Magyar Egyház, 1955 (34. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)
1955-10-01 / 10. szám
18 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ "FJfié Word ^Became Flesh” The present Advent season offers us a blessed opportunity to meditate upon the meaning of the approaching Christmas and prepare for Christ’s coming. Millions of Christians throughout the world are doing like-wise in these weeks and are beginning their spiritual preparation for the most beautiful Christian holiday: CHRISTMAS. Yes, Christmas is the most beautiful Christian holiday. It is true that the thousand beauties of the spring season, the abundance of the summer and the colors of autumn are gone. The warmth of the sun has decreased a great deal. The surrounding nature is cold, frozen and dead. Despite all these and many other circumstances, however, Christmas remains the most beautiful Christian holiday. Why? Because the sun of God’s everlasting love shines more radiantly in these weeks than in any other part of the yaer. Christmas is the day of the incarnation of God’s perfect love: For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Our immigrant Christian brethren often complain that the great Christian holidays are gradually and rapidly losing their beauty and significance in this country. These complaints are not without good cause. Good Friday which was regarded and celebrated as the most important Christian holiday in the “old country” is but another tiresome workday here. Easter is a yearly occasion not for greeting and meeting the Risen Lord but rather for the “congregational fashion shows” when the new outfits practically hide the old message of Easter. The word “Pentecost” is hardly mentioned in the ecclesiastical vocabulary of the Christians of this country. The anniversary of the sixteenth century Reformation, October 31st, is completely overshadowed by the Halloween parades. Christmas is similarly endangered. On the one hand, it is commercialized more than any other day of the year. On the other hand, though the dubious role and assistance of Santa Claus it is gradually transformed, or rather degraded, into a sort of children’s day. Therefore, there is no more important task ahead of us in Advent than to discover anew year after year the true meaning of Christmas. We are now to discover and re-discover that the first Christmas nearly two thousand years ago brought forth the most central and significant event in human history. The birth of Christ was the nucleus of the development of the most powerful world-transforming movement called Christianity. Out of the modest beginning of the first Christmas God’s grace brought forth the greatest blessing for the benefit of mankind: a new law, new moral, new faith, new man was born. This great event is summarized in the prologue of the Gospel of John in this simple fashion: “The Word became Flesh.” The Word became flesh. This is, however, but the first half of God’s predicament. The Word became flesh for your sake. Christ put on a human nature in order to be always near you and me. I have read somewhere the story of a missionary who in the West Indies has had great difficulties in proclaiming the Word of God. His “congregation” consisted of slaves who worked practically day and night. During the short hours of rest they had neither time nor strength to listen to the divine message. Finally this missionary decided to sell himself as a slave in order to be constantly near to the members of his slave congregation. Christ accepted and put on a human form for the same reason. On the first Christmas day he stepped down from eternity to the slave of thousand sins, to man, to be his companion for the entire earthly journey. The Word became flesh. God performed this miracle for your sake. This, however, is still the beginning only. The Word wants to become flesh again. In you. The same process of incarnation is to begin in your life which was completed in Paul’s who said: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20.) In other words: it is not enough to be passive spectators of the great Christmas drama of redemption and applause for what He performed so magnificently. We are called upon to understand that Christmas was created for our sakes. God sent His only Son to us and for us. The Word became flesh in order to re-incamate in us. As soon as we clearly understand the meaning of Christmas along these lines, we shall cease to be mere spectators of the events of Christmas but rather become fellow-workers of God in completing the great drama of redemption: the incarnate Christ will become flesh in us. Any Christmas celebration which praises the new-born Christ but does not enthrone Him to be the King of our inner lives is completely worthless. This is the sixty-four thousand dollar question ahead of us now: are we willing to receive Him in our hearts? The Word became flesh. Will He become flesh again in you? GABOR CSORDÁS WASHINGTON TORONTO PÉNZÁTUTALÁS Legolcsóbban! Leggyorsabban! FORINT 500 ........$18.50 FORINT 1000 ___$36.00 Cseh korona 500 . .$32.00 Cseh korona 1000 . .$63.00 TRANSGLOGUS AGENCY P. O. BOX 8686 WASHINGTON 11, D. C. 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