Kids corner
"My family and I are preparing for Christmas by putting up our Christmas tree, putting up our nativity set and decorating the house. What makes this holiday so special is how much time you get to spend with your family. The main reason this season is so special, though, is because of the birth of Christ, and we get to remember just how much He loves us!"
Praying on Sunday
Fr Anthony
Wed
Early Liturgy, 5 to 7am
Thu
Fortnightly Thursday Liturgy, 8:30am (next one 25 December)
Bible Study, 6:30 to 7:30pm
Kids Karate (ages 7+), 6:30 to 7:30pm
English Classes, 6:30 to 7:30pm
Tasbeha, 7:30 to 8:30pm
Babysitting available, 6:30 to 8:30pm
From the pulpit
Sunday's Gospel was Mark 10:17–31. In this week's Gospel, Jesus tells a rich man to give up his wealth to follow Him, teaching that true discipleship requires sacrifice and brings eternal reward.
A lot of times in the Gospels, when we see people questioning Jesus, they come with a loaded question. They're not genuine in their questioning. They are trying to make Jesus look bad. They're trying to turn the people against Jesus. Many times we see the Pharisees and the Sadducees approaching Jesus with malicious intent. They're trying to catch Him out in His words.
Today, we see a young man coming and asking Jesus a question, and we need to analyse his intentions. Firstly, this young man comes running to Jesus. Jesus had a multitude around Him; we read earlier in the chapter that He always had a lot of people around Him. This man pushed past crowds to ask Jesus a question and to learn from Him.
Secondly, he knelt before Jesus. He was a young ruler. He had people that served him, and yet he was not ashamed to kneel down in front of Jesus to ask Him this question. He knelt down to show the great value that he saw, to venerate Jesus, to show that he was hanging on His words and that he knew He was someone great. He asked Jesus, "What do I do to inherit eternal life?"
Again, we see this man's intention. He's not asking about how he rules people. He's not asking about earthly matters. He's asking about eternal things. He's asking about his own eternal life. It shows his intention: firstly, that he believes that there is an eternity. He believes that this man, Jesus, will be able to lead him there, and he shows that he wants to get there.
In response, Jesus lists a few of the commandments. He says, do not commit adultery. The young man says, yep, tick, I don't commit adultery. Honour your mother and father. Yep, I honour my mother and father. All good. Do not steal. I don't steal either. So this man is basically putting himself forward as blameless in front of Christ. He's saying, I've done all that from my youth. I am a model citizen. I'm listening to You. I'm doing everything that You're saying. I'm following Your commandments. Is that it? Am I done? Will I be there in eternity with You? Then Jesus throws a curveball at this man by asking him if he's willing to let go of his riches.
The young man walks away defeated, unwilling to part with his wealth to follow Christ and to be there in eternity with Him. Jesus turns to His disciples after that and says how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Every time I hear this part of the Gospel, I think the same thing. Thank God I'm not rich. Thank God I don't have this problem. This is not referring to me. This is referring to millionaires, billionaires, celebrities, people that own yachts, people that have private islands, people that are swimming in money. It's not a message for me. Or is it? Maybe it's time that we get a bit of a reality check and look at the definition of this danger of riches, and assess whether or not it does apply to us.
To do this, I looked into a few studies and statistics on Australian income. We all live in Sydney, Australia, and I'm telling you, I was very surprised with what I found. A study done this year, 2025, by a major Swiss bank, UBS, looked at global wealth: the median wealth per adult, calculated from the total value of the assets and investments each person possesses. According to this study, Australia currently stands as the second wealthiest country in the world, second only to Luxembourg.
Another study shows that if you earn the median Australian salary, that places you in the richest 3% of the world's population. Relatively speaking, compared to the world, we are considered wealthy. So Jesus' warning in this passage isn't directed at other people; it's speaking directly to all of us.
We live in comfort and stability, with opportunities many in the world never experience. So this passage truly speaks to us. Jesus never says money is evil; the danger is dependence on money. Wealth can make us feel self-sufficient, slowly shifting our trust away from God. Without realising it, money becomes our security, and eventually our god. Christ warns that we cannot serve both God and wealth.
Jesus reminds us that life does not consist of possessions. Our houses, savings and assets are not what God looks for, nor do they help us enter the kingdom. The rich fool learned this when his soul was required of him and all his earthly treasures counted for nothing.
