Evangélikus Élet, 1956 (21. évfolyam, 1-44. szám)

1956-07-29 / 31. szám

ORSZÁGOS EVANGÉLIKUS HETILAP

fUTHERAN LIFE — WEEKLY OF THE HUNGARIAN LUTHERAN CHURCH

F”Blessed is He that Cometh in the Name ' of the Lord ..

PF^ith these words His people greeted the Lord Jesus Christ when He en ” tered Jerusalem. This is the inscription lead by churchgoers on die gate of a Hungarian Lutheran church. The Hungarian Lutheran Jhurch turns with this ancient greeting to the members of the Central Com- nittee of the World Council of Churches, as they enter our country to hold heir annual meeting this year with us.

Just two years ago the Hungarian Protestant Churches taking part in he great assembly of the World Council of Churches in North America, nvited the Central Committee to our country. We are grateful that the Jentral Committee has accepted our invitation. Above all we thank God, ;hat through His mercifully guiding the history of mankind He in a fatherly way provided us with this opportunity.

T'he Central Committee came to our country for serious and exerting work. *- That one week, which they spend in Mátra, may determine the life and ■vork of the more than 170 member- churches and their nearly 180 million relievers, or perhaps even the whole Christianity in the following years.

The themes, which the Central Committee is going to deal with accord- v to the program, are most important both from the point of view of the nner life of Christianity and the attitude of Christianity towards the world. V considerable step may be taken in furthering the unity of the Body of Jbrist, the Church and also much may be done for promoting the unity of die divided humanity. As Lutheran Christians we remember with special ove our Lutheran brethren in the Central Committee, the leaders of many peat Lutheran Churches and the president of the Lutheran World Federation. We pray God that they may do their work according to the doctrine and ivangelical spirit of our great reformer to the glory of God, to the benefit if the Church and the salvation of mankind.

"Phe week during which the Central Committee holds its meetings begins and ends with Services. In several churches of our congregations n our Capital as well as in the country our foreign guests will proclaim the dospel and will pray together with our congregations for the efforts of their vork. This also is an essential part of the ecumenical work : God might use diose meetings to strengthen the personal connection between Hungarian Christians and Churches of distant countries, to deepen and cleanse our faith n our risen Lord, the only and everlasting Head of the Church whose one oody is the whole Christianity.

"Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord ...” As we greet the Central Committee with this word of God in His name in our country, ,vo wish with a praying spirit : may abundant blessing be upon the work for the accomplishing of which they have come to our country.

Bishop Lajos Vető, D. D.

In the Atmosphere of Trust and Love

A HEARTY WELCOME

The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches consults /cry important matters on its Hungarian meeting. One of them is : “The Responsible Society in National and international Affairs.” The two reports, which the study-conference it Amoldshain has drafted, and mbmitted to the Central Committee lael with a great number of such prob- ems, that deeply interest and touch he Lutheran Church of Hungary, too.

We look forward to the discussion vith good hope. At Amoldshain

the atmosphere among the representatives of Churches living in different societies became so intimate that the results in Hungary will be much more positive, theologically better founded, that is they will be more churchlike.

In the present international political and economical situation this would be worthy to the World Council of Churches.

The delegates know this too. That is vhy they look for a determined and inambiguous answer to the political md economic intentions and facts, riiich divide the World. Following Jhrist in the spirit of the eommand- nent of love we must judge all that livides us and the peoples.

That is why we approve e. g. of the reation of the idea of an “open ociety” by the Amoldshain confe- ence. We know that the members of he conference won’t attribute the ame contents to this idea. And that i right so, because we are not the ame society and our views are not lentical. We must discuss the ifferences! That is the aim of our oming together.

The idea of the open society should mean to recognize the situation in which we live and in which we serve.We must approach each other’s problems in the spirit of willingness,

I

bat is the warmth of love should uide our intentions and deeds, 'his is the way for working for the Lurches and this is the way of setting be example of Christ to the world, f that Christ, who gave us the Orders, but at the same time fulfilled them. He is our Judge. Our sins are unveiled before Him! But He gives the new Soul, too. He calls us a new community with Him where we can forgive each other and where this forgiving love will radically tear out from our hearts even the suspicions.

The second chief item at the session of the Central Committee was the problem of proselyte-catching, popularly called soul-hunting. To all that was already said about this in the “Lutheran Life” I should like to add the following. The Hungarian Lutheran Church does not renounce the open proclamation of the truth which has been recognized in Christ, which creates new life in the saving grace of God to every man, obeying the order of Christ, and guarding the inheritance of our Reformer. Surely the proclamation of this truth is as well the real fulfillment of the commandment of love !

