocaust Historical Memorial Society. (Keston News Service) BLAHOSLAV HRUBY The Reverend Blahoslav Hruby, Executive Director of the Research Center for Religion and Human Rights in Closed Societies and Editor of Religion in Communist Dominated Areas, died on October 22, 1990. He was 79 years old. Reverend Hruby was our good friend. Together with his wife, Mrs. Olga Hruby, he devoted many articles to the plight of the Hungarian Churches in the mother country and in the succession states. We shall remember him with love and with respect. THE GULF WAR AND THE AMERICAN CHURCHES Prior to the actual beginning of the Gulf War, leaders of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky, President and Mr. James A. Hamilton, General Secretary arranged two Gulf Crisis Conference Calls of the Heads of Communions of the National Council on January 11 and January 14 respectively. The Conference Calls resulted of a Common Basic Ecumenical Stance in the Event of War and most importantly a Message to President Bush From American Church Leaders, the Message dated January 15, 1991. Since then the war started and we don’t know if at the time this issue of Magyar Church be published there will be peace or still war. We fervently pray that peace be soon restored. We nevertheless believe that the texts of the Message to the President and of the Common Ecumenical Stance should be known to our church people. Bishop Dr. Andrew Harsanyi participated in the Conference Call analyzing the requisits of a just war; he also signed the Message to the President. Although the war is going on the “Give Peace A Chance” call has not lost its prevalence while the Common Ecumenical Stance is a vital set of guidelines for the churches in the time ofwar. Here are the transcripts: A MESSAGE TO PRESIDENT BUSH FROM AMERICAN CHURCH LEADERS Mr. President, We stand today on the verge of a military engagement whose dimensions are ominous and unforeseeable, and whose consequences for the peoples of the Gulf, the Middle East, our own nation, and the world as a whole are unfathomable. Once begun, it is unlikely that this battle can be contained in either scope, intensity, or time. And this we know out of bitter experience: in the paths of these armies will be ground to death aggressors and victims alike; the Kuwaiti lives, national dignity, and property which you deployed troops to rescue are likely to be destroyed; and very many of our own beloved countrymen and women will die. This sacrifice is out of proportion to any conceivable gain which might be achieved through military action. We beseech you: do not lead our nation into this abyss. Has the United States “used all appropriate diplomatic and other peaceful means to obtain compliance by Iraq with the United Nations Security Council resolutions,” as the joint resolution of Congress requires you to determine? Can the human spirit and imagination be so limited? Has the will of the nations to cause Iraq to abide by international law through strict enforcement of economic sanctions been sufficiently tested? We beseech you: before it is too late, delay military action, give peace another chance. 1-15-91
