SATURDAY, SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Lv 25:1,8-17 Ps 67:2-3,5,7-8 Mt 14:1-12
JUBILEE LAWS!
According to the Jubilee laws in the first reading, the land was the first to be ‘liberated’ every 50 years, leaving it unplanted, unpruned, and unharvested. This was to remind the Israelites that God is the sole owner of the land, and they are mere stewards! Yet, how has contemporary man exploited and destroyed God’s creation! Christians have a responsibility to speak for creation and work for its preservation. If we continue to turn a deaf ear, nature will speak for itself through natural disasters! “We must hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor,” wrote Pope Francis in Laudato Si’.
Furthermore, the Jubilee laws emphasize God’s concern for the poor and marginalized – the ‘anawim’. The Israelites were expected to set servants, slaves, and debtors free. Let us also reflect on contemporary forms of slavery – dehumanizing work, stressful lifestyles, gadgets and the virtual world, and the obsession with money and property. God wants His children to rejoice, to be happy! Am I happy? Am I free? Behind God’s wise exhortations on rest, we must recognize the importance of proper leisure, recreation, visits to relatives and friends, digital fasting, and, not to forget, the time for daily family and personal prayer.
In the Old Testament, the Jubilee also served as a reminder of God’s faithfulness and a promise of future restoration and blessing. We are now in the Jubilee Year with its compelling theme, ‘Pilgrims of Hope.’ Pope Francis wrote, “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart, and far-sighted vision.” What has been my personal experience of this Jubilee Year? How can I make it even more meaningful?
Response: Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
Copyright ©2025 ©Springs of Living Water http://springs.carmelmedia.in