183: The Year of Jubilee

"You shall consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you shall return to your property, and each of you shall return to your family." — Leviticus 25:10

Consider these provocative words by Walter Brueggeman from Sabbath as Resistance. 

“Sabbath is not only resistance; it is an alternative. Sabbath offers both the awareness and practice of the claim that we are on the receiving end of the gifts of God.... To be so situated is a staggering option because we are accustomed to initiating all things. I have come to believe that the fourth commandment on the Sabbath is the most difficult and urgent commandment in our society because it calls us to an intent and conduct that defy the fundamental demands of a commodity-driven society - one that thrives on control, entertainment, bread, and circuses, and requires 24/7 multitasking to achieve, accomplish, perform, and possess.” 

Pause with me for a moment and try on this reality. The joyous restoration of land to its original owners. Debts canceled—forever. Slaves released from bondage. Relationships healed. Even the land recovers its vitality with extended rest from sowing and reaping. Spiritual renewal and re-creation as the community shifts from striving and acquiring to pausing, noticing, receiving, forgiving, reconciling, celebrating, and resting.

In The Year of Jubilee, biblical scholar John Bergsma invites readers to consider how God is calling His people to a collective, life-saving practice - one that preserves freedom, family, and the fullness of God in a fallen world that has lost its ability to rest and to heal.

What lies behind Yahweh’s profound directive and promise of Jubilee, first given to the people of Israel to reform them? How was it ultimately fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Messianic King?

Given to the people of God 3,500 years ago, this ancient rhythm feels like a long-lost key to life’s riddle. How can we participate in this biblical pattern of stopping and settling in, of forgiveness and renewal?

And what might we say to the curious—or to those who think we are out of our minds?

Join us as we explore The Sabbath of Sabbaths, inviting you more intimately into our story and walking alongside you as you discern what God may be calling you into in yours.

For the Kingdom,

Morgan & Cherie