Avoid getting into
debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men you have
carried out your obligations. All the commandments: You shall not commit
adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and so
on, are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbour as
yourself. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it
is the answer to every one of the commandments.
Romans 13: 8-10
There are
countless times in the classroom when I have spelled out the Great Commandment,
about its implications for our relationships, about how love will – with time
and commitment – transfigure our relationships into something akin to the way
that God loves us. Unremittingly, unconditionally, unfathomably,
uncontrollably, unequivocally, unerringly. There are no boundaries to God’s
love, but what we are commissioned to
do, is to love our neighbour, love each other – as God loves us.
Paul is not
suggesting that obeying this Great Commandment means minimising risk of causing hurt or doing as little damage as
possible in our relationships. Not at all. Loving our neighbour is an
obligation, and if we fulfil this obligation we will not need to consciously
attend to or ‘obey’ the commandments, because
they will have been fulfilled in spirit and in truth by loving our
neighbour. Indeed, failing to love, means failing to keep the commandments.
In his ministry
Jesus persistently challenged the Pharisees to move beyond their nominal
obedience to commandments to fulfilling the commandments by loving: where it is
fulfilled not by an internal, self-discipline, but is completed by extending
oneself, reaching beyond oneself in self-giving love. The Pharisees couldn’t
see it. And in truth, most of us don’t either. It is easier to obey the
Decalogue and claim we are compliant and sin-free, and to address the failures
of others.
The world in
which we live is governed by innumerable laws, regulations, guidelines from our
three tiers of government, and the courts and bureaucracies that spawn volumes
of interpretations and applications. It is, in fact, no different than the
Palestine of Jesus’ time. So, if we feel overwhelmed by the political
correctness and social imposts of the 21st century, the obligation
to love is no less today than it was for Paul. If anything, our world is
yearning to be transfigured from its crucifix of pain, to a resurrected,
life-giving City of God.
Peter
Mark Workman farewell
After the Monica Brown day at St Thomas More's on Friday 19 September 2014, there will be a farewell afternoon tea for Mark Workman at a venue yet to be confirmed. All principals and TCEO staff are most welcome to attend. Beginning at about 3.45 p.m.
Peter's whereabouts for the next 2 weeks
Please forward any agenda items for meetings (with some indication of time required and context) to Carole at carole.goodwin@catholic.tas.edu.au
Workplace WHS training
AROUND THE SCHOOLS
From Larmenier
From St Brigid's
From St Peter Chanel
From Stella Maris
From Marist
From Sacred Heart, Ulverstone
From St Patrick's, Latrobe
From St Thomas More's
From Our Lady of Lourdes
From St Joseph's, Queenstown
From St Anthony's
From St Brendan-Shaw
From St Patrick's, Prospect
From Star of the Sea
From Sacred Heart, Launceston
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