The Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25) is one of the most radical things I’ve come across in the Bible. It’s one of those passages non-Christians should know and ask all the Christians they talk to about, and expect some sort of a response regarding it. The Year of Jubilee is many things, but one thing it is in particular is a time for all debts to be forgiven, and everyone to have a fresh start. Could you imagine this happening? It’s supposed to happen about once every 50 years, so let’s just say, oh 2009 happens to be the next Jubilee Year. What would happen if this was carried out on an Individual Level? Church? City? Country? World?

Individually
Before we ever write things like this off as being irrelevant, because ‘No country would ever do that!’, I think it’s worth discussing how we can begin enacting these radical ideas into our own lives. So, let’s see what 2009 would look like for me and my family. Well, if I had any debts still (which I don’t plan on) it would be neat for the lenders (Aunt Sallie) to send me a letter in the mail, ‘paid in full’ and be done with it. What would you do if suddenly your car, house, student loans and anything else were suddenly paid off? Would you see it as a blessing from God to put that money into buying a new boat? Maybe a diamond ring? Or would it actually move you so much that you took the extra income you had and started using it to give to others so that they could pay off their loans and experience the same freedom? Would you use your excess resources from the Jubilee to feed and clothe others?
Nobody, to my knowledge, currently owes me anything (except you Zach, I’m still waiting for my $5), but what if they did? What if my business partner has yet to pay up on his split of our company, maybe my housemate owes me a grand in overdue rent, or my brother never paid me for the bike rack he took from me. If those things were true, I could see how thinking about, asking about, and pursuing that money could take up a lot of my time and energy. But what if 2009 rolled around and I sent letters to each of those in debt to me and said, “Celebrate the Jubilee, your debt is gone.” What ramifications would that have on our relationship and personal well being?

Church
This is when it starts to get cool. I actually heard a pastor suggest this, and It would be brilliant to actually see it carried out. What if the Year of Jubilee rolled around and churches actually participated in it? It might look like this.
At the beginning of the year, one Sunday is dedicated to writing letters to all those who owe anyone in the church a debt. If there is a debt owed between to church members they our reconciled then and there. Then everyone goes out to their neighbors, friends, family and business associates and declares that all debts that were owed to them (the church folk) has been canceled because of the Jubilee. Once all outstanding debt owed to the folks at the church have been relinquished, it’s time for the church to reconcile all debts owed to those outside of that church.
On another Sunday, all the church members bring their house and car notes, student loan bills and any other outstanding debt they have. It’s all brought before the church and then collectively checks are written from bank accounts of those who have extra resources, until all the debt of the church has been paid. I wonder if that is even possible? I mean, I wonder in our country and churches how many people actually have a positive net worth? Could the members of a church actually pay off all of their outstanding debts? (I bet it would cash out a couple retirement funds).
What ramifications would this sort of activity have for that church? If every member of the church left the Year of Jubilee with no debts, how would they go out and choose to spend their money and live their lives? Would it change their giving habits? Their buying habits?

City, Country, World
I think we’ve done enough imagining for now, so I won’t indulge these at the moment. But if your interested in global visions for this, I’d highly recommend you check out the Jubilee Partners website. They are an organization whose actually putting this into practice in the sense that they are standing up against the illegitimate debt that nations have been trying to hold over one another that has kept many in poverty for years.