Leviticus 25:8-13. 39-43 (NIV)

8 “‘Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. 9 Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. 10 Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan. 11 The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. 12 For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields.

13 “‘In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to their own property.

39 “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves. 40 They are to be treated as hired workers or temporary residents among you; they are to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 Then they and their children are to be released, and they will go back to their own clans and to the property of their ancestors. 42 Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves. 43 Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God.

Reflection:

Imagine living life as a slave for 49 years. All that is endured in those years - the daily burden of servitude and discrimination - changes in one moment as the trumpet sounds. The year of Jubilee is anything but life as usual. For the Israelites who had lived under the burden of captivity and debt, God made a way for freedom and restoration. Perhaps the year of Jubilee was most significant for those living as servants and slaves. For them it was a not just a time of freedom, but also a time of homecoming as they returned to their original land. It represented a new start, a clean slate, a time of new hope and dreams. In Luke 4, when Jesus declares the “year of the Lord’s favor,” Jesus is declaring that he is bringing about the Year of Jubilee to the whole world. His declaration is a sign of hope for those whose hearts are under captivity. Jesus invites us into his restoration and gives us a new start, regardless of how long we have been living under the burden of captivity.

Response:

We were once living as slaves and captives but in one moment everything changed. With Jesus’ declaration, we are reminded that our previous captivity was deeper than financial debt and physical bondage. We see that God’s heart for his people all along was to set us free and bring us home into his kingdom reign.Today, Jesus’ declaration of the year of the Lord’s favor is for everyone. Let’s pray for those in our campuses and workplaces who have yet to experience the year of Jubilee in their lives.