Years ago, following the lead of Alex Haley’s Roots, I went back to Amelia County, Virginia. Through years of research I had tracked my ancestors to a plot of 400 acres near the Appomattox river, off of Little Creek. I had a map of the land from 1735, so I believed I could just go find the spot. Instead, the roads had changed and location was not obvious. Then I pulled out my iPad and put it next to my map and “eureka” I found the land. I was so excited to tell Melanie, who was back here in Texas. Always practical, she asked, “Who owns the land now?” I said, “I don’t know, but the signs said, “No trespassing.” She observed that it was hunting season and I might have been shot. But I mansplained, “Technically, it was our land before it was theirs.” She was not convinced.
In ancient Israel, every fifty years, in a year of jubilee, the Israelites returned to their land and their land was returned to them. Slaves were set free. For a whole year, the people were to celebrate the freedom God had given them. I know what you are thinking, “But what if the other people had worked hard to gain that land.” It turns out no person actually owns land. Psalm 24 reminds us, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” In the seventh month of the seventh set of seven years, everybody was called to experience “Jubilee.” Perfect.
This might come as news to the bank which thinks they own my lot and house. Jubilee reminds us if we are not careful, our possessions will possess us. Are you like me? I can be a bit like the seagulls in the movie Finding Nemo, squawking loudly, “Mine, mine, mine.” My pastor friend Gregg arrested me one day with words: “Someone else is going to live in your house some day. Are you good with that?”
Twice a century, God wanted to remind his people of all he had done for them. The movie Trip to Bountiful tells of a woman who wanted to go back to the home of her childhood. The old house held lots of memories. One of my friends in Galveston sang at our recent meeting, “Lord, you have brought us from a mighty long way.” We don’t have to go back to our ancestors’ land to remember the journey on which God has taken us. By his grace alone, we are where we are. We are free in Christ. Let us use our freedom not to devour each other but to bless each other today.
