Saturday, February 10, 2007

Blessed are the Cheese-makers!

Have you ever wondered why Luke starts his list of "Sermon on the Mount" blessings by saying "Blessed are the poor..." whereas Matthew (describing a similar time of teaching by Jesus) reports "Blessed are the poor in spirit"?

Tomorrow morning's sermon, at 8am in the morning (yes...8AM! Arghh!) tackles the differences between these accounts.

To read the sermon, PLEASE CLICK HERE

And do let me know what you think!

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:30 pm

    tom, what is the church's opinion on suicide? i want to know but don't want to ask face to face because people get suspicious. is it a sin?

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  2. Dear Anonymous,

    You ask a very big question...and I would love to unpack it with you one-to-one. (For example, are you worried about the eternal soul of someone you know, or is suicide something you personally contemplate? Another topic we should discuss is - what do we mean by 'sin'?!)

    However, I respect your desire to remain anonymous. (Please let me assure you of complete confidentiality, and understanding, should you choose to get in touch personally. My email is tom.kennar@ntlworld.com)

    In the meantime, there is, unfortuntely, not a simple answer to your question. First of all, I'm not sure that 'the Church' as a whole has a settled opinion - except that I think most priests and theologians, like me, would say three things:

    First - that as a GENERAL principle, the deliberate taking of any human life is wrong - whether it's mine, or someone else's.

    Secondly that there needs to be room for compassion, not condemnation, in any discussion about suicide.

    Thirdly - that God is merciful as well as just (and is wiser than all our theology).

    Generally speaking, I personally work on the premis that someone who wants to take their own life is in need of love, and understanding. The reasons why they may want to do so are many - ranging from acute depression, through to severe and unending pain. All should be treated with compassion.

    But our job as Christians is to speak of the importance of life - and that as long as there is life, there is the possibility of God's action.

    However, I have known people (in my former work in the YMCA) who have committed suicide for far less noble reasons than severe pain, or even severe depression. One fellow I well remember simply drank himself into a selfish stupour after much poor behaviour on his part led to him being thrown out by his partner. His suicide had the character of a selfish refusal to face up to his responsibilities...

    But such circumstances are rare.

    Should suicide be something that you are contemplating yourself - please let me urge you to seek more support. Be assured that there will be no condemnation from me...just understanding and compassion...

    Tom

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  3. Anonymous9:17 am

    thankyou very much.

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  4. Anonymous10:04 pm

    tom, i was at warblington this morning and wanted to thank you for your advice earlier in the year but then bottled out. but then i thought i should let you know somehow that what you'd said has helped i think, and this seemed like a good way. so thankyou. and happy easter!

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