This week marks the Diamond Jubilee, or 60 years since the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the throne, so our devotionals this week will be reflections on Jubilee.
In my trip to Israel last year I bought, after some bargaining, a shofar, an instrument made from twisted ram's horn that is blown to announce the Jubilee year. It makes such a wonderful sound (when you blow it right!) that I can really imagine it would have caused the walls of Jericho to fall down when blown by hundreds of players at once!
The significance of this blast on the shofar is that the Hebrew for Jubilee means "a trumpet blast of liberty". It announces the year of celebration that first began 7 times 7 years since the occupation of Canaan by the Israelites – usually rounded to the 50th year for every Jubilee since.
During the year of Jubilee there are celebrations, and a time of liberty for slaves and a general release of debt for any who were so bound, and a return of any lands that were bought over the preceding years. The rules are found in Leviticus 25 if you are curious – and speak of a leasehold practice of land-holding. It was that impulse that drove the Jubilee project in the year 2000 to publicise the problems of 3rd world debt poverty. My guess is that such a Jubilee might just be what is needed to solve the current debt crisis across the western world!
But more immediately, the Jubilee celebrations this year might be an opportunity for us to think of how our lifestyle might impact on others. Have you lent money that you expect back? Have you given favours that you think "ought" to be returned? Have you had some hurt in your life that causes you to be resentful of someone? Do you need to forgive, to give, to celebrate the Jubilee by releasing others of debt, or from the chains of unforgiveness, or starting again with a clean sheet? It is a release that brings joy not just to the recipients, but to us too! That is Jubilee – so why not give a big blast on the shofar and go for it!
Alan Cartwright
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