But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner’ (Luke 18:13)
This week, we are focusing on repentance: hooray! As humans, it’s one of the places we least like to go, and being a Christian doesn’t immunise us to this reluctance.
Take today’s reading, for example. If you ask yourself, ‘Am I the Pharisee or tax collector?’, there is no comfortable answer. If you’re the Pharisee, then everyone but you knows you have some significant issues and need to start repenting. If you’re the tax collector, then you are vulnerable. The tax collector doesn’t repent in the privacy of his room, but rather, he declares his sinfulness in a public place. In doing so, he opens the door for others to point their fingers at him, and the Pharisee needs no second invitation to do just that!
The tax collector gets the kudos in this story, but does anyone really want everyone to see them in a vulnerable state like that?
The tax collector isn’t simply playing a socially acceptable, virtue-signalling humility game. Instead, he responds viscerally to the repentance God’s Spirit has worked in his soul.
When God’s Spirit convicts us of the need to repent, we don’t care about others’ judgements. We simply confess to God and say, ‘It was me. I’m the one’, just as the Apostle Paul does in 1 Timothy 1:15.
Today’s text challenges us to fall on our knees and declare, ‘I’ve got nothing, God. Do whatever you want with me.’
Are we ready to go there this week?.
Dear God, I invite your Spirit to help me this week. Work in my heart: expose my self-reliance and remind me of my utter dependence on you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Prayer Points
We pray for all people who are affected by flooding and wars and ask God to place His healing hand on them
We pray for the Croos, Recinos-Szust & Thang families
Western Emergency Relief Network is a not-for-profit organisation that assists families in need in the western suburbs. WERN supplies household goods to families who have faced trauma, family violence or have come to the area as refugees. The school has been blessed to have WERN support two of our families in need and is very grateful for their partnership.
You can support the wonderful work WERN does in our community by donating goods or by volunteering your time. If your family is in need or you know a family who is, please contact the school so we can arrange assistance from WERN.
Please see the attached flyer for more information.
Staff News
Ms Bronwyn Butcher has announced that she will not be continuing her role as Special Education Leader in 2023. Bronwyn has filled this role admirably for the last 12 years. She has been a champion for our students with needs for many years and her work has benefitted the whole school. We thank her for her amazing dedication to the school and the blessings she has brought through her work in Special Education. We are delighted that she will remain with us for one day a week in her role as Auslan teacher.
We are pleased to announce that Ms Susan Milverton will be joining us in the role of Special Education Leader in 2023. We look forward to Ms Milverton bringing her wealth of knowledge to our school.
Miss Jacqueline Bourtzis, our Year 3/4 teacher, has also announced that she will be leaving us at the end of the year as she has secured a teaching position closer to her home. We thank her for her work and dedication to the school over the past four and half years. We wish her God’s blessings and all the very best next year as she begins a new stage in her career.
In the Prep classroom we are learning the ‘sh’ digraph.
Ask us for words that have the ‘sh’ sound in them.
Year 1/2
In the Year 1/2 classroom we are learning about division (sharing). Ask us how we divide or share a number equally. We can show you by drawing an array (picture) and writing a number sentence.
Year 3/4
In the Year 3/4 classroom we have been conducting a research project on Sleep. We have looked at why it is important and have collected data on how much sleep we get each night. Ask us to show you our Sleep Diaries at home!
Year 5/6
In the Year 5/6 classroom we have finished reading our Literacy Circle novels about children in conflict. Ask us how our novel ended.
