Almost nothing in this drama was what it seemed, writes theologian and essayist Ádám Szabados about the visible and invisible events that have taken place in recent weeks in connection with the case of mercy.
The drama surrounding the request for mercy is not over yet, its fermenting consequences will remain with us in the church for a long time, but I think we have already passed the zenith, and we can learn some lessons from the debates of the past few weeks. Many of us thought many different things, and I didn't keep my opinion quiet either, or even my feelings at times. It is still too early to properly appreciate what happened, so my current thoughts are not final summaries either, just a kind of snapshot. However, I think we have seen enough to honestly and critically look into the mirror of events.
Two things shocked me the most.
One is that almost nothing in this drama was what it seemed.
All along, I had the impression that the exposer was turned into a cover-up, the pardoner was called cruel, grace was always understood as innocence, the prophetic voice was a political voice, the evangelical opinion was more of an oppositional opinion, a non-Reformed speaking in the name of the Reformed, repentance for tearing clothes the tearing of the clothes of the penitent, those who spoke of mercy, acted mercilessly, those who lamented the victims, sacrificed scapegoats in reference to the victims, those who stood in the crosshairs of child protection in defense of children protested against those who had to fight with them for years for the children, called good intentions meanness, meanness as a good intention, the stones were thrown at the Pharisees, while the stone throwers gave thanks that they were not like the Pharisees, and others extended their virtual prayer belts and apologized on their behalf. This reminds me of Paul's warning:
"let us no longer be minors, who are tossed to and fro by the wind of all kinds of teachings and drifted by the deceit and cunning of people who lead them astray; but clinging to the truth, let us grow in love from all things to him who is the head, Christ" (Eph 4:14-15).
The other big lesson is that in this situation we were also tried.
It was scary to look at the hearts splashed on the comment walls for weeks.
The heightened emotional state, the tectonic movements taking place in society and the church created fissures through which the emotions in the heart burst to the surface. For me, these adjectives describe what I saw: malice, hatred, cynicism, vanity, aggression, fear, anxiety, shame, despair, sadness, cruelty, glee, revenge, ruthlessness, judgment, bitterness, envy, opportunism, anger. I also read beautiful speeches, but overall it was as if a great dark shadow had settled over us, and hideous bugs, crawling, ugly creatures, the demons of darkness, hiding from the light, had suddenly crawled out. The words of the Lord Jesus came to mind about this:
"What comes out of a man makes him unclean. Because evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, fraud, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, foolishness come from within, from the heart of man. All these evils come from within and make a person unclean.” (Mark 7:20-23)
It also became obvious to me that the thinking of even believing Christians is deeply permeated by Nietzschean, Darwinian, Marxist and postmodern cynicism about power. The belief that whoever has power must be oppressive and that whoever is in a position of responsibility only wants power, therefore fighting against it can be justified by almost any means. It is true that power has been abused many times. Ever since man chose autonomy over obedience to God, he is easily intoxicated by power and uses it for evil.
But according to the Bible, power still comes from God, and in part precisely to control evil. God gives us powers (Romans 13:1-7), just as God gives us fathers, husbands, and responsible leaders in all areas of life. A world without leadership and no power is incomparably worse.
But those for whom power ab ovo is synonymous with oppression will never understand the Bible or the motivations of those for whom power is basically service and responsibility, as Jesus taught. And if we are already distrustful of power, distrust is especially justified when one believes that all power is only about power. Let us also beware of the rebellion of such a person!
Another important lesson of the past weeks is that politics cannot hold the church together. Politics cannot rely on Christians to curb corruption if Christians expect protection from politics, but it is much worse that the church itself falters if it is built on a different foundation than it was designed for. Jesus is the foundation of the Church, its spiritual temple was built on the holy Word. God does not give his glory to anyone else. Nor for Viktor Orbán. Not to any supporting government.
The sovereign Lord of the church is Christ, the Son of God.
Only he can provide protection, real protection even against the demonic forces of progression. Jesus' followers can be salt and light in the world (also in culture, where there is a battle for souls, even in politics, where decisions are made about the polis) if they are not of the world. As TS Eliot said in his impressively prophetic essay The Ideal of Christian Society: there is no permanent modus vivendi in the relationship between the church and the world. The church is the most unshakable reality if it listens to Jesus, and only in its unshakability can it properly assess its current relationship with the world. The foundation of the church is Jesus and God's holy Word, if it is built on a different foundation, it will simply collapse in the storm.
In recent weeks, serious depths have been revealed, the intentions of many hearts have become visible. We have reason to be ashamed.
The all-knowing, all-powerful God calls us to sincere repentance. I believe that this is also an opportunity for something new, something truer, something deeper. Something more evangelical, apostolic, heavenly. For this we must humble ourselves. "Before God, a contrite soul is a kind sacrifice. You do not despise a broken and broken heart, God!" (Psalm 51:19) This situation contains the promise of purification if we hear the call to repentance and yield to it. The abscess of sin can burst out and we can be washed in the blood of the Savior. This is the basis of all evangelical revivals. Let us hold together in repentance and faith, not in rebellion and bitterness! The wisdom from above is fair and pure. According to the Lord Jesus, the pure in heart will see God (cf. Mt 5:8), and after that I think many others.
Source: Divinity/777
