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Invite poor to mountaintop, says bishop

Published:Monday | August 3, 2020 | 12:14 AM
Bishop of Kingston Dr Robert Thompson enters Kingston Parish Church wearing his ceremonial garb for the last time during the Emancipation service, for which he was the officiating minister, on Sunday.
Bishop of Kingston Dr Robert Thompson enters Kingston Parish Church wearing his ceremonial garb for the last time during the Emancipation service, for which he was the officiating minister, on Sunday.

Jamaica’s political class was on Sunday rebuked for not doing enough to empower the population to be independent beyond filling their bellies.

Suffragan Bishop of Kingston, the Right Reverend Robert Thompson, who was presiding over his final service in that capacity, used his Emancipation weekend homily to charge leaders to raise national standards.

“Those on the margins of society have never been invited to the mountain,” Thompson, referencing Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, told the congregation of Kingston Parish Church in the heart of the capital’s downtown business district.

Thompson centred his sermon on the feeding of the 5,000. He took particular note of the fact that when the disciples suggested that the multitude be sent away, given the late hour and lack of resources, Jesus insisted, “Give them something to eat.”

However, the bishop said that “something to eat” was much more than for physical sustenance but extended to spiritual and other influences to cope with life’s struggles.

Thompson is retiring after 47 years in ordained ministry, the last 15 in which he served as a bishop.