Calvin Synod Herald, 1976 (76. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1976-03-01 / 3-4. szám
REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA 3 Easter Is Not an Island About two thousand miles west of Chile there is a small island called Easter Island. This name was given to this tiny place because it was discovered on Easter Day, 1722 by a Dutch navigator, Admiral Roggeveen. What a suggestive name: Easter Island! It reminds us of a custom which takes Easter as an island, separated from the mainland of human life; and by this I do not mean those people who come to church only on Easter Day to sing “Christ Is Risen” and then to forget the whole thing for an entire year. I also mean those people who come to church, Sunday after Sunday, commemorating the resurrection of our Lord, and yet who live six days of the week without a relevance of Easter. Rut according to the Scriptures, Easter is not an island. It is an essential part of the mainland of human life. So much so that Paul said: “If Christ is not risen then our preaching is in vain and your faith is also in vain.” Everything is futile and meaningless. But He is risen, and that changes the whole outlook on life. Since Christ is risen from the dead, faith in God is crowned, justified and vindicated. It is worthwhile to trust in God for sooner or later you will see the victory of your faith. Since Christ is risen, we have a living hope. Deborah Kerr when in the movie version of “Quo Vadis” played the part of the girl who is almost torn apart by lions let loose on the Christians in the Roman arena was asked in a radio interview if she was not afraid of the lions that came bouncing gaily in her direction, “No” she said “for I am one of those actresses who read the script through to the end and I knew that Robert Taylor would rescue me in time.” Our hope is similar to that. In the resurrection of Christ we see the end: victory and glory. Even in death, yea in all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us . . . And finally, since Christ is risen there is love. It is worthwhile to take up the cross and loose your life for others. If Christ is not risen, it is foolish to be unselfish, to be interested in others, because it is a dead-end road. But if He is risen as He is, then we see the victory of the cross. The symbol of shame is a symbol of glory for us . . . Yes, since Christ is risen there is faith, hope and love, the solid foundation of a Christian life. Can you see it now that Easter is not an island? It puts a new dimension into all the words and conceptions that make up the mainland of life. May God grant us grace in this Easter season to understand and practice this fact. Dr. John Butosi oes <Easter <y\dean C<Jo What does Easter mean to you? Stately Church with cushioned pew, Where Lenten season gone at last And days of self-denial past, Richly-clad, devoted throngs Of worshippers unite in songs Of praise in lily-scented air? IS THIS WHAT MAKES YOUR EASTER FAIR? Does it mean the end of winter’s reign, Bright skies and welcome warmth again, Singing of birds, budding of trees, Sweet spring odors on the breeze From daffodil and crocus bed And balsam branches overhead? Sad is the world and cold and gray IF THIS IS ALL THERE IS OF EASTER DAY. But if this blessed season brings, A firmer faith in holy things; Assurance of a living Lord; A strengthening of the tender chord Of love that binds us to the life to come Where loved ones await us in the heavenly home, No pain or loss can e’er efface the bliss, DEAR FRIEND, OF EASTER, WHEN IT MEANS ALL THIS — M. R. Conard Ma ippineós PRAY It is the greatest power on earth. LOVE It is a God-given privilege. READ It is the fountain of wisdom. THINK It is the source of power. BE FRIENDLY It is the road to happiness GIVE It is too short a day to be selfish. PLAY It is the secret of perpetual youth. LAUGH It is the music of the soul. WORK It is the price of success. SAVE It is the secret of security
