"The Word of God tells us that God does not forget about His people." The Presidium of the General Convent, Bishops and Lay Presidents of the Church Districts of the Hungarian Reformed Church in the Carpathian Basin jointly issued Easter blessings.
“‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”(Mt 27:46) “While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” (Lk 24:36)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ,
We are living at a time that we are bound to remember for much of the time we have been given here on earth. Hardly had we left behind the difficult period caused by the pandemic, our daily existence started to be determined by the consequences of a devastating war. A flood of refugees has begun moving from east to west. In Transcarpathia, part of our nation and of our Reformed Church suffered yet another blow. Has that small community living in a tiny piece of motherland not suffered enough already, that now they should be plagued by this new, dangerous situation? It looks as though God had turned His back on them, turning a blind eye to human abomination and the suffering it has been causing. These are eternal questions that mostly arise when we find ourselves in a difficult situation.
The Word of God tells us that God does not forget about His people. We can find this message in several Old Testament prophets’ sermons. Through God’s providence, the nation that was to be eliminated in Egypt, then subsequently conquered by the Assyrians and later taken to Babylon survived every trial and tribulation. The testimony of the New Testament lies in the fact that He chose a different path for every nation by sending His Son the Saviour, whose path led in the direction of suffering. The cross of Good Friday reminds us that the only time God abandoned someone, he abandoned His own beloved Son. Jesus, when speaking on the cross of Calvary, quoted a psalm writer. God wants to help humans, He does not abandon His creations. This redeeming act was realized in Jesus Christ.
Good Friday is about the sacrifice to be made for the sins committed, while Easter gives people hope through the miracle of resurrection. The resurrected Jesus appeared among his disciples who were plagued by doubts, bringing peace and joy to those living in uncertainty. It is for this reason that we sing in one of our Easter hymns: “life got resurrected”. The message of the Word can strengthen us in every situation. When we despair, let us be reinforced by the hope of life. Let the peace offered by Christ be with us in every moment of our lives. Let there be peace in the world, and peace in our hearts during the celebration of resurrection. We wish a blessed Easter to every congregation within our Reformed Church, to every member of our Hungarian nation, and to the whole created world.
At Easter 2022
- Bishop Zoltán Balog and Lay President Sándor Veres, Danubian Reformed Church District
- Bishop József Steinbach and Lay President dr. Pál Nemes, Transdanubian Reformed Church District
- Bishop Béla Kató and Lay President Zsolt Tőkés, Transylvanian Reformed Church District
- Bishop Péter Szenn and Lay President József Kel, Reformed Christian Calvinist Church in Croatia
- Bishop Sándor Zán Fábián Sándor and Lay President Béla Nagy, Transcarpathian Reformed Church
- Bishop István Csűry and Lay President Lajos István Bara, Királyhágómellék Reformed Church District
- Bishop Béla Halász and Lay President Károly Székely, Serbian Reformed Christian Church
- Bishop Róbert Géresi and Lay President Ferenc Porubán, Reformed Christian Church in Slovakia
- Bishop Dániel Pásztor and Lay President dr. Pál Molnár, Cistibiscan Reformed Church District
- Bishop dr. Károly Fekete and Lay President János Molnár, Transtibiscan Reformed Church District