But proselyte-catching starts neither from the truth recognized in Christ, nor from the service of love, it is a self-willed matter of prestige, and is guided by the interests of increasing its own camp. It is not fastidious in its methods because it imagines itself in the possession of the “totalitarian” truth, and this “belief” makes it totalitarian, even aggressive in its methods. It is the Catholic Church in the first place who represents this point of view throughout the whole world, the Catholic Church, which identifies the truth of the Gospel with itself, absolutizing itself as „the only saving church” besides which there exists no Salvation. This totalitarian claim, where there is no trace of regret must be condemned by the World Council of Churches regardless of its place of occurence It must be stated clearly that

the ecumenical membership does not mean the shortening, crippling or even changing of the complete evidence of the individual churches, but just the contrary it means the fulfillment of the confessionary attitude and service.

Dean Miklós Pälfy D. D.

Prayers For Churh-Unity

Lord Christ, Intercessor between God and men, who with the blood of thy Cross didst reconcille all on heaven and on earth! Thy grace through the trophy of Thy suffering did perform, what the angel proclaimed in beginning at Thy bodily birth, and all the angelic hosts announced too: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will toward men. And after the victory of the cross Thy grace offered this and granted it to Thy disciples that people may acknowledge Thy servants by the perfect peace and unity in which they dwell together. So grant us, Lord, that those, who carry the sign of Thy Cross on their forehead, may walk in pure and sincere brotherly love. Amen.

Missale Mozarabicum. VI. th Century.

*

Be blessed for ever gracious Jesus

that Thou destroyest in Thy body the separating walls and leadest thy flock into real unity.

Build among us too the unity of thy Church.

Totally break down our own righteousness,

that we may take hold of the truth of Thy word

and be one in Thee through the One Spirit. Amen.

Christian Hymnbook. 1955.

Published by Károly Prőhle

On the Right Track . . .

In the first days of August the „ World Peace Church” will he dedicated at Hiroshima (Javan). According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung the town of Munich has donated a pidpit to the new church. The material of this pulpit comes from several European countries, the green marble from Norway, the red stone from Rumania, granite from Belgium, tesserae for mosaic covering from Hungary, Greece, and Sweden. This church will remind mankind of the tragic day of August 6, 1945 when the first atomic bomb was dropped and 250.000 people were killed.

The first atomic bomb dropped at Hiroshima destroyed not only dwelling houses but church buildings as well. The new church built on the deserted site will be warning showing that the task of mankind is not to destroy but to build. Just the materials of this church are the fruit of several people's work equally a joint stand should be made for preserving peace in the world and for abolishing the weapons of mass des- struction by the peoples of Japan, Germany, Norway, Rumania, Belqium, Hungary, Greece, Sweden and all over the world.

Many prayers will be offered to God from the new church beseeching Him to bless the peoples' efforts towards peace to preserve the smile on our children's face and not to allow war again to change this smile into an expression of dread or fear of death. From Christian hearts not only at Hiroshima but all over the world many many prayers will be offered to God because God entrusted us with the service of prayer for the world. Let us be united on this right track !

THE LUTHERAN CHURCH of Hungary is glad that she had an opportunity in 1954 at the Assembly of the World Council of Churches at Evanston to invite the Central Committee of WCC. We give thanks unto God, that we could have such a steadfast trust at that time already in the peaceful coexistence of nations and the improvement of the international situation, and that our internal circumstances enable us to serve World Christianity in this way. We are certainly happy and appreciate that the Central Committee of WCC has accepted our invitation and now two hundred brethren from abroad are here representing the most different churches and denominations of the five continents. At this occasion the World Council of Churches can meet the Hungarian people directly. It can take up personal contacts with our congregations, which for a long time are interested in the affairs of the World Christianity. What is this Lutheran Church of Hungary like today? A church giving a hearty welcome to brethren from all over the icorld.

