Magyar Egyház, 2000 (79. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2000 / 4. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 9. oldal question. Then you can reach past the beast in uniform and find the man.’ “When there was a pause, I made use of it by asking the officer, ‘Do you have children?’ The question surprised him. For only a second, but nevertheless, a moment, my interrogator dropped his pose. Then he continued, but in a different tone. He asked me why I preached in such a somber way. I denied that I did and then he wanted to know what I had preached about. I cited the text of that morning. He checked to see if I was right in his Bible. Then he wanted a summary of the sermon.” Horvath Leventhe remembers well that he sent a quick, silent prayer upwards to ask if the Lord would give him words to speak that he might not deny his Lord out of fear for man. “I said that God has another hierarchy than ours. ‘That can apply to you. If you are the first now and you are last later, what then?’ I noticed that the words made an impact on him. He began to fiddle with a piece of paper. ‘Do you realize that you too will be asked to account for what you have done when you die and if you have learned to be humbled?’ A rude comment was the response. He thought it all nonsense. Then he was silent. The opportunity was clearly mine. T am not forcing you. But what will you do if God does exist? Are you reconciled to God?” Sighs and Sniffles The word of the preacher had obviously made an impression on the officer for he suddenly broke off the questioning and assigned a colleague to continue. After some time two more officers joined him. One stood right behind Horvath and sighed deeply when Horvath answers did not please him. “It was pure intimidation.”, Rev. Horvath says. Finally, after hours of being interrogated, the arrested man was brought to the hall where he was left alone in a cold waiting room. After an hour, a gruff Securitate agent came for him and put him in the back seat of a car. The agent drove away into the darkness to an unknown destination. By the dim light of street lights that occasionally shone into the car, Horvath could see that the agent had a revolver in his pocket. Not a word was spoken. The Click of the Pistol “It was all very sinister. I became frightened, especially when we came to a stop on a lonely road. The agent opened his door and looked intently at me. In a flash I remembered the story of a ministerial colleague who in an analogous situation was commanded to walk into the field with his hands at the back of his neck. He was not allowed to look behind him. As he moved further away, step by step, he heard the Securitate agent pulling the trigger — a horrendous experience that can snap your mind. I really thought that my last hour had come.” Unexpectedly, the agent closed the door behind them and drove away at great speed. After a good half hour. Pastor Horvath suddenly recognized the houses. He was back in his village. The car stopped and without a word the agent removed the handcuffs and motioned him to leave the car. ”1 couldn’t believe that I was actually free again. Only when the door of the manse close behind me did I realize that I wasn’t’ dreaming. And what surprised me most of all was seeing my wife sitting there, calmly waiting. Then I realized that the Lord takes better care of her than I can.” Several weeks later the revolution came and Ceaucescu fell from his lofty throne. “It is regrettable that there was more euphoria at the liberation of Romania than submission. Ceaucescu had hardly fallen when people were lining up to get first place. We did experience a national revolution but no national conversion. That tempered the festivity for me.” * * Vf This story was published in a recent issue of COAH: “Come Over and Help”, an independent North American based relief organization, which provides support to churches and Christians in Eastern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. Almost every week one truckload of goods are shipped into Eastern Europe. Christian books, food, clothing, hospital beds, wheel chairs, medicine and vitamins are some of the items being shipped. It is all transported with trucks from Western Europe.
