Easter Message

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On the feast of the Resurrection, we believe that the risen Christ is still interceding for us today, just as he once did in his High Priestly Prayer. John the Evangelist gives us a glimpse into the sanctuary of the New Testament, where Christ, in his glory, prays to the Father for himself, for his disciples and for all those who will believe in him. What Jesus asked for in his High Priestly Prayer before Easter, he fulfills day by day as the risen Lord, continually interceding for us.

"I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours." What Jesus says here is that he prays for the few for the sake of the many, as the lives of the many depend on the ministry of the faithful few who believe in him. Even the example of a few people living quality lives of discipleship can be appealing enough to prompt many others to follow Christ.

We need this! We are a church in turmoil in a world torn by unrest, surrounded by a series of crises that are individual and communal, economic and spiritual.

"I am praying for those you have given me," Jesus says to his heavenly Father. He sees us as his own and trusts that a qualitative change will take place in us. He does not want a church that stumbles or a community that causes wounds, but he wants to transform us into instruments for the healing of the world. Therefore, he says: "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one." Jesus didn't make it easy for his disciples by placing them on a separate continent, in a Christian reservation, in an Edenic state, under sterile, laboratory conditions. His people have to live very much in this world. Often in the midst of persecution, debauchery and temptation, we have to fulfill the task entrusted to us and proclaim the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The power of the risen Christ became manifest at Easter, when the power of God defeated the power of evil and raised the Son. The victory of Christ’s resurrection can empower us to confront anti-life forces and defeat evil in our own lives. With the words of “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” Martin Luther reminds us that "with might of ours can naught be done, soon were our loss effected; but for us fights the valiant One, whom God Himself elected. Ask ye, who is this? Jesus Christ it is, of Sabaoth Lord, and there’s none other God; He holds the field forever. " The Lord who prays for us extends his power to us as followers of Christ in today’s world.

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message." It is important to the risen Christ that a life lived in faith calls others to faith, too. This is our Easter task: to spread the good news and to give hope to others in a world plagued by war, uncertainties and the crisis of difficult living standards. May God equip the entire community of the Hungarian Reformed Church, together with our sister churches and all Christians around the world, to proclaim the hope of Easter, and, following in the footsteps of our risen Lord, alleviate human suffering by standing in solidarity with those in need.

We wish a blessed Easter to all our congregations throughout the Carpathian Basin and in the diaspora!

At Easter 2023