Solomon, despite unmatched riches, influence and luxury, concluded that everything "is vanity." His wealth became a distraction that led him away from God. The same danger faces us if we anchor our hearts to earthly comfort.
Yet Scripture also shows wealthy people who stayed close to God because they remained detached from their possessions. Abraham was rich, yet willing even to sacrifice Isaac. Joseph rose to power but refused to compromise God's commandments. Barnabas sold his property joyfully to help the poor. Their foundation was God, not wealth.
Christ does not condemn having possessions; He warns against trusting in them. Salvation does not come from our own efforts, achievements or financial security; it comes solely through Christ's grace. The young ruler kept the commandments but could not release his attachment to wealth, and it held him back from following Jesus completely.
This Gospel calls us to examine our hearts. Like the young man, we genuinely seek God and desire eternal life, yet we may carry subtle attachments that compete with Him. Money can make life easier, but it can make faith harder if it becomes our source of identity or safety.
Let us ensure our hearts are free from the grip of possessions, holding lightly to earthly things and firmly to Christ. May our wealth serve God and not replace Him.
Glory be to God forever. Amen.
Parish life
Over the last fortnight, mothers of our church have gathered together to put up Christmas decorations, a kindness offered up to all of the families in our church.
There are small acts we offer each other every day that quietly demonstrate our humanity. They are rarely dramatic, rarely Instagram-worthy, and rarely even spoken about. Yet they are the gestures that make life not only bearable, but beautiful: moving aside on a footpath to allow a mum with a pram to pass; letting someone with only a carton of milk skip ahead of you in a supermarket queue; pausing so a car can turn into your lane from a busy side street. These tiny choices reveal our awareness of each other, our willingness to make room for someone else.
This week, as cheerful and charitable homeowners across the country switch on their annual displays, I've found myself thinking about Christmas lights as one of these everyday kindnesses. They may sparkle, flash and glow with a kind of theatrical flourish, but at their heart they are simply an act of generosity toward humankind.
In a quiet and deeply human way, Christmas decorations bring people together, and allow our church to stand luminescent as a beacon of light for neighbours, passers-by and, of course, the congregation, not to mention the joy they bring our kids.
As you traipse your neighbourhoods, you will see homes wrapped in fairy lights like presents, yards transformed into glowing playgrounds, and porches decorated with inflatable reindeer, tinkling music, and enough sparkle to give the North Pole a run for its money. It is worth reflecting on the sheer kindness behind such efforts, because this is work for the decorator. It is not a small undertaking.
The dutiful decorators of our church spend hours climbing ladders, untangling cords, fluffing trees and arranging everything so it all looks just right. They do it not just for their own children but for our entire community. This generosity is exactly what the season is meant to be about: giving without expecting anything in return. These lights illuminate something tender in us, childlike. They remind us that community isn't only something we talk about; it is something we enact, one small gesture at a time.
In a world where we are constantly confronted by division, conflict and stress, where news cycles churn faster than we can absorb them, these small acts matter more than ever.
Christmas lights, whimsical as they are, create a space for these connections. They coax us out of our homes and into our churches for that wide-eyed, childlike moment of joy. They give us permission to be kids again, to gasp, to point, to marvel. And in that shared sense of wonder, kindness flows a little more freely.
Perhaps that is the real gift of the season: the reminder that kindness does not need to be grand. It does not need to fix the world's problems; it simply needs to exist and to light up the world in its own small way, a miracle from the true miracle of this season.
Whether you are someone who decks every corner of your home with twinkling lights or someone who simply enjoys the glow from the footpath, take a moment to appreciate the humanity behind the sparkle. Each bulb is a tiny beacon saying, "This joy is for you too."
How glorious. How wholesome. How very kind and needed by all. A very big thank you to the mums who brought this little act of kindness and generosity to our church for all of us to enjoy.
Parish life
A reminder that Father Luke will return to St John's on 20 December. We will take part in the Rite of Receiving the New Priest, which marks the end of his 40 days at the monastery. Please arrive by 5:30pm at the latest, so Abouna returns to a full church congregation who are ready and waiting to receive him. Father Mark has asked us all to be present with our kids, to celebrate the return of our new parish priest and the start of his fatherhood with us.
5 photos. Tap one to enlarge it.