Calvin Synod Herald, 2012 (113. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2012-09-01 / 9-10. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 9 them for just a little bit before the test. They went through the review, most of it right on the study guide, but there were some things the teacher was reviewing that this student had never heard of. When questioned about it, the teacher said that this material was in the book and they were responsible for everything in the book. The class couldn’t really argue with that. Finally it was time to take the test. The prof, instructed the class to leave the exam booklets face down on the desk until everyone had one and then he would tell them to start. When the students turned the exam booklets over, every answer was already filled in! The bottom of the last page said the following: “This is the end of the Final Exam. All the answers on your test are correct. You will receive an ‘A’ on the final exam. The reason you passed the test is because the creator of the test took it for you. All the work you did in preparation for this test did not help you get the A. You have just experienced ... grace.” The teacher then went around the room and asked each student individually, “What is your grade? Do you deserve the grade you are receiving? How much did all your studying for this exam help you achieve your final grade?” This student, writing about this experience, says, “Now I am not a crier by any stretch of the imagination, but I had to fight back tears when answering those questions and thinking about how the Creator has passed the test for me.” Afterward his teacher had this to say: “I have tried to teach you all semester that you are a recipient of grace...” The teacher went on to say he had never done this kind of final before and probably would never do it again, but because of the content of many of their class discussions, he felt like they needed to experience grace. Not just talk about it, but experience it. [From “Mike’s Funnies List. ” Cited on Pastor Tim ’s Illustrations List.] All of us need to EXPERIENCE grace - not just know about it intellectually. Many of us grew up in homes where love was conditional. We were not conscious of it, but that is how we experienced life as a child. Our parents’ acceptance was performance-based. If we did well, we experienced our parents’ approval. If not, we experienced their disapproval. And so, at a level at which we are not even aware, all our lives we have been trying to measure up to our parents’ expectations. And the sad thing is that we never can. And so many of us have this deep sense of unworthiness. And you know something interesting - it’s some of the finest people in the church who have this sense of unworthiness. And it’s robbed us of our joy. We’ve tried to do the right thing all our lives and all it has gotten us is that we are standing on the outside looking in at the joy others seem to have. All our lives we have been taught about salvation by faith, but we have not associated it with that deep unhappiness that many of us feel. Here is the good news: You do not have to measure up. You do not have to be at the top of your class. You are accepted. You are loved. Salvation, wholeness, healing of the inner person by God is not performance-based. In fact, in order to experience God’s grace, you and I have got to somehow forget everything we’ve ever learned about being good. That sounds radical, doesn’t it? But that is what Luther saw half a millennium ago. We are saved not by our performance, but by our faith in an omnipotent and all-loving God. Salvation is a GIFT for me to RECEIVE, not a REWARD for me to EARN. How do I receive the gift of salvation? • By ADMITTING that I am a sinner. • By BELIEVING that Jesus Christ died from my sins and rose from the grave. • By CALLING to God for salvation. These are the ABC’s of salvation: Admit, Believe, and Call. Tom McCrossan COLUMBUS FALL CALENDAR The Hungarian Reformed Church in Columbus has lined up several special Fall events to highlight times of importance in history following their Sunday, 10 AM worship hour. On September 9th, the first Soup and Learn begins with a soup course at 11:15 AM, followed by a program about Louis Kossuth ’s 1851-1852 visit to America. Learn why he was a world renowned hero. Hear, in English, about his sixteen-state tour - his speeches to the US Congress and the Ohio state legislature; his connections with President Lincoln, poets Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Ralph Waldo Emerson, etc. Then learn about Kosssuth’s American legacy - statues, streets, five villages and two towns named Kossuth, and Kossuth County in Iowa. On October 14th, Soup and Learn will follow the worship hour, and at 11:45 there will be a video called “The Joumey/Hazateres”- a 2006 documentary with English subtitles (75 minutes) - by Eszti and Reka Pigniczky, who took the ashes of their father back to his village near Szeged, Hungary. They searched to find out the role he played in the October 1956 Uprising. On October 21, 11 AM, a program in the sanctuary will honor the courageous October 1956 Uprising. Jeannine Vegh will speak about the contributions of Hungarian “1956-ers” to Columbus Hungarian life. Following after will be a Hungarian Dinner with breaded pork, parsley potatoes, cucumber salad, green beans, Hungarian pastries, and beverages, for $10 - takeouts available. Reservations are needed by October 14 - call Erzsi 614-738-4415 or Marla 740-654-0094. The church is located south of downtown Columbus at 365 E. Woodrow, comer of Washington. Founded in 1906, the neighborhood church now serves a broader community with cultural events attracting attendees from beyond Columbus and Franklin County. Arthur Allan Bartfay SO 03
