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Be brave. Make change.

The headline slogan ‘Be brave. Make change’ is not a plea to the new Labor government from the Greens or Teal independents, although it would be an appropriate message to send. Rather it is the chosen theme for this year’s National Reconciliation Week that starts on 27 May and runs through to 3 June. This annual event provides an opportunity to learn about the histories, cultures and achievements of indigenous people, and the chance to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

The apostle Paul uses the imagery of reconciliation and peace between estranged parties as one of the ways of understanding the death of Jesus. He argues that humanity was estranged from God – and from one another – but now God has acted decisively through the death of Jesus to bring both reconciliation and peace. This has not happened through human initiative or power, but rather through the gracious actions of God.

When we think of the often fractured relationships between indigenous people (the First Peoples of the land we call Australia) and later colonisers/settlers/immigrants (the Second Peoples), it is clear we have a lot of ground to catch up if there is to be true reconciliation and peace. A good start would be to listen deeply to each other. Indigenous people yearn for their voice to be heard, as expressed in the 2017 Uluru statement from the heart.

They want a voice to Parliament enshrined in the Constitution, a Makarrata (truth-telling) Commission and a treaty. Each of these requests will be challenging to implement and potentially costly for Second Peoples, but with a change in government, now is the time to act – to be brave and to make change. May God give our political leaders both the wisdom and the will to act, and all Australians the compassion and courage to respond positively.

From the Minister

Success and struggle go together

We all like winners, especially on the sporting field or in politics. We’re told that winners are grinners. We’re sometimes told that winning isn’t the main thing … it’s the only thing. But for every winner, there is nearly always a loser and often many, many losers.

So if we shift our thinking a little, what does success look like away from sport or politics? What does success in marriage look like, for instance? What would a successful outcome in Ukraine look like? What would a successful church look like?

One reading of the book of Acts is that the story is all about success. Large numbers of people come to trust in Jesus and new communities of faith spring up everywhere from Jerusalem to Rome. Women are involved in leadership as well as men. The Christian community models its life on the loving and inclusive ways of Jesus. Nothing, it seems, can hinder the spread of the word of God.

But there is another, darker side to the story. Mixed in with the success there is struggle and suffering. The apostles are harangued and imprisoned, Stephen is stoned to death, John’s brother James is executed by Herod and Paul stumbles from one struggle to the next, suffering floggings, imprisonments and nearly drowning. There are also struggles within the community as some groups get ignored and there are disagreements on how to handle difficult issues.

It seems as though success and struggle go hand in hand throughout the book of Acts, as they often do in our individual lives and in our community life. Depending on our personality we may view this tussle between success and struggle as the glass being half full or half empty. But when we face struggles in our walk of faith, it’s worth remembering that Jesus also faced many bitter struggles and warns his followers that they must take up their cross every day and follow in his footsteps.

We enjoy success … but struggle and suffering are part of our life too. Often the joys and successes we experience are all the sweeter if they have involved struggle. May God give us a right perspective that we might experience God’s presence and joy and peace in the midst of both our successes and our struggles.

From the Minister

God’s plan and our plans

People make plans all the time … whether it’s plans to go away on holidays (which for many of us have been on hold for the last two years), plans for how to celebrate an upcoming birthday or how we will spend Election day on 21 May, or plans for getting fit or losing weight. Such plans help add meaning to our life and give us a future to look forward to.

There’s a well-known verse in the book of Jeremiah that suggests that God has plans too, good plans … plans to prosper us, plans to give us hope and a future. This promise is spoken in the midst of a dismal medium-term outlook for Israel that includes loss of their land, loss of the temple and exile to Babylon. God seems to be saying that there is a bigger perspective here, if we have eyes to see it and trust to grasp it.

Jesus too had a plan for his followers that is summarised in Acts 1:8, namely that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. In its historical context, this plan gives an outline of how the message of good news spread from its starting point in Jerusalem all the way to Rome, the centre of the then known world.

How might this plan apply to us today? It suggests that we begin where we are and live out our witness – through both our words and our actions – among our friends and our neighbours. As the opportunity arises, we can carry the message about God’s love and justice wherever we go. One benediction puts it this way … Go into the world in peace; carry God’s wisdom, speak forth God’s word and embody God’s love, wherever you are and whoever you meet.

From the Minister

Remembering Mother’s Day

This Sunday is that special day in the year when we get to say thankyou to our Mums and, depending on our family’s tradition, take Mum out to lunch, give her bunches of flowers or boxes of chocolates. This is all very nice and I’m sure most mothers appreciate the attention and love that’s given to them on this day. But of course being a mother is a 24/7, 365 days a year role that never really ends. One doesn’t ever ‘retire’ from being a mother and caring about one’s children.

While this is a happy day for many, it can also be a difficult day … whether grieving for one’s mother, dealing with a difficult relationship with one’s mother, lamenting that one couldn’t be a mother or struggling to make ends meet as a single parent. It also leaves out the many other significant women in our lives, whether they are aunties, sisters, wives, daughters, granddaughters or friends. These women are also worthy of our thanks.

While it is usually the men who feature in our Bible readings, this week’s description of the early Christian community in Acts 2 suggests that roles and responsibilities were evenly shared. The (male) apostles may have been the teachers, but it was almost certainly the women who provided the hospitality and the homes for people to meet in, as was the case during the ministry of Jesus. It takes the gifts of each person to build a community, so let us remember and be thankful for the wonderful gifts that so many women contribute.

From the Minister