Shmita, Yovel

I've been reading about the Jewish Shmita, the sabbatical year, when the land and produce and debts and indentured servants should all be forgiven, and given rest and release.  I wanted to know if Jesus could have been born during a Shmita year, or maybe even Yovel - the year of Jubilee, a mega-sabbath, which was supposed to be observed (after? in lieu of?) every seventh Shmita.

It turns out there's a bit of argument about what year is a Shmita year, and even more argument about Yovel years - should Jubilee be marked every 49th year, as the seventh seven? Or on the 50th year, as the year after the year of Shmita. I read theories about Jesus being born in April, and theories of him being born in September. Some speculate he was born on what we now count as 1 AD (or CE), some think it was year 3, others say year 6-7. But nothing conclusive about him being born during a Shmita or Yovel or plain old ordinary year.

To me, it doesn't matter. I was just curious because Jesus seems so Jubilee-y to me.

 Maybe my favourite and most-chewed-over passages of scripture is the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