The Association of Christian Intellectuals is concerned about issues related to public education that divide Hungarian society. He turns to God with a prayer so that the conflict situation can be resolved as soon as possible. We pray together for our teachers, the children entrusted to them, their parents and the decision-makers, so that Jesus can be born into a more peaceful world!
"Based on his promise, we await a new heaven and a new earth, the land of righteousness." (2 Peter 3:13)
In recent years, it seems, we are living in a time of trials, individual and community trials, although this is not rare in the more than a thousand years of Christian history of our beloved Hungarian country. It is also not uncommon for the domestic and international press, from time to time, focusing on different continents, to proclaim the suffering of humanity as a world phenomenon, which is caused by famine, war based on people's restlessness and selfishness, and pandemics that know no borders. Nowadays, the armed conflict that physically destroys masses of people and human works has come upon us in such a way that we still do not see the end of the Covid epidemic, even though almost eight million people have already died from the disease and its complications.
Our nation is not immune to the effects of the global economic crisis either, tens of thousands of families find themselves in precarious situations despite the fact that, thanks to our responsible state management system, the people of Europe see us as an island.
But is the situation in the world really so depressing, is the future of the old continent and Hungary so bleak? We could say that yes, in fact, countless problems make the lives of Hungarian citizens difficult, which may even be related to worldwide difficulties. Have we, Christians, ever thought about the fact that our lives are in God's hands, he takes care of his even when man is a wolf to man, when unlove seems to outgrow peace, when impatience kills many valuable relationships.
The world is preparing for Christmas, and Christians commemorate the birth of the second divine person every year. The Advent season is traditionally a time of silence, of renewing our relationship with God, and the desire for peace emerges in our hearts more and more strongly. Are we preparing for the coming of the Lord in a worthy way this year as well? This can be said when internal and external relations of countries are determined by contradictions that do not want to end; Does the glowing embers of dissatisfaction cripple human relationships and destabilize previously cooperative communities? Can this be said at a time when our country is also burdened by serious internal tensions and extremely deep divisions are experienced in our society?
It is enough to think about the situation within the educational system, the Babel situation in which it is already difficult to look at the actors as outsiders: the teacher, the student and the parent - and let's add those who are the responsible managers of the education system. The Association of Christian Intellectuals prays to the Good Lord, asking the Spirit of His Wisdom so that the conflict situation, in which we hope the intentions of all interested parties are clear, can be settled as soon as possible according to the reassuring and forward-looking vision envisioned by the Creator. After all, the goal is crystal clear: first of all, the intellectual enrichment of children and young people, and the preservation of the strength of the nation. For a nation rooted in Christian culture, there can be no question that the education and upbringing policy is a clear continuation of the traditional family policy. There can be no question that, in addition to our families, it is in our educational institutions that our young people acquire the nature and character through which they can become true people.
In our country, one of the broadest social strata, the backbone of the intelligentsia, has for centuries – along with all the changes in meaning and tasks – been provided by the child pedagogue, children's guide, and the fostering community, and this can also be supported statistically. In the 2021/22 school year, 147,814 teachers worked every day in the public education system in Hungary - which includes kindergarten care, primary and secondary school life, vocational training and developmental education - to ensure that our children become enlightened, intelligent, thinking people, they enter higher education or the world of work armed with knowledge, faith and healthy morals.
We believe that the educators, the teachers, do their work with faith and love, mostly with humility, and in the decades left behind, they considered education and teaching as a service. They lived and continue to live the teaching profession with a sense of professionalism, and we hope that this will also be the case when the kindergarten groups and the multitude of school doors close behind them.
Many of us also agree that their social prestige was not affected well by the label "the nation's daily wage earner" that had been applied to them since the fifties - unfortunately, it was not created to express their humility, but rather to express their financial recognition. And it can be argued whether the system change has brought substantial improvement in this area, how far the federative thinking that also lays the foundation for social peace gives room for the enforcement of diverse interests in a pluralist democracy, i.e. whether it is possible to form the alliance between the interested parties, which is the basic condition of a society of teachers relaxed working conditions. Can a national minimum be achieved in the field of education and other policies that define a balanced and peaceful social environment, which would be able to guarantee the cleanliness of the areas, the prosperity of our children, and the tranquility of the school world for many decades in order to rise above the issue of education over the cyclically changing party political sphere of interest!?
Perhaps we are not far from the truth, that the anomalies and internal and external conflicts that have accumulated over the past forty plus thirty years cannot be brought to order with a hoop, especially not if the improvement of the teachers' current situation, sense of life and living conditions is not only about the normalization of the salary situation means cured. The problem is much more complex, so it requires (not) intervention at the systemic level, it would require a broad cooperation based on love, striving for justice, of the groups that are currently in tension with each other.
Because all those who attribute outstanding importance to the teacher's personality and faith even in the most modern social frameworks, supported by the most advanced technical and educational technology tools, are right. As Dénes Inczédy, the defining Cistercian teacher and school director of the 19th century, put it: "The backbone of the school is the teacher. If this holds its ground, the curriculum may be weak, the textbook may be defective, and the curriculum may be flawed: success is certain."
What to do in this situation? Who knows when to speak and when to listen? When do we make the right and when the wrong decision? Whose word should we listen to in these times, when our ability to create, our striving for unity, is failing continuously.
We would like to learn conflict management from Jesus, who did not simmer even when, as a child, poverty, which we may never have experienced, became part of his class; when as an adolescent he followed his own path, perhaps despite his parents, because he was obedient to the Father; when he was slapped in the face, spat on, mocked, became weak under the weight of the cross, and then nailed to the stiff, heavy wood: he did not curse then, nor did he send the crowd to the governor, even though he could have done so. This silence was not resignation, not self-denial, but rather the silence of formulating the questions: "If I said wrong, prove that it was wrong, and if I said good, why are you hitting me?" (John 18:23).
Let us believe that the Lord Jesus, whose coming in those historical times could not have been expected more than in our days, will give us the answer if we turn to him with confidence: "Lord, this is not good for us, we do not want to be separated from you and we do not want to be separated from each other ! We don't let our desire for your word grow cold, we don't want to further distance ourselves from our fellow human beings, and for them to have to belong to one side or the other. We want to be one in love through Your infinite grace! That's why we beg you together for our teachers, the children entrusted to them, their parents, their families and the decision-makers who can do something so that Jesus can be born into a more peaceful world!
In the remaining days of the year, let's cleanse our hearts of the feelings that prevent us from doing good! Let us become open to love! Let's open our souls so that we can receive the precious, the forward-looking, the future-oriented! Let us believe that the words of the Messiah will speak to all of us on the night of birth: "I have come to you to be your light, I have come to spread warmth on Earth. I have come to be an amplifier of your love. I have come to free you from yourself, from the shackles of your rule and power, so that your hearing will be open to those who turn to you with impatience, loud words, and sometimes disobedience. I have come to bring salvation to you and to the whole world”.
The day of our salvation is near, for which we wish you substantial preparation with the invincible love of Christ!
On the 3rd Sunday of Advent
Presidency of the Association of Christian Intellectuals
Cover photo: MTI/Balázs Mohai
