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Principal’s Message: Term 4, Week 3, 2022

“Let us consider how to stir one another to love and good works.” Hebrews 10:24-25

Dear families and friends of St Edmund’s College,

I find it difficult to comprehend how we have ended up almost half way through Term 4!  Our students in Years 4 – 9 have five and a half weeks left of school, and the Year 12 Graduation Mass is now less than one month away.  As we move towards the second half of Term 4, it is sometimes easy for some of our students to lose focus, even though they still have a number of assessment tasks and examinations before them. A partnered approach between teachers and parents with supportive conversations will go a long way in maintaining student focus and attention.

I must offer my thanks and congratulations to students in Years 4, 5, 7 & 10 for their behaviour and attitude during last week’s camps. All feedback from staff clearly indicated that students were well engaged with the activities and contributed greatly to the success of these camps.  My thanks to the many staff members who attended the camps for their significant input of time and effort, ensuring that our camp program is always engaging, relevant and fun.

Gospel – Luke 18:9-14

Last Sunday’s Gospel is one that I often use with students when discussing the nature of prayer and the true nature of Christianity.

Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity – greedy, dishonest, adulterous – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14

The parable has two men as its subject, a Pharisee and a tax collector.  The Pharisees were the holy men who kept the law; they passionately pursued purity and wanted nothing more than to live lives that pleased God.  The tax collectors were despised and regarded as sinners as they were Jews who worked for the Romans.  The Jews resented paying taxes to the Romans who ruled over them, so tax collectors were considered traitors by their fellow Jews.

The parable is quite simple, with Jesus challenging those who believe that they are proud and righteous.  The Pharisee in the parable proudly boasts of his religious and moral observance. He is one of the faithful ones. The others are no good.  He uses the word “I” four times in his prayer and only states the good things that he has done.  His prayer is only about him, and he explicitly denigrates those around him. The tax collector, on the other hand, is so ashamed of his sinfulness that he stays at the back of the temple and prays for mercy and forgiveness. His prayer is brief and to the point.  He asks God for forgiveness.  We know enough about Jesus’ other parables to realise that action will still be required of the tax collector.

The Jewish audience of Jesus’ parable will have expected to hear the Pharisee praised, but instead Jesus has God standing up for the despised, the sinner, the one who fails to keep the Law. He shows that God is full of compassion, cares about the suffering of the outcast and sees the grain of honesty and goodness hidden in the human heart. Unlike the Pharisee, the tax collector is humble; he begs for the mercy and pardon that he feels he does not deserve.

All of us in our community must avoid being like the Pharisee – there is absolutely no value in focusing on ourselves and the many good things we do unless we are mindful of the plight of those around us.  The Pharisee is mindful of others around him but only in a derogatory, negative manner. He raises himself up by putting others down.  The tax collector on the other hand has his focus on wanting to be a better person – on asking for forgiveness and (we assume) carrying out his life with action that justifies and reinforces this forgiveness. We learn from this parable that we must not make the mistake of comparing ourselves with others and gaining confidence from what we see in that comparison. We are shown how we should pray; not with pride, comparing ourselves to others, but in humility, needy for God’s forgiveness, mercy and compassion.

Each time we pray at school we end with the exclamation, “Blessed Edmund Rice, pray for us. Live Jesus in our hearts, forever”.  We are reminded that if we truly have Jesus in our hearts, then we live a life that is humble and in service to others, as witnessed in the actions and intentions of Blessed Edmund Rice. A humble life does not mean we spend our lives not being happy, or not celebrating achievements, or not having fun, or not pursuing a personal dream or ambition. But it does mean that what we do is always within the context of the bigger picture of those around us.  As our College Prayer states, “Let us stand for others always giving generously without counting the cost”.

Prayer

Loving God,
We pray for the heart position of humility.
Humility in such a way that we do not cheapen our own worth or value within,
but that we understand that we are here for a greater purpose than just our own gain.
We pray that You will highlight to us what it truly means to live a humble life,
and that our own worth will be revealed by Your Light.
It is only then that we may truly live in freedom and right standing,
for we will hold our own value correctly.
Gracious God, we welcome You to mould and secure our hearts in true humility by Your lead.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

Blessed Edmund Rice, pray for us.
Live Jesus in our hearts, forever.

Joe Zavone
Principal
Christus Lux Mea