Jubilee

" 'Count off seven sabbaths of years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbaths of years amount to a period of forty-nine years. 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. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan. 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. For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields.

" 'In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to his own property. – Leviticus 25: 8-13

This is one of my favorite concepts in the Bible.

When I was in college I was a part of a student organization called the Pan-African Student Association. During the second semester of my sophomore year we decided that we wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before.

We were going to organize a festival.

After discussing some of the things that we would like at the festival: food, art, performances, etc… the question of the name came up.

What would we call it?

One of my good friends at the time suggested that we call it Jubilee.

Huh?

We nearly laughed him out of the room. All I could think about was the X-Men character by the same name.

But he was serious. So we put it to a vote and of course Jubilee eventually lost.

But now I get it. Jubilee is a proclamation of freedom.

From the Biblical perspective it is the time where everything is restored.

The context here is that when the Jewish people reached the Promised Land, the land was given out in lots to each tribe and to each family in each tribe. This was mandated by God.

Of course some people become poor and others become rich. Some may have to sell their land or their labor in order to make ends meet. And the rich are there of course to scoop it up.

Not much has changed in several thousand years.

But God instituted this brilliant fix. Every fifty years the servants were set free and the land was restored. Each generation had a new, fresh chance at life.

I wonder what the world would be like if we lived with this principle today… How would it affect the way we view “property”… would there be such a thing as ownership of land? Would there be less poverty? More or less innovation?

There are so many interesting what ifs here.

But one thing is clear to me. God built into the original law a time where the major inequalities were set in balance. Each generation had a fighting chance at prosperity.

That’s all we can ask for.

Today’s Reading: Leviticus 25: Mark 1: 23-45

The Homeless Question

" 'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.' " Leviticus 23: 22

A few days ago a friend and I posted a question on Facebook. The question went something like this:

"LADIES- You’re on a date with a guy. He's very respectful and nice. A homeless man asks for change. He ignores them. Turn off?"

It started off as a kind of silly question to see what kind of importance people place on outward displays of generosity, but it quickly evolved into something bigger. Here are a few things that I learned.

Hardly anyone likes seeing people in poverty.

There is entirely too much poverty all around us.

Many of us have no idea what to do about it.

It was nice to see the responses of most of the men and women who commented. Most people found the notion of ignoring the person to be quite unsavory. But many disagreed on what should be done.

A few folks didn’t believe that they had any responsibility to give at all. On the other hand, some of the women expected to see some generosity from their man, and would dig into their own pockets to match it.

Pretty cool.

Many talked about giving their leftover meals or whatever change they had. But everyone agreed that they personally couldn’t give to everyone with a hand out. Otherwise they would be left with nothing.

That’s why I find this scripture to be so interesting. The laws that we are reading through are like the constitution of Israel at the time. For better or worse they provide systematic rules of conduct designed to supply for everyone’s needs.

It is telling that this type of generosity was built into the structure for how the nation was to be governed.

Generosity wasn’t a matter of choice; it was a rule of law.

Perhaps it is right to take a hint from this scripture. We may not be able to afford to give monetary aid to every struggling person that crosses our path.

The problem of poverty is greater than any one person.

But what do we do with the resources we have? Do we think about what we can do with the edges of our fields? Do we really need to reap 100% of our harvest just for ourselves?

Food for thought…

Today’s Reading: Leviticus 23-24: Mark 1: 1-22

Miss Lewinsky

"I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." - Bill Clinton

Hahahaha sure buddy.

The Bible is hilarious sometimes. Why does Leviticus devote a whole chapter to sexual relations?!?

Cause folks have been wildin’ out since the beginning of time…

This is also the chapter where we find the infamous scripture about homosexuality. It seems like everyone knows that the Bible frowns upon it. Well, in case you wanted to know what it actually says… here goes:

“Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.” – Leviticus 18: 22

Rough.

Quite honestly I am not too proud of how some Christians have handled this. As we have already seen, Jesus said that the two most important things are to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. He also goes on to say that all of the other commandments are summed up by these two.

So whether or not one believes that it is a sin really isn’t the most important thing to me. Christian folk have to remember the task they have been charged with.

Love.

Also, when we start pointing fingers at folks, we have even more pointing back at us. Just ask Ted Haggard.

Now to move on to the fun stuff… I’m going to run through the rest of them quickly and provide my commentary. These can all be found in Leviticus chapter 18 for your reading pleasure.

No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD. –v.6

Ewwww… if that wasn’t enough… it gets deeper…

Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her. – v.7

Damn… A law was necessary for this?

Do not have sexual relations with your father's wife; that would dishonor your father. –v.8

“The older the berry the sweeter the juice…” – Smokey from Friday

'Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere. – v.9

It’s funny how He covered all of the sisters. Yes, your half and step-sisters count too.

