Calvin Synod Herald, 1972 (72. évfolyam, 8-12. szám)
1972-08-01 / 8-9. szám
4 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD always seems an illusion. It is beyond proof, over and above rational argument. To the secular mind it always appears as foolishness; there is always another explanation. But one wonders whether one does true justice to the phenomenon apart from the simple fact — last of all, to me also. The goal of Christian evangelism is not simply to witness to an event, ancient and contemporaneous, but to bring men to a like experience, to bring them to a confession, “I know it is true; it happened to me.” But this happening is not of one’s own making. One cannot conjure up the experience. It is an event. It happens to one; one does not create it! Paul gives ample testimony to this when he ascribes it all to grace — “by the grace of God, I am what I am... I. . . though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me.” Here lies the difference between true and insincere witness, between conviction and hearsay. The gospel is not gossip. It is not simply a story. It is an event which happens and rehappens. Christ comes to one in a living encounter. No matter how spiritual or psychological it may seem, it is the crucified and living Lord who makes his presence felt and lays claim upon one. No one can convincingly proclaim the gospel until he can say, “It happened to me.” Apart from this, the message lacks conviction, the trumpet gives an uncertain sound. What is meant to be a call to arms becomes the clanging of gongs, the clashing of cymbals. But how does it happen? Truly all do not have a beatific vision. For all, the features are not so distinct, nor the voice so audible. For us today it is more the experience of redemption rather than the appearance of the risen Lord which becomes the crucial point. And we are challenged to a greater projection of faith — for us there is only a sensed presence, a felt nearness, but no visible image. Moreover, there is always a tendency to doubt the truth and reality of what is sensed and felt, as though it were a creation of the mind and not a revelation from God. Here is where the difficulties of faith arise. For we are asked to believe on apostolic testimony. Only after the projection of faith does truth become known and certainty appear. It asks one to believe what one does not see. But once grasped, once faith grasps Christ and commits the being to him, something happens — life becomes a dying and a rising again, and in this experience the truth of the resurrection becomes manifest. Thus one can say, “Add my name to the list, I know it is true, “last of all, to me also!” Amen. Bertram J. Szathmary (With the above sermon, Rev. Szathmary received the second prize in a contest spnosored by the AAonmouth Protestant Ministerial Association this past spring.)----------------------*m » m»---------------------The Eastern Classis Fall Workers Conference will be held in Fairfield, Connecticut on October 1st at 3 p.m. The theme is "Drug Abuse." The joy that sparkles in her eyes Lends a sunshine ray Of love, and creeps into my heart And steals my heart away. Her childish faith in what I am; Her trust in what I do; Her love, unselfish, freely given Must make me humbly true. O Lord! ’tis such a precious charge You’ve given as my own! ’Tis such an overwhelming task, Too great to risk alone! That she, a precious child of Thine, Looks up and sees in me A glimpse... a pattern. . . a fancy That I’m what she wants to be. So I must feel Thy hand on mine With grace to live each day As Thou wouldst have it lived... for Thee, To help her know The Way. O Lord! Let not my faults arise, But cleanse from every sin; That through my still unworthy life Her life I might help win. May she see Christ so magnified In everything I do That she might follow, and Thy love Shine from her being, too. And, when grown up to womanhood My little friend I see, May she know and love the Savior more, Having walked a ways with me. Gladys Ewing Doonan The Qolden Bull of Hungary The Golden Bull (Bulla Aurea), one of the most important constitutional documents of Hungary, was obtained from King Andrew II by the Hungarian nation in 1222. This royal decree was the first written reaffirmation of the rights and liberties of the Hungarian nobility and the other freemen who, at that time, constituted the political nation. The basic rights confirmed in the Golden Bull are direct contact with the King, personal participation in the Diet, personal freedom, freedom from taxation, privileges before the law, and the right of resistance. It is noteworthy that, although it ensured the rights and liberties of the nation, the Golden Bull did not impair the position of the King. By drawing the lines of royal power and emphasizing the need for judicial power to be exercised by the King himself, it even strengthened the position of the monarch. Regarded as one of the basic laws of the Hungarian Constitution as it existed before 1946, the
