The world needs "biblical kindness" that listens to others and builds life; and this is also the only way to heal, because by paying attention to the other person, one detaches oneself from one's own wounds. Reformed bishop József Steinbach, the pastoral president of the Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church (MRE) spoke about this to MTI on the occasion of Christmas.
József Steinbach emphasized: kindness is needed now, in this divided, warring world, in which we sometimes speak and treat each other unacceptably harshly. To talk about the kindness that wants to think well of the other person, that wants to lift him up.
This kindness is actually attention to the one whom God has "entrusted to us". He emphasized that this is the only possibility for healing, because by paying attention to the other person, one detaches oneself from oneself, one's own wounds and problems. "If I take care of myself, it makes me sick, and the path to recovery is when I start carrying the other ," said the Reformed bishop.
He also said: for the next year, he asks Jesus for this biblical kindness, attention to others before God, for the Reformed Church as well, in "loving unity". "That's the most important thing right now."
József Steinbach touched on the following: the past year shook, shook and caused the Reformed to repent and introspect. Those who preach forgiveness must dare to repent and ask for forgiveness if they have done something wrong.
According to his assessment, it would be a shame to deny that the past year has brought to the surface a kind of division among the Reformed, but in his view "these wounds are healing".
In our churches, in our institutions, and even in the Hungarian Reformed Church in the Carpathian Basin, everyone is in their place, doing their work faithfully and for the most part overcoming the shock.
József Steinbach indicated: at the internal church conference planned for January, I would like to go around in a biblical, theological and not current political sense, what has happened in the past year and how it leads to renewal. At the same time, he hopes and prays that with this conference they will be able to sew up the threads and finally be able to say: "we would like to look ahead and do our job".
We want to be healed, he continued, and "we will do everything for it", but it would be good if people could see how much the Reformed Church does, how many ways it serves. MRE's love service provides 70,000 people from child protection, the foster parent network and institutions that care for seriously injured children, to care for the elderly and hospice services.
He particularly singled out the Bethesda Children's Hospital, where, in addition to the high-quality professional work performed in often difficult conditions, there is the "inexplicable extra" that makes them an authentic Christian institution.
He mentioned the work of the church, stressing that in addition to the priority service in big and small cities, they also try to hold their own in the countryside, where in many places almost only the Reformed pastor deals with the people, because there is no school or post office anymore.
Speaking about the tasks facing the Reformed Church, József Steinbach pointed out: we need to think about transforming the church structure, because a church that is more congregational and people-centric is needed.
The most important task of the church is to be able to deliver the good news of the Gospel, which is addressed to all people, to everyone, of all ages. Today, people often don't have to be addressed directly, but by sitting next to them and listening to them.
It is also a question, he added, whether there is something extra filling in us, in Christian songs, that "shines through us despite all our misery". Perhaps the biggest lack in the church right now is precisely the authenticity on the basis of which people ask about the gospel.
The task of the church is to love and understand people, to be in communion with them, and to be able to convey to them "the more that only God can give" in a relationship of trust. The church has very much forgotten this, he added.
He also said: again and again it is raised within the church what the task of the bishop is. He called it important for a bishop to "stay in the field" in addition to his leadership duties. All leadership is a service, a responsibility, he said, adding that he loves those leaders whose faces show that they know they are responsible for those whom God has entrusted to them, and "should break" under this weight.
According to József Steinbach, it would be necessary for the council, as the MRE's most important law-making, decision-making and teaching body, not only to deal with legislation, but also with the questions that arise in society.
He mentioned that the Ecumenical Council of Hungarian Churches, which he also leads, issued an "understanding, humane, but still confessional statement" on euthanasia. He also said: within the Reformed Church, a special working group is working on a teaching on the topic of marriage, family, and sexuality, and they would like to formulate and express their position on other issues as well.
The church is a slow-reacting body, like a tanker ship, if you move the rudder, it starts to turn after hours. But there are situations about which Jesus says that if you do not speak, and do not speak immediately, then "the stones will cry out." In these situations, it is not possible to follow the path of an official resolution.
On the other hand, the church does speak out, we have qualified professionals who express their opinions on many platforms, even pro and con. In addition, the Reformed Church reaches more than half a million people in its churches every week.
At the same time, he noted: " I see more and more that there are times when the Bible's teaching that it is good to be quiet and wait for the Lord's deliverance must be taken seriously ." If not to listen, but to speak rarely, because those who rarely speak can speak more emphatically - said József Steinbach.
MTI
Cover photo: József Steinbach / Photo: MTI / Tamás Vasvári
