STANNIES www.stannies.com
NEWS 8 APRIL 2022
FROM THE HEAD OF COLLEGE Dear Members of the St Stanislaus’ College Community, Today is our last day before we break for the Easter holidays. While it has only been a short time since we returned to school, Easter has been anticipated for weeks as plans for how boys and their families would spend this time being discussed and refined. Easter has been on our radar for months in our Bathurst Woolworths since they began selling “new” varieties of Hot Cross Buns while the store was still decorated for Christmas in late December 2021. Some of the possibilities of Lent are obscured by a long advertising campaign commercially and in our own minds. We have, over time, become accustomed and somewhat familiar with an idea of what Easter was, meant then and means now. But the first Easter had practically no advertising and so when it came, it was quite a shock and even years later, the Gospel writers had trouble making sense of it all. Generally, the Gospel writers liked to illustrate events in Jesus’ life with references from texts in the Old Testament – this or that happened so that the promises of Scripture might be fulfilled. This was especially true when they told the story of Jesus’ suffering and death. They often reference the Psalms: The guards threw dice for his clothes. “They divided my garments among them, they threw lots for my clothing.” (PS 22:18). A soldier put a sponge of vinegar on his spear and offered it to Jesus. “When I was thirsty they gave me vinegar.” (PS 69:21). To confirm that Jesus was dead, a soldier drove a spear into Jesus’ side. “They will look upon him whom they have pierced.” (Zechariah 12:10). Just before He died Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me.” (PS 21:1). Referring to the past was their way of trying to make sense of an unbelievable story and getting some historical safety in understanding them. However, when the Gospel writers tell the story of Jesus’ Resurrection, they stop quoting the Old Testament and
their writing becomes less precise and certain in the manner in which they write. Prior to this part in the story, they are usually fluent writers who begin to stumble and search for words. We might well conclude that something has happened for which their experience has not prepared them. Probably, we can all think at times when something has happened in our lives when we feel we have little to say, not because there is nothing to say, but because there is too much to say and we falter in our attempts at expression. The Resurrection isn’t just a happy ending to a sad story; it is the beginning of a new story - not only for the disciples of Jesus then but for us today. I came across this extract in an e-newsletter this week that I think expresses this well: Easter is essentially a universal story that reflects and reinforces this message: that if we allow it to happen, light can overpower the dark, that despite the fact that we live in an unpredictable world where unimaginable suffering can seemingly appear out of nowhere, it need not, in the end, overwhelm us. In our society, suffering is seen as uncool. We take great lengths to avoid it and hide it in a pile of tinsel and wrap it in distractions. But Easter is a reminder of the inevitability of suffering and death that is part of the human story. It is also a reminder of the fact that this is not the end of the story. That its final chapter is not an end but the possibility of a new beginning.” So what will we do with Easter in our lives this year? Confine it to rabbits, eggs and buns, or will we take its true significance into our daily lives and live its message of hope through any circumstance we might have to deal with. “Whatever our cross, whatever our pain, there will always be sunshine after the rain. Perhaps we may stumble, perhaps even fall, but God’s always there to help us through it all. (Author Unknown). Don’t get me wrong - I am really looking forward to a break after an incredibly busy term and am partial to Rocky Road Easter eggs. We should all enjoy our own families’ Easter traditions. But these should not obscure the gift of “new” life that Easter brings each of us. It is the ultimate event that shows the authority of trusting in the name of our Lord. Mr Lindsay Luck, Head of College Stannies News | 1
