According to Chabad.org, the Year of Jubilee was to be celebrated every 50 years when all the Tribes of Israel were present in the physical boundaries of that nation. It is based on Leviticus 25 and was, according to Spoken Gospel, a mega-Sabbath. Simply put, this year after 7 x 7 years was when “You shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family. That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you: you shall not sow, or reap the aftergrowth, or harvest the unpruned vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you: you shall eat only what the field itself produces. In this year of jubilee, you shall return, every one of you, to your property.” In other words, reparations (did I just write that? Yes, I did). Forgiveness of debts. Returning what was stolen.
There is some controversy about whether this was ever actually practiced, but for Christians, it needs to be taken seriously. Jesus proclaimed a Year of Jubilee (or favor) in Luke 4 when He quoted from Isaiah 61; whether He was being metaphorical, or literal, is also up for discussion. The setting is clear, however; He had come through the Devil’s tempting/testing in the wilderness and began His ministry in earnest, ending His sermon with “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” At that moment, Jesus realized that He would not be taken seriously by the people of His hometown; they were astonished that the kid known as “Joseph’s boy” knew so much. Right after that, He told them they were faithless. Then they tried to kill Him. Welcome home, kid!
I know that the topic of reparations is a controversial one, and I honestly don’t know enough about all the arguments around it to give a considered opinion. I do know this; Jesus thought it mattered, and so did Moses. This makes me think that we should at least discuss what that means. It seems pretty straightforward that the Year of Jubilee exists in Scripture to point out that people are not always fair and moral and ethical. Giving back all the property you stole seems fair, but also really hard to put into practice. Reparations matter to those who have been ripped off by the powerful; poverty is often about unfair systems that are often based on race, nationality, or culture. It points out that inequity has always existed, and that God doesn’t like it. It is Spiritual Economics 101, and Thou Shalt Not Steal is at the core. Before we dismiss demands for reparations, we should consider the ethics around how the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. For Jews and Christians, this isn’t theoretical; it’s a command. Jesus found out the hard way that one can challenge a lot of things in life, but messing with people’s money is a no-no. At least, for the rich.
Prayer – Holy God, knowing what is right and moral is often difficult, and all of us who love You should be struggling to find the best ways to live. Guide us on that journey. Amen.
Today’s art is by Sefira Lightstone.