20250802 THE JUBILEE YEAR AS AN IDEAL THAT WAS NEVER REALIZED
02 August 2025, Saturday, 17th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Leviticus 25:1,8-17 |
The law of the jubilee year
The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai. He said:
‘You are to count seven weeks of years – seven times seven years, that is to say a period of seven weeks of years, forty-nine years. And on the tenth day of the seventh month you shall sound the trumpet; on the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout the land. You will declare this fiftieth year sacred and proclaim the liberation of all the inhabitants of the land. This is to be a jubilee for you; each of you will return to his ancestral home, each to his own clan. This fiftieth year is to be a jubilee year for you: you will not sow, you will not harvest the ungathered corn, you will not gather from the untrimmed vine. The jubilee is to be a holy thing to you, you will eat what comes from the fields.
‘In this year of jubilee each of you is to return to his ancestral home. If you buy or sell with your neighbour, let no one wrong his brother. If you buy from your neighbour, this must take into account the number of years since the jubilee: according to the number of productive years he will fix the price. The greater the number of years, the higher shall be the price demanded; the less the number of years, the greater the reduction; for what he is selling you is a certain number of harvests. Let none of you wrong his neighbour, but fear your God; I am the Lord your God.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 66(67):2-3,5,7-8 |
Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you.
O God, be gracious and bless us
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth
and all nations learn your saving help.
Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and exult
for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples,
you guide the nations on earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has yielded its fruit
for God, our God, has blessed us.
May God still give us his blessing
till the ends of the earth revere him.
Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Lk8:15 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt5:10 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Happy those who are persecuted
in the cause of right,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 14:1-12 |
The beheading of John the Baptist
Herod the tetrarch heard about the reputation of Jesus, and said to his court, ‘This is John the Baptist himself; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’
Now it was Herod who had arrested John, chained him up and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John had told him, ‘It is against the Law for you to have her.’ He had wanted to kill him but was afraid of the people, who regarded John as a prophet. Then, during the celebrations for Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and so delighted Herod that he promised on oath to give her anything she asked. Prompted by her mother she said, ‘Give me John the Baptist’s head, here, on a dish.’ The king was distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he ordered it to be given her, and sent and had John beheaded in the prison. The head was brought in on a dish and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. John’s disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went off to tell Jesus.
THE JUBILEE YEAR AS AN IDEAL THAT WAS NEVER REALIZED
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [LEV 25:1. 8-17; PS 67:2-3,5,7-8; MT 14:1-12]
When we consider the laws and structures that Moses put in place for the new nation founded by God, it is truly amazing to see how Moses was inspired by the Lord to formulate such wise laws to keep the people united in love and in reverence for God. Indeed, from the Ten Commandments to the more specific laws governing relationships with neighbours and with God – covering aspects of worship, rituals and cleanliness – Moses established the key institutions necessary to keep the people united with one another and with God. This unity was essential for them to remain strong and resist the pagan influences and unhealthy practices of the neighbouring nations. As Moses said to the people: “See, just as the Lord my God has charged me, I now teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!” (Dt 6:5f)
Among these laws was the one governing the Jubilee Year. Leviticus 25 decreed a Sabbath year – every seventh year (Lev 25:1-7) – and a Jubilee Year, which occurred every fiftieth year. The Sabbatical Year was established to protect the land by allowing fields to lie fallow, a good agricultural practice. The Jubilee Year, however, was intended to preserve the balance of wealth among the people by ensuring that resources were fairly distributed, and that no one became excessively wealthy by acquiring the land and farms of the poor. It ensured that everyone retained access to some means of livelihood and land for production. Accordingly, Moses decreed, “You will declare this fiftieth year sacred and proclaim the liberation of all the inhabitants of the land. This is to be a jubilee for you; each of you will return to his ancestral home, each to his own clan.” This law was also vital because it protected those who had sold their land and become slaves to repay debts, ensuring that they would be freed from their obligations so that future generations would not have to suffer perpetually.
