Most Christians either don’t know what the Year of Jubilee is, or they misrepresent it and “Christianize” it. Simply put, it comes from Leviticus 25, “And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year, and proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who live on it,” (this comes from www.chabad.org . It is celebrated after 7 x 7 Sabbath years, and only when all 12 Tribes are in Israel together. More from the website, “After seven cycles, a Jubilee year is proclaimed, in which all slaves are set free and all land reverts to its original owner. On the Yom Kippur of this fiftieth year, the Jubilee is ushered in with shofar blasts sounded throughout the land.” It isn’t an act of equality, democracy, or anything else; it is an act of equity.
Yes – that subversive word that so many are fighting about is one of the ultimate acts of wealth redistribution in all of history! And while we don’t know everything about how Jubilee came about, I have a feeling it had to do with God getting mad at greedy and oppressive people taking advantage of their power. Jubilee reclaims what was taken and returns it to the rightful owners. It tells the culture that slavery is wrong (although not wrong enough to banish it all together), and you and your family are free to go. It is the Robin Hood of theological/economic acts – it is restitution! Knowing this, how can any Christian or Jew not believe that there are times when equity is necessary. Not just necessary; it is commanded by G_d!
Of course, those who are on the losing side would probably claim that this rule is archaic and has nothing to do with us now. That might be true; in fact, there are lots of rules and commands, and teachings in Scripture that could fall into that category. Still, I cannot think of an argument that would deny the reality of Jubilee being about Restitution and Restoration. If you are a person of Christian or Jewish faith, you need to at least consider that conversations about equity and restitution have some faith-based support. You need to at least consider how God must feel about people mistreating the poor and keeping them warehoused in crumbling communities and attending schools with underpaid teachers and inadequate resources. If we believe that America is at least supposed to be a good nation, we cannot ignore the mandate of Scripture to care for the poor with more than thoughts and prayers and just enough support to barely get by.
Or, like with so many other important issues, we can give this lip service and ignore the needs of real people who are really struggling. Like Scrooge said, “Let them die and decrease the surplus population.” More for us, I guess.
Prayer – Forgive our hardheartedness, God of the oppressed and marginalized, so that we can do and be better together. Amen.
Today’s art is “The Jubilee Year” by Yoram Raanan.