OUR CHURCH is characteristically a minority church here in Hungary with not even half a million members, living among people of other denominations in towns as well as in the rural sections. But our church proclaims Christ’s Gospel of forgiveness and salvation according to the holy traditions of the Lutheran Church in performing her mission. Our church is a church living from the power of the Word of God, and has been working in Hungary since 1521. We by God's will and His mercy have been hardened through many trials to practice the Christian life „sola fide sola gratia” (by faith and grace alone). Our church has obtained a good testimony among the Hungarian people because from generation to generation she has done her utmost to be a good means in God’s

hand for the benefit of the whole nation. She has animated the Hungarian nation in her difficult fight for freedom, cultural and human we- fare. Our church is a confessional one, faithful creed but at the same time has always ready to live together peacefully with other Christian groups and cooperate with them in the jointly recognized good service of Christianity. We are a church which has been constantly praying for peace among mankind after World War II. and which kept her gates and hearts open towards both east and west that she might be a tool in God s hand for the reconciliation among peoples. We are a church maintained by the faith and generosity of her members. We are struggling for setting an independent budget in owing to the separation between state and church, Our church may have made many mistakes and may have missed and failed opportunities but we should like to become a church always ready to learn and to obey God.

WE KNOW well that the Word of God is living and active. This is experienced day by day by the fact that our churchmembers receive faith and are able to remain in it.

Now we put our services at the disposal of the World Council of Churches and we give a hearty welcome to our guests. If a simple Hungarian receives a guest he lays his table for him and shares his heart with him. We wish to show our hospitality according to the Apostles learning and also to the dictation of our heart. We wish that the prayers and offerings of our congregations should enrich the Central Committee s session and that we may become richer by the common faith and experiences of the sister churches. We expect the session of the Central Committee here in Hungary will be a session marked in Church History for it promotes fraternity and cooperation among churches and peoples.

Bishop László Dezséry, D. D.

CHRISTIAN PERFECTION

CHRISTIAN PERFECTION is nothing but an acting faith. It might also be said as follows ; faith hidden in God, which at the same time is a tireless, acting love in the world. One may find this truth in one of the important but not so well-known sentences of the Augsburg Confession : „For Christian perfection is to fear God from the heart, and yet to conceive great faith and to trust that for Christ’s sake we have a God who has been reconciled, to ask of God and assuredly to expect His aid in all things that according to our calling are to be done ; and meanwhile to be diligent in outward good works and to serve our calling” (Augsburg Confession, Art. XXVII).

FIRST OF ALL, does it not sound strange to speak of Christian perfection at all in Christian usage ? For we are burdened with sins and need always God’s grace until our death. How then can we be perfect ? It should no be forgotten that the interpretation of the word perfection in this sense comes from the classical Greek way of thinking. There perfection meant a faultless, ideal humaneness sufficient in itself. Scripture however knows nothing of such a perfection. For example Noah, the man of God was perfect because he walked with God (Genesis 6, 9 : „Noah was a just man and perfect in his generation, and Noah walked i with God”). Perfection in biblical, sense is just the opposite of a life' sufficient in itself and wanting noth- | ing. That means : we are entirely | dependent on God, and we live by His forgiveness. To believe means — as someone once said — to become free from ourselves and to allow God to act in our life. Christian perfec- | tion viewed from this aspect is nothing but a life of ceaseless, trustful prayer for forgiveness and our daily bread, to hunger after the word of I God and to thirst for the grace of | communion, to set our trust in God, and to expect all good things in

our lives indeed from Him as the

confession says.

However, this does not mean some kind of fanaticism, and overlooking the reality of human life, shrinking back from the world, for this reason the second part of the thesis assures Christian perfection is to belong entirely to God in faith and at the same time to belong entirely to one’s neighbour in the acts of love. According to the Sermon on the Mount : „You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect“ (Matthew 5, 48) God’s perfection is the love emptying Himself in Christ. According to Scripture we become perfect only then when this love of God takes possession of our lives, when it frees us from our selfishness and makes us free for an acting, living love towards our neighbours. It must not seek for some special holy deeds. It is not necessary to seek at all, we need only recognise those real tasks, keep an open ear to the constant calling, presented to us by the everyday requirements of the family, of earthly calling, our lives among other people, in a wider perspective the great questions of the church and the problems of the world.

LET US NOT FORGET that Christian perfection always has two sides : to love God and to love our neighbours. Our faith would become dead if it were concerned with itself in a selfish way and the church would only think of her own life and if the acting love which lives for others were missing. On the other hand our love would also become false empty and rootless the moment it loses the living trust of faith in Christ and the daily forgiveness of sins. Only a faith based upon Christ and forgiveness is fruitful and capable of bearing fruits of love, which is an acting and responsible Christian life.

A faith tireless in love and boundless in trust is the perfection of the sons of God. Prof. Gyula Nagy I). D.

,Every toungue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phiii. 2,11.)