Calvin Synod Herald, 2009 (110. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2009-11-01 / 11-12. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 3 THE BETHLEHEM STAR “Now when Jesus was bom in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.(Matthew 2: 1-2) “And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2: 8-11) Every summer at the Hungarian Reformed Youth Camp, one evening we make our way to the top of the mountain. This is an evening eagerly anticipated both the young people and the adults. When we leave the cottage area it is already dark, and we make our way up to the mountaintop on a narrow, winding path, surrounded by dense forest. Then suddenly we arrive in a clearing on the mountaintop, and we are greeted by a star-lit sky. The whole procession stops in wonderment as we go from the darkness of the forest to the beauty of the heavens, as if none had ever seen stars. This is one of the reasons we make this journey to the mountaintop. In the camp we can see stars too, but there we are in a valley, with a variety of lighted buildings and lights in effect polluting the darkness, making it difficult to see, to truly appreciate the wonder of the stars. This evening trip to the mountaintop is important, so that that we would be high up to see that wonder that we really don’t appreciate down in the valley. At Christmas time we read about the arrival of the Wise Men in the second chapter of Matthew, when they followed the star to Bethlehem. It’s a beautiful telling of the Christmas story. But we tend to miss that this is a lasting message because it is found in the Bible, and we have a tendency to relegate it to Jesus’ time, two thousand years ago. We don’t often consider that God speaks to us through nature, through the stars. The truth is, we don’t look at stars in this way, just as the campers didn’t notice the stars while they were in camp. Like them, we also live in a valley, we don’t see the HUNGARIAN REFORMED CHURCH, Passaic NJ celebrated the birth of John Calvin and also the 50th Anniversary of the construction of the church’s Calvin Hall. The Congregation also hosted the Eastern Classis Meeting on that same day. HUNGARIAN REFORMED CHURCH of Homestead, Munhall PA celebrated Reverend Alexander Jalso’s 55th years in the Ministry, 10 of which he has served with the Homestead Congregation. A Celebratory 10 AM Worship was followed by a Luncheon and Reception. May God continue to richly bless the ministry of Rev. Jalso and the Homestead Congregation! Compiled by Tünde Garat beautiful heavens, we don’t recognize God’s presence, we don’t hear his voice in our daily lives. We live in a world where we are surrounded by man-made distractions - just as in the camp the lights made the stars difficult to see. The reality of heaven is obliterated by the pollution of our lives, and we live our daily routines as if there were no heavens, nor stars in the skies. We just don’t notice them. Nor do we see God’s handiwork in our lives. We are constantly surrounded by man-made, artificial “lights” which distract us from God’s presence: work, entertainment, the striving for more wealth, these are the things we focus on. We don’t notice that God is there everyday with us, we don’t notice that Jesus is with us every step of the way, cares for us, and leads on a better way, if we recognize him and listen to him. The words in Matthew’s Gospel don’t just speak of a time gone-by, they also bring us the good news that even today God can be seen in our lives. The Star of Bethlehem would lead us to beautiful, wonderful places, if we would only look up and be led by its light. But first, we need to cleanse ourselves of those man-made “lights”, those distractions, which blind us to the true light. At Christmas time the stars again call us to see the wonder. The birth of the Savior is truly “Good News” for us - it is not just a page in history, but it is an eternal, everlasting gift up until this very day. Let us open our hearts to the wonderful news the stars bring to us: we are not alone, our Savior is here with us even today. Let us open our eyes, follow the star of the little baby in Bethlehem, not just at Christmas time, but throughout our lives. Rt. Rev. Koloman K. Ludwig, Bishop The American Hungarian Reformed Presbyters’ Association 63rd Annual Meeting August 22 - 23, 2009 Bethlen Communities - Ligonier, Pennsylvania The opening Service was held at The Bethlen Home Chapel. Participating in the service were Rev. Imre A. Bertalan, Rev. Chuck Huckaby whose sermon was “Reformed Elders and the New Creation of Christ” The Text was 2 Chronicles 19:4-11 and Acts 20:27-32, Rev. Gabor Nitsch, Wilburn Roby and Priscilla Hunyadi. Guest Speaker was Rev. Chuck Huckaby whose topic was, “The Reformed Elder in Perilous Times.” The Text was Exodus 18:7-27 and Acts 20:27-32. During the afternoon session the Officers and Presbyters’ gave their reports. We had words of welcome from Pastors and Elders from Hungary. The Sunday morning session opened with a Hymn and a short message by Rt. Rev. Louis Medgyesi. This was followed by the Committee reports. The meeting was opened open for discussion. Continued on page 4
