Jubilee…

To live, to act, and to embody the Divine love shown to us is the call of a voice over generations.  It beckons us as a voice crying out saying, "My way is perfect."  Yet, we turn and search for our own way; a way that is destructive to our very core.  How and why do we ignore this voice?  Our way is failing and was doomed from the beginning.  We believed and were united by our own minds at the conception of Post-Enlightenment ideals like the free market, capitalism, and a new country that promised us freedom.  But our freedom has turned to chains and shackles under the guise of patriotism.  We are united for a purpose that is nonsensical.  We state that we are patriots, but what is patriotism and to what end?  Do we want the globe to fully realize that the Western Empire is glorious or do we just want peace for our own hedonism to thrive?  Either way, it is a path that is diametrically opposed to the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 

The way to freedom is through Jubilee.

Jubilee

God from the very beginning provided for her to be prevalent in society.  He taught her ways to His people and has wanted them to fully grasp her grandeur ever since.  Jubilee is to provide for the poor, the marginalized, and the sick.  It is to give away what you have to those in need.  Jubilee is to set the prisoners free and to love your enemies.  

The way that was taught by Christ was in essence teaching us to be Jubilee people.  Christ was not calling us to pacifism, for pacifism is idle and he wasn't calling His people to war mongering, for that is destructive.  Jubilee is perhaps the strongest action and it is a continuous fight.  As brother Shane Claiborne once noted, "The command to give up your robe to one who sues you was to expose your nakedness and expose their greed."  It disarms our enemies.  Then again, who is our enemy?

I am not sure that you can have dual citizenship in the kingdom of God, especially when the Kingdom of God flies in the face of our empire. There is rumor that we may be living in the last days of society as we know it. The question is are we ready to start living out Jubilee or are we going to melt down our gold and build a new calf? Many people are saying that it isn't the government's place to enact jubilee but it is for the church to do this. I would agree.

 

Maybe instead of giving the responsibility over to an autonomous body like the government or the church, we should think locally. What am I as a stay at home mom doing to teach my kids about giving to the poor? What am I as a pastor doing to love the "Least of these"? What am I as a businessman doing to reverse the systems of this world? We must give this responsibility a body, a name, and a face. The same is also true of the poor. It isn't enough to know that there are poor people in this world that need help. We must look in our neighborhoods, schools, and churches for the needs. We must know and engage with people and cultivate relationships.

Am I a traitor for praying that the empire falls? I am not sure. Maybe I just long for the world to be put to rights. Maybe there will always be empire that draws me into her, promising the intangible. But her fruit is a lie and we have been deceived to think it is from God. We mark God on all of our money and are disgusted when the government removes symbols that represent our faith. What happens though, when the church uses that same money for her immorality, gluttony, and for systemic injustice?