Do not have sexual relations with your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter; that would dishonor you. –v.10

Pops… That is NOT how you teach your son a lesson.

Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father's wife, born to your father; she is your sister. –v.11

Just in case verse 9 wasn’t thorough enough…

Do not have sexual relations with your father's sister; she is your father's close relative. – v.12

She’s your auntie…

Do not have sexual relations with your mother's sister, because she is your mother's close relative. – v.13

She’s your auntie too…

Do not dishonor your father's brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt. – v.14

This is getting silly…skipping ahead…

Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness. –v.17

Whew… I bet you know someone who thinks this would be “player”. Shameful.

Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living. –v.18

See comment above.

(Additional note: while your wife is living??? Say what?!? Horrible caveat… boy how times have changed…)

Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period. –v.19

*hearing crickets from some readers…*

Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor's wife and defile yourself with her. –v.20

Interesting that this is included in addition to the adultery rule…

Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion. –v.23

…. No comment.

You may wonder why all of these things are included here… I wondered the same thing until I thought about it very simply one day. It is because this is what folks were doing! They were doing animals, moms, dads, aunties, uncles, brothers, sisters etc.

Yuck…

Imagine being part of a group of people who were doing the above on the regular?

Things clearly weren’t all hunky dory in Israel.

Today’s Reading: Leviticus 17-18; Matthew 27: 27-50

God's Diet

Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them. I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. – Leviticus 11: 43-44

Over the past few years I have become fascinated by the rules governing clean and unclean food.

Sure I may joke about enjoying some bacon every now and then, but I think it is important to be critically aware of what we put into our bodies.

But why have such detailed rules about what can and cannot be eaten? Were these rules designed to keep the Israelites healthy? Or perhaps they were created to set them apart from the people they would encounter in the Promised Land.

I have no idea.

But there is something special about having a spiritually ordained diet to follow. It transforms something as commonplace as eating into a way of connecting to God.

In the Autobiography of Gandhi he talks extensively about his dietary experiments. He thought that it was important for him to eat in a way that positively related to the earth. He even went to the extreme of setting the goal to not eat anything that would result in the loss of life of another being.

Wow! He must have eaten a whole lot of nuts and berries.

I am not nearly that disciplined, nor do I have the desire to be. But there is something intriguing about it. Every single meal became a prayer of sorts; a way to pay homage to the living things around him.

I like that idea.

If we can learn to connect to God in the simple things of everyday life then perhaps we will start to live our lives a bit better. With this perspective even our most basic actions become choices.

And these choices remind us that we all have the power to spread love and life in the world.

Today's Reading: Leviticus 11-12; Matthew 26: 1-25

We Be Grubbin'

The LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron and his sons: 'These are the regulations for the sin offering: The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the LORD in the place the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is most holy. The priest who offers it shall eat it; it is to be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. – Leviticus 6:24-26

Man… Aaron and his peeps were eating WELL.

So far in Leviticus Moses has been talking about various rules and regulations. Now we are at the section governing how various sacrifices are to be made.

One of the common threads between these various offerings is that they are supposed to be eaten by Aaron and his sons.

Being of the priestly line had its perks.

Aaron was the first chief priest and God decided that all of the men in his line would have the role of being the chief priests of Israel. As a result they had to essentially dedicate their lives to directly serving God.

They had to handle the Ark, pitch the holy tent, and perform all of the sacrifices for thousands of people.

That is a lot of work.

When the people sinned or did something otherwise unsavory they had to give an offering.

God required the offerings to be without blemish and of proper value so one couldn’t slide in the crippled or old sheep as their offering.

When I think about myself and all of the times in my life that I have fallen short it’s surprising to me that folk didn’t go broke giving these offerings.

But this does make me thing about the church today. We actually have something similar.

Tithes and offerings.

This has become a controversial subject for many reasons of course. Many of us have seen ridiculously ornate churches, pastors with fancy Italian suits who live in mansions, and congregations who give them fancy cars.

But when we get back to the origins of this it becomes really basic. How is someone who dedicates their life to serving others going to provide for themselves?

The can’t, so we provide for them.

Non-profits work this way. We hope that the majority of the money that we donate goes toward whatever cause they are promoting ,but we also know that some of it must go to running the organization. Every organization needs employees and resources.

The church is no different.

It is funny to me though to think of the random Israelite who brings a dove because he can’t afford a sheep. I wonder what he was thinking when he saw Aaron’s progeny smackin’ their gums on some succulent lamb chops.

Can a brotha get some of that laaaaaamb?

Nope, sure can’t… cause with that benefit comes a WHOLE LOT of responsibility.

At the end of the day the priests have to answer directly to God. And God don’t take too kindly to folk who mess over his people

Today’s Reading: Leviticus 6-7; Matthew 25: 1-30