In St Paul’s letter to the Romans, which is in many ways his magnum opus, he writes:
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For, by the grace given me, I say to every one of you: do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many parts, and these parts do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each part belongs to all the others. (Romans 12: 2–5)
My challenge for you this year is, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
In other words, don’t just let the world shape you, especially in a negative sense. Rather, take up the challenge to shape the world around you. My challenge to the Senior School students (at our very first Muster this year) was not to let themselves be among the first generation of people whose IQ is actually lower than that of their parents! It is a real risk, because literacy levels are declining, particularly among boys. I challenged them to refuse to be part of that generation, but rather to be transformed by the renewing of their minds!
When I eventually retire from St Peter’s College and I bump into some students in Rundle Mall, I want them to stop me and say, without irony, “Thank you, Father Theo, I took your advice, I allowed myself to be transformed by the renewing of my mind.” I look forward to that moment when they say, “You were right, Father Theo, the study of theology is interesting! You were right, there doesn’t have to be a conflict between science and religion – they can work together. In fact, did you know that the person who thought of the Big Bang Theory was a Catholic Priest? You were right to challenge me; I allowed my mind to be transformed.”
But, that’s many years away! In the meantime, as we begin Term 1 – Lent Term as we call it here at SPSC – know that you are all loved, for who you are. Just take a note of how profound that statement is, “You are loved for who you are” and because you are loved, you are invited to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. God bless you this year.
The Reverend Dr Theo McCall
School Chaplain
