On the occasion of Easter, the pastoral president of the Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church spoke about the reality of despair and hope for a new life, which is deeper than before.
Zoltán Balog said in the interview recorded on Wednesday:
this year we can more deeply experience the despair and pain of Good Friday, but also the reality of the resurrection and the hope of a new life.
According to the reformed bishop, the present is a shocking and difficult period, like what the prophet Jeremiah said, "death has come up to our windows".
He said that the chaplains who visit hospitals meet people who are preparing to die every day, comfort their loved ones, yet he does not underestimate the pain: the basic story of our lives is how Good Friday becomes resurrection and Easter. "This is what we are experiencing now", and this year's Easter is perhaps even more similar to the first, since even then the disciples were afraid, they too lost the one they loved. But even then Christ, the divine power, appeared, and even then the message was given: "Peace be with you!"
Zoltán Balog put it this way: the essence of the mystery, the message of Easter, is that the world is not alone in its troubles, even during the epidemic, and whoever created it is also able to free it, to recreate it. And this re-creation "begins personally in a person's life". It is not necessary to wait for great social world solutions and measures, but to pay attention to the change that begins in us and to that loving God "who not only created us, but also wants to save us". And the church exists so that we can "live through this change together and pass it on," he added.
He touched on the fact that among the pastors there are also those who are discouraged, despair, and are sick, and it takes a toll on them when people who hold positions and bear spiritual responsibility in their congregation leave or fall sick. At the same time, he sees many beautiful examples of the passing on of love, attention, and strength within the church.
A pastor, a believer, must be able to “see out of the darkness and notice the light, even if it is just a flickering light, and help the light grow bigger and bigger. For this, it is necessary to give strength to the members of the community and to those who are not among us," said the Reformed bishop, adding that this is both a duty and an opportunity for the church.
Zoltán Balog emphasized: the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ carries a timely message again and again, because even now "we are waiting for a new beginning, a resurrection."
"We believe that if we get close to this mystery, hope, vitality, new beginnings and resurrection come from it even today. We must be able to translate this message to the situations we are in, to the language of those we want to address. It is with this spirit that we should approach our children who are confused, our young people who are hungry for contacts, the middle-aged who are worried about losing their jobs and the elderly who fear for their lives and families," he listed, adding that this it makes possible and necessitates a lot of conversations between spiritual care providers.
MTI
Photo: Csilla Cseke / MTI
