Magyar Egyház, 1976 (55. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1976-08-01 / 8-9. szám
8 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ OUR HERITAGE REAFFIRMED The rich heritage of the Reformed faith has been reaffirmed in our own age and nation. The insights of continental theologians have taken root in America, and this faith has become our own. Oh, the words have changed a bit, but the fundamental ideas are the same. What the hep cats of the Forties thought desirable, they called “real cool”, and the youth of the Seventies label the same thing “tough”. In the same way, in a day that talks of “peace”, when Sunday schools may choose to use “Shalom” (Hebrew word for peace) materials, we find these words simply restate what the Reformers called “comfort” some four and one-half centuries ago — and it was an old thought then. Opening to the 23rd Psalm, we read: “... thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.” The psalmist speaks of the availability of God to his every child, which sustains in time of trouble. He affirms his possession of an absolute trust and sense of well-being in God’s care, as a child feels in the loving and protective arms of its parent. It is clear that Jesus shared that same contentment, as he expressed his understanding that the God who cared for birds and lilies of the field also loved his earthly children — and even more so. The Christ further demonstrated that his powerful faith in God gave him absolute comfort amid his agony on the Cross, and that in his excruciating suffering he experienced true peace. The life of his apostle Paul was surely a testimony to that same discovery of peace, or shalom, or comfort (by any name, it’s still the same). Having suffered shipwreck, hunger, nakedness, imprisonment, beatings, and a host of calamities, he possessed the certain faith that God would turn even all these to his salvation. The Heidelberg Catechism of the Reformed churches caught the spirit of the Christ, the apostle and the ancient Hebrew poet in its very first question: “What is your only comfort, in life and in death? That I belong — body and soul, in life and in death — not to myself but to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, who at the cost of his own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of the devil; that he protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that everything must fit his purpose for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.” Others have sought this same comfort over the years in a host of ways, to establish a harmonious relationship between them and the Power of the universe. Some entered monasteries and convents. Still others sought wooded solitude, like Thoreau in Walden, to establish their lives. Today, some seek this same comfort in harmony with nature (ecological balance, etc.) or spiritual mysteries (as in some sectarian heresies arising as popular fads, i.e. Zen, Transcendental Meditation, etc.), although denying the Christians’ God. But the idea being touted is not new at all. The psalmist of the barren mideastern desert, so familiar with parching thirst, spoke of the soul’s longing for comfort as still waters to cool and satisfy the human longings for God’s protection from human foes, for abundant necessities of daily life, and overflowing joys. He saw this comfort arising from the Providence of a loving and gracious God. This insight and many others are found in the Heidelberg Catechism and similar Reformation confessions. And although the words may have changed meanings over the years, as we seek to understand them we find that the ancient Church’s teachings still have much to say to God’s people in America today. Albert W. Kovács ☆ ☆ Reformed Church in Hungary Opens Home for Handicapped NYÍREGYHÁZA — A new home for handicapped children was recently opened in the presence of many officials of the Reformed Church in Hungary. The new building, accommodating 45 mentally and physically handicapped girls, replaces a 120-year old similar home. The cost of the new building (U.S. $273,000) was covered by the money paid for the expropriated building, a grant from the Ministry of Health, and gifts from congregations and ecumenical organizations. The Reformed Church in Hungary has also announced plans for the construction of a 100-bed old people’s home in Budapest.
