 |
|
|
Scripture Reveals Values, Actions of a Jubilee People |
|
| |
Having just celebrated with the Golden Jubilarians at Mount Carmel, I am again filled with the joy of such an occasion. Indeed the many expressions of delight after the liturgy and throughout the weekend confirm a hallmark of BVMs—we celebrate well. Our congregation looks forward to celebrating jubilee in 2008—the 175th year of our founding. So the question: what does one really celebrate at a jubilee? Is it not the living out of the call of the scriptures by the individual or group, consistently over time? Sabbath We look to Leviticus 25 for a prescription for being Jubilee people. “When you shall have entered into the land which I will give you, observe the rest of the Sabbath of the Lord.” Sabbath rest implies all those reflective times that allow us to listen and center ourselves in the Being at the center of our being. Prayer, meditation, retreats, days of reflection have been essential aspects of “religious life” in all faiths and denominations, as it has been of BVM life for 175 years. Related to this is the Leviticus prescription to let the earth lie fallow. We cease work for a time to acknowledge that God is in charge of all: rest, re-creation. Sabbath is made possible by the cessation of work. Maria Harris in her book Proclaim Jubilee identifies for us the jubilee themes of Sabbath, forgiveness, freedom/liberation, and justice. In her reflections on Sabbath she stresses the importance of “recreation in community.” Sabbath rest includes ceremony, ritual, festivity and delight shared in community. Sabbath allows refocusing and remembering. It also gives spiritual energy for the other jubilee practices. Forgiveness and Freedom Forgiveness is a theme that can be explored and practiced on many levels. On the global/political level, forgiveness is related to freedom and liberation. Forgiveness calls for setting the captives free. The captives, then as now, were not criminals but rather political prisoners unjustly imprisoned. The relationship of forgiveness and freedom also exists on the personal level. Forgiveness liberates the one forgiven of his or her “debt” and also liberates the “forgiver.” Holding a grudge confines one's spirit; to forgive frees and liberates one. In reference to Jubilee, however, forgiveness of monetary debt is a main message of the Hebrew bible (Lev. 25:10). This aspect of forgiveness has been celebrated and taken as a cause by the group JubileeUSA. This organization worked assiduously prior to the turn of the century and continues to work for the forgiving of debt by wealthy nations of poorer ones. Renewed Call for Justice In 2007 they renewed their efforts as this again is a “jubilee” (7th) year. In order to alleviate the debt that is crushing our hemispheric neighbors, they are urging contact of Congresspersons asking for support of HR 2634—the Jubilee Act for Expanded Debt Cancellation and Responsible Lending of 2007. The Act addresses the unfinished agenda of the Jubilee campaign by expanding life-saving debt relief to countries that need funds to reduce poverty and have a plan to use the money well. Their goal is indeed one of the primary themes of scriptural jubilee. (Visit www.JubileeUSA.org for more information.) The scriptural call to allow the land to rest focuses us today on the call of the Creator to respect and care for all of creation. Jubilee justice calls us to return to the soil, air and water what rightly belongs to each. This plays out in the lives of many in practices of non-consumerism, political activism and prayer. All people of good will—and now we focus on BVMs for the last 175 years—can celebrate jubilee as we reconfirm our commitment to be Jubilee people, scriptural people each day of our lives. About the author: Betty Voss, BVM (Leonice) is a member of the Shareholder and Education Advocacy (SEA) group and the Communications Advisory Committee. Return to Table of Contents. |