This Jubilee Law was based on two key principles: first, that all Israelites were servants of God; and second, that all the land ultimately belonged to God Himself. Since all were servants of God, those poor Israelites who had been forced to sell themselves into servitude to the rich could, during the Jubilee Year – or earlier, if they were able to repay the debt – redeem themselves and be freed from their obligations. In truth, it was never God’s intention for Israelites to be enslaved by fellow Israelites, for He had liberated them from slavery in Egypt, and they were now to be regarded as His servants alone. Secondly, because the land belonged to God and was entrusted to the Israelites, they were entitled to keep it as a benefit given on account of their covenantal relationship with the Lord.
Indeed, the goals of the Jubilee Law were most noble and admirable. It sought to ensure justice and equality, balanced with responsibility. Most importantly, the Jubilee Law – along with the other laws – was intended to keep the people united in love for one another, based on equality and justice, and marked by compassion for the poor, the suffering, and even foreigners, while still respecting the rights of ownership. Unfortunately, there is little or no concrete proof that the Jubilee Law was ever fully observed by the people, or if it was, only to varying degrees. The people, as we know, were often unjust and corrupt in their dealings, and like all of us, prone to greed and selfishness. So, the Jubilee Law and many other laws, although instituted with good intentions, were not consistently implemented or obeyed due to the self-centredness of men.
Such unjust practices continued in other ways as well, as seen in today’s Gospel. We see the powerful dominating and controlling the poor and the weak. King Herod, although inwardly a God-fearing man, was powerless in his relationship with Herodias. He was under her influence, even though he wanted to do the right thing. His weakness was further complicated by his pride and arrogance. He sought to preserve his honour, though in truth, it was his pride he was trying to protect. In a display of false generosity, he foolishly promised Herodias’ daughter half of his kingdom, only to be manipulated into ordering the beheading of John the Baptist. Herodias, driven by revenge for being publicly reprimanded and humiliated, used the opportunity to exact her vengeance. Here, we see yet another form of injustice at work: the oppression of the weak, the poor, and the vulnerable by the powerful. This remains a perpetual sin of humanity, because of selfishness, pride, and greed.
It is within this context that the Lord sought to restore the Jubilee Year and the Jubilee tradition, which aimed to set all men free from every form of slavery – whether sickness, suffering, oppression, or sin. Thus, He began His ministry by proclaiming the words of the Suffering Servant, presenting Himself as the prophet who came to re-establish the true spirit of the Jubilee Law: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Lk 4:18f)
As Christians, how should we continue to live out the spirit of the Jubilee tradition? Firstly, it calls us to embrace the principles underlying the Jubilee Law – namely, that we are all not just servants, but children of God. This is what St Paul says, “As many of you were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.” (Gal 3:28f) Furthermore, he reminds us: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ – if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” Clearly, it is our conviction that we all share in this adopted sonship through Christ and a common destiny, which is to share in His glory in heaven.
If that is the case – having God as our heavenly Father and heaven as our Promised Land – then we must seek to love our neighbour as ourselves. The Lord places the love of neighbour as the second greatest commandment, after the love of God. (cf Mk 12:30f) So, we must seek to share what we have with others because we are all stewards of God’s blessing. Whilst the Church affirms the right to private property, it also teaches that we have a responsibility toward those who are poor, marginalized, and deprived of life’s basic needs. We are called to support the weak and vulnerable, and to ensure that the disadvantaged – whether financially, physically, or intellectually – have a place in society, because we are all God’s children and equal in His sight.
Secondly, we are called to be servants of each other, insofar as we are servants of God. Jesus instructed the apostles: “It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mt 20:26-28) St Paul also reminds us that ultimately, we are all servants of God: “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only while being watched and in order to please them, but wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord. Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters, since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ.” (Col 3:22-24) Every Christian, therefore, must seek to be a servant of God’s people by contributing his talents, resources, finances, and skills for the good and well-being of the people of God. It therefore behoves us never to think highly of ourselves or to use our resources for our own benefit without regard for the greater good of the community and God’s children.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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