Magyar Egyház, 1988 (67. évfolyam, 2-4. szám)
1988-05-01 / 3. szám
12. oldal MAGYAR EGYHÁZ te Jesusworte, Zuerich 1951, page 92.) This certainly harmonizes with the Word of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount that the wise man will build his house on a rock and not on sand. A bridge might be more solid than sand still not safe for a house. (Forget a finicky remark about the Rialto bridge in Venice or the stores on the bridge over the Arno in Florence.) This saying about the house built on solid foundation reminds us of the biblical concept that the real home of God’s children is in the Father’s house; this is where they are headed for. In this life, as the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews puts it, we are passing travellers. With another word: we are pilgrims. Who is a pilgrim? A person who travels to a holy shrine in order to obtain some special blessing — be it physical healing or spiritual fulfilment. We know that in biblical times every Jew wanted to visit at least once in his lifetime Jerusalem and celebrate Passover in the holy city. Such pilgrims banded together to form processions — like the one on Palm Sunday. There was a special collection of Psalms the pilgrims would sing as they marched (in the Bible Psalms 120 to 134). A Mohammedan pilgrim would journey to Mecca. We Reformed may not be much impressed by the shrines of the Roman Catholics but we certainly should accept their sincerity as they make their pilgrimages to Lourdes or Fatima, or Doylestown or Mariabesnyo. We may well call our trips to the Holy Land, or to Geneva or Debrecen pilgrimages. The word ‘pilgrim’ goes back to the Greek ‘per agoram,’ meaning ‘through the field, through the land, travelling.’ (Interestingly the Hungarian word ‘zarándok’ has a similar etymology connecting with ‘land, field.’) This is what we are: travellers through this earthly land, through this earthly life. The writer of Hebrews says “here we have no permanent home, but we are seekers after the city which is to come” (translation from the New English Bible, Hebrews 13:14). As to the first half of this sentence we should fully realize what “permanent” means. We speak of a “permanent mailing address” — how permanent is it? Even if you live in the same house all your life lasting a 100 years — how “permanent” is it compared to eternity? Don’t go so far: a lady’s “permanent” hair-do is good for 2-3 months. No, we have no permanent home here on earth, none at all. We come to earth through birth and leave through death. We are travellers through life. More important is the second half of the quoted sentence : ‘we are seekers after the city which is to come.’ This is the Christian’s faith: we are travellers through this earthly life because we are heading towards another ‘city,’ the City of God, the place prepared for us in the Father’s house as Jesus has projected it. If this is our final goal we must be very careful how we travel. Let us see a few rules for the pilgrim of this earth travelling toward the City of God. The pilgrim must always have the end of the road, the City of God, in sight. The Jesus word is “look at me.” At times you may wonder off by not paying attention, you may leave the main road by being lured away. Detours on life’s main road are called sins. Repentance is when we have left the right road and we get back on the right path. The road of repentance can be mighty frantic, hurting, exhausting. Is it at all possible to return? “God is merciful and forgiving” you readily say. But it is a tricky answer. It is another thing to trust in God’s mercy when repentantly asking for forgiveness and it is another thing to count presumptuously on His mercy: “Well, God will pull me out of this mess.” The pilgrim travels cheerfully knowing that God did not make the road deliberately hard for him or her. God has prepared a lot of joys and, yes, pleasures. And companions, too, to share the burdens, to encourage and to refresh. The pilgrim travels by doing his or her job all the way long. The pilgrim is not a carefree tourist but performs the services the Master commands. Don’t think only of services of compassion. Think first of the daily works of routine: building a home, caring for a family. Politics belong here just as work in office or in the plant or mowing the lawn. Charity and church are prominently important parts of a pilgrim’s life but not the only ones. We must do all these things (we do them, more or less). The main criterion is: with what spirit do we do them? The pilgrim is one who asks himself or herself at the close of every day: What can I tell my Father in Heaven about today’s work? Do I feel to be closer to my Father’s house after today’s trip? What do I tell to my Heavenly Father? Here is, then, the pilgrim’s last rule travelling through this earthly life: the pilgrim is in constant touch with God. The pilgrim is a traveller who prays. Andrew Harsanyi — NEWS FROM OUR CONGREGATIONS — — EGYHÁZI HÍREK — ALLEN PARK, Ml Lelkipásztorok: Ábrahám Dezső, ifj. Bertalan Imre Templom: 9901 Allen Road Allen Park, Michigan 48101 Telefon: (313) 382-1001 Lakás: 18700 Midway — (313) 381-8400 Nőegyletünk tavaszi sütemény vására nagy sikerrel zárult. A többi munkásságuknak a nyári időben csak csökkentett mértékben lesz folytatása. Az ifjú Nőegylet, Dorcas Guild, készül a nyári magyar fesztiválokra, június 11-12-én a Yack Arénában és augusztus 10-én is. Márta Kör, a legfiatalabb női csoportunk anyák és leányaik néven vacsorát adott, s fiatal asszonyokat érdeklő kérdésekről sorozatos előadásokat tartanak megbeszélésekkel. Férfi Körünk készül a nyári nagy piknik kirándulásra. Július lOén a városi Champaigne Parkban lesz.
