Dear College Community  

We are etching closer to Christmas. Last Friday, our Year 12s celebrated the end of their exams and assessments with a Liturgy and Graduation Function. Next Sunday, we will begin the season of Advent. This is a time of hope for a better world and a time of preparation and invitation to reflect on the relationship that we have with Jesus in our lives.  

Sunday was the Feast of Christ the King. We hear in the Gospel that Pilate challenges Jesus. Pilate must have been confused. He had asked Jesus point-blank, “Are you the King of the Jews?” (John 18:33). Jesus didn’t answer him directly, but he made it clear that his kingdom wasn’t what Pilate had been envisioning. Instead, he said this kingdom “is not here” and “does not belong to this world” (18:36). 

So, where is Jesus’ kingdom, and what is it like? This week we are challenged to reflect on God’s kingdom and how it compares with the kingdom of the world. 

The kingdom of the world values power, wealth, honour, and pleasure. These things are not bad in themselves, but we can easily be distracted by materialism. We can even fool ourselves into thinking that we are not going after them. But if they are the primary reason we get out of bed in the morning, and we spend most of our time seeking them out, then we too are probably immersed in the kingdom of the world. 

The kingdom of God, on the other hand, values sacrificial love, forgiveness, humility, and service. Such things are not always attractive because they come with a cost. Yet the reward is always greater – not only in this life, as we experience Jesus’ abundant love and mercy, but also in the next, when we will see him face-to-face and live in his joyful embrace forever. 

For all our community, particularly our graduates, may we think about what we most value and what we are most anxious to achieve. We can then assess whether we see these things as more in line with God’s kingdom or with the kingdom of the world.  

We are all tempted at times to straddle both kingdoms at the same time. But repeatedly, we are faced with choices to serve one or the other. May we always choose to serve one another. This is what our maker wants from us.  

In partnership 

 

Gregg Sharman 

PRINCIPAL