The Jubilee isn't just an ancient religious custom; it's a revolutionary idea that challenges us to rethink our relationships with each other, with the Earth, and with the Divine. It is a timeless call to reset, to restore, and to renew. In a world teetering on the edge of social, economic, and environmental collapse and world war, the Jubilee whispers from the ancient past, offering us a way to reimagine our future that is more closely aligned with the Will and Intention of God.
Sacred Origins: Imagine a society where every 50 years, the slate is wiped clean: debts forgiven, slaves freed, prisoners released, and the Earth allowed to rest. This isn't utopian fantasy; it's the Jubilee year, a divine mandate from scripture.
More Than Mere Policy: The Jubilee isn't just about economics or social justice; it's a cosmic event, a reflection of divine rhythms and eternal principles of Truth, Love, and Justice.
A Universal Resonance: Though rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition, the Jubilee echoes in the spiritual and ethical wisdom of cultures worldwide. It's a universal cry for systematic justice and renewal that transcends religious and cultural boundaries.
A Radical Solution for Economic Injustice: In an era defined by staggering debt, grotesque inequality, and dozens of competing financial claims on each piece of reality, the Jubilee offers a provocative model for redistributing our shared abundance and resetting the economic scales.
Healing the Earth: Our planet is groaning under the weight of exploitation. The Jubilee's principle of letting the land rest is a call to environmental stewardship, a plea for regenerative living, and an acknowledgement of the delicate relationship and balance that must be maintained between humanity and Creation.
Restoring Social Fabric: The Jubilee isn't just policy; it's a ritual of social healing, a collective act of remembering that we belong to each other and to something greater than ourselves.
An Alternative to War and Subjugation: The Jubilee is a powerful alternative to the future of war and subjugation we are hurtling towards. By acknowledging that the earth and all it contains belongs to God and to the weak, poor, indebted, and imprisoned just as much to the lucky, the rich, and the powerful, the Jubilee regularly and justly resubordinates and realigns the Earthly order with the Divine Order.
Wiping the Slate Clean: What would it look like to cancel student debts, to alleviate the burden of medical bills, to free our land from debtholders, to liberate developing nations from foreign debt wrought by corrupt actors, or to implement policies that give impoverished communities, tribes, and nations a fresh start?
Resetting Relations: What would it look like to voluntarily restructure our society in a way that worked for us All, was consummately wise, right, just, fair and good, as an alternative to going to war for what we perceive is ours, or for what we perceive was unjustly taken from us?
A New Covenant with the Earth: How can we integrate the Jubilee's wisdom into our treatment of the environment, adopting agricultural and industrial practices that honor rather than exploit the Earth, and which ensure that each generations leaves behind a world that is healthier and more flourishing than the one it inherited?
Social Renewal: Could a modern Jubilee help us heal the wounds of systemic racism, international oppression, economic inequality, and social division? What would a society look like that regularly practiced the art of communal renewal under the highest uniting principle of God?
Unleashing Freedom and Entrepreneurship: Imagine the wave of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship that would be unleashed by a generation of previously disoriented and distressed youth, who are given the gift of Wise, Right, Just, Good, and Fair playing field, and empowered by the resources, coaching, mentoring, information, and knowledge they need to succeed.
Declaring Bankruptcy and Receiving Forgiveness: What would it look like if we collectively acknowledged that as a result of centuries of unjust play and mutual corruption and deceit, we were simultaneously collectively bankrupt, and collectively rich if we simply chose to reset the game and leverage the fullness of our resources and technology to help one another flourish in harmony with the Creator and All Creation?
The Naysayers: There are those who will say it's impractical, idealistic, or naive to think we could ever implement a Jubilee in today's complex world.
Theological Debates: Even within religious communities, there's disagreement over what the Jubilee really means and how it should be practiced today.
The Global Quagmire: In a world as interconnected as ours, how do we navigate the complexities of implementing a Jubilee that crosses cultural and national boundaries? How do we handle corrupt, parasitical power structures (perhaps backed by military force), who will do everything they can to cling to their unearned and unjust wealth, position, and power?
Avoiding Collapse: How can the Jubilee be coordinated and responsibly and voluntarily implemented relatively simultaneously around the world, so that the supply chains and free systems of exchange are strengthened, and do no collapse?
The Jubilee is more than an ancient law or a utopian dream; it's a challenge to each of us to live out the principles of Truth, Love, Justice, and Unity in a world desperately in need of regeneration, renewal, and reset. It is a call to action, a plea for a radical reimagining of society that begins in the human heart and ripples out to encompass the Earth and the cosmos in renewed Right Relationship to God, paving the Way towards a New Era of Shalom.
Forward to Chapter 13 - Debt, Property, and Economic Reset
Back to Chapter 11 - Actively Resisting All That is Opposed to the Spirit and Wisdom of God
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