Following the international news out of the Middle East has been gut-wrenching. It just seems to be going from bad to appalling. I will be forever grateful to have spent just over a month in Israel around Easter this year. Not sure when I might ever get that opportunity again. In the time I was there, it was such a privilege to meet some wonderful, kind and thoughtful people – both Palestinian and Israeli. But, so many things about the reporting of the conflict outside of Israel have left me disheartened. I’m not sure why it can be interpreted as being divisive, or the imposition of a ‘moral fog’, to try and hold more than one thing to be true at the same time. The atrocities committed by Hamas militants on October 7 were simply unspeakably evil. Nothing mitigates that. At the same time though, actions by the Israeli government, over decades in dispossessing Palestinians and gathering them in enclaves and building prison walls around them, had to give rise to an awful reaction. And that has happened.

There will be many consequences of the current Israeli army actions in Gaza but one of those may well be to inspire another couple of generations of people filled with hate. In a little over a month, we will celebrate Christmas. We will celebrate the birth of Jesus, at Bethlehem and the start of an extraordinary life. Jesus was born a Palestinian Jew – poor, dispossessed and living under a military occupation. The religion of his people, much like the religion and culture of neighbouring nations at the time, embraced ‘an eye for an eye’ response to the world. Laws were observed to appease God and to ensure that one group were regarded as superior to others. In that, Judaism and Islam have something in common. Jesus got himself into trouble because he proposed something very different. He taught that Law was intended to serve the good of humanity not to please an angry God – ‘the Sabbath is made for Man not Man for the Sabbath’. He challenged the intolerance of his tradition and reached out to those most on the margins – the poor, the widowed, the orphaned. He touched lepers and women thought to be sinful. He was irresponsibly inclusive and he was crucified for that.

The events taking place in the Middle East at the moment give outstanding evidence to those who would argue that ‘Religion’ is the cause of most of the world’s problems. That argument can have some validity but it does not recognise the enormous good done by agents of faith whether Christian, Jewish, Islamic or so many others. People of faith who are authentically faithful to their tradition, reach out, blindly, to those in need and help create a better world. Fundamental and often militant Christianity or Judaism or Islam, I would suggest, are an embarrassment to God and Yahweh and Allah. Many of those who claim a fundamental and intolerant approach to religion situate themselves so closely to their understanding of God that they seem to know what he had for breakfast! Their arrogance makes them blind. Intergenerational hurt affects both sides. An inability to let go of past hurt makes it very difficult to find any common ground let alone solutions. What is needed is a willingness to stand humbly before God, Yahweh, Allah or our common humanity to take a step forward. Our world, whether Jewish or Islamic or Christian or Atheist needs the voice of Jesus of Nazareth who invites us all to treat others as we would wish to be treated and to forgive those who have done us wrong. That Jesus demands of us that we do our best to create peace for all and especially for the lost, the least and the lonely. I wonder when that will become our news headlines?

Memorial Mass for James Kiernan will be held in our Chapel on Wednesday morning at 8am. All are welcome to attend. This is a chance for our community to join with James’ family to remind them of how much he meant to us. Given it is a school day, we aim to have Mass over by 8.30am.

Our Giving Tree Assembly will be this Thursday at 11.30am. This is a wonderful event on our calendar and I hope that every family will be able to provide one unwrapped present that will be given to the St Vincent de Paul Society for distribution to those less able to celebrate Christmas well this year. Cash gifts are also welcome.

Year 7 2024 Orientation Afternoon is on Tuesday afternoon this week.

Enrolments 2024 – should your circumstances change and your child won’t be returning to Shalom next year, could you please advise the College as soon as possible?