Principal's Message

Dear Parents,

What type of person would list the following on his C.V.: “Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked and on one occasion I was adrift at sea for a night and a day. On my frequent journeys, I was in danger from rivers, bandits and the wilderness and often I was hungry, thirsty, cold and naked through many a sleepless nights.” 

This type of person was a saintly person and the above statements in Cor. 11:24-29, was what St Paul endured to preach the good news of Jesus Christ risen from the dead. 

However, Paul was not always a preacher for Christ; in fact, he started out well on the opposite side, as a persecutor of the early followers of Christ. Paul, originally known by his Jewish name, Saul, was born in Tarsus a town in Asia Minor, now known as Turkey, probably between 1 and10 A.D. Tarsus was a large and prosperous town in the Roman Empire and so Saul was a Roman Citizen, which eventually gave him the right to a quick execution by beheading. As the son of a family that strictly observed the Jewish law, Saul was sent to Jerusalem to study under the famous Rabbi, Gamaliel. He became a convinced Pharisee and eager to maintain the purity of the Jewish religion, took it upon himself to destroy the new religion started by Jesus. 

As we know, it was on the way to Damascus, where he intended to take prisoner any person found to be following the new religion, that Saul had a transforming supernatural encounter during which he heard a voice challenging him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” There were further encounters during which Saul is told, “You are the instrument I have chosen to bring My name before Jewish and non-Jewish people.” 

Saul disappears for about three years and when he reappears, he is called by his Roman name, Paul, and he is full of zeal and confidence about what he is to preach. 

Christian people throughout time have been challenged by the fact that Jesus’ teachings are almost impossible to live by. “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” Matt. 7:12. If taken literally, this requires us to treat an enemy as an equal, which means in essence, that we have no enemies. To turn the other cheek and to love others as you love yourself, seems to defy human nature. “Jesus wanted to inspire a world reborn in God. The vision is breath taking in its ambition.” Deepak Chopra. The Third Jesus. 

But this is what Paul, the man with the amazing C.V., devotes his whole life to do. Paul tells the Ephesians “....to clothe yourselves with the new self, created to the likeness of God in true holiness.” Eph. 4:24.

Paul’s writings consistently contain the message that holiness is our destiny as Christians and that our holiness is sharing in God’s holiness. The feast of All Saints reminds us that St Paul was not the only Christian to have an incredible C.V., a C.V. that suggests that Jesus’ “impossible teachings” are obtainable through perseverance.

 Let’s pray that the many holders of incredible C.V.s will inspire us in our personal pursuit of holiness, of loving God, loving ourselves and loving our neighbour.

“Lord, we rejoice in the holy men and women of every time and place, and of various races and colours. May we be filled with the Spirit that filled their lives and fuelled their courage and perseverance. Amen.”

God Bless 

Leonie Burfield

Principal