Fraternity-Testvériség, 2010 (88. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2010-01-01 / 1. szám
Fraternity I Testvériség Calvin Synod— United Church of Christ My Dear Friends: My warmest greetings to all of you in this beautiful Easter season. I say “season” because years ago, “the Second Day of Easter” was also part of our tradition, vis a young child, part of the Easter tradition was to “sprinkle” the ladies, young and old, with a bit of perfume. Such traditions seem to be so far in the past. Now we deal with other traditions. But somehow the “Easter Bunny” doesn’t evoke the same feelings, and I never could get used to “Fat Tuesday” in preparation for Lent! Somehow that doesn’t prepare me for the Biblical account of what we are celebrating, the most important Christian holiday! After the celebrations, the grand entrance of Jesus on Palm Sunday, during the following week, it seems all of Jerusalem, including Jesus’ own disciples, misunderstood Jesus’ purpose and desires and instead went ahead with thier own plans concerning how they thought Jesus should act and what they felt His methods and goals should be. They did not understand that Jesus came to declare and establish the Kingdom of God, not the new nationalistic Jewish Kingdom which they desired. It was obvious and understandable that the local rulers would be in opposition to Jesus as they were protecting their own interests. The big surprise was that Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand His aims or goals in spite of the fact that they had been with Him for three years! When they went with him to the garden to pray, they fell asleep due to weariness or boredom; when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, they attacked the soldiers with a sword. Earlier that evening, Jesus had taken the bread, blessed it and said, “This is my body, broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” After the meal, he had taken the cup and said, “This cup is the new testament in my blood which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Fortunately, the disciples remembered these words, and these words brought them together again several days later when the Risen Christ appeared to them again. These words, passed down to us thorough the ages, call to us as Jesus’ disciples today. It is important to remember these words. Just as was true with the disciples, we too have known Jesus for a long time, thinking we understand His words and His desires for our lives. The truth is we are just like those who welcomed and celebrated Jesus’ coming on that Palm Sunday. After the celebrations and holidays are over, we think that we understand our situation better than does Jesus; we think we have a better, more realistic grip on twenty-first century life than Jesus could have had. Thus, we make our decisions irrespective of Jesus’ life, His examples, His teachings, or His sacrifice on the cross. As a result, we become quite lost in the world. We suffer reversals and disappointments in life and do not understand why. Soon the time will be here for us to sing “Hosanna” to celebrate Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. And then we will again be reminded of the events of Holy Week. On Good Friday, we will remember that terrible day that Christ was hung on the cross. Then on Easter Sunday, we will gather around the Lord’s Table and again, we will hear the words, “Take and eat; this is my body, which is given for you. Take and drink. This cup is the New Testament in my blood, shed for the remission of your sins... Do this in remembrance of me.” Let us not leave those words to remain in the sanctuary at the Table. And let us not leave our Risen Lord there in that place either. He is our Lord in our everyday life. He did not die merely so that we should “remember” Him at “the Table.” He died for us in order that he would bring us new life! Allow the Risen Lord Jesus Christ to be an ever-present, living part of your whole life! Rt. Rev. Koloman Karl Ludwig Bishop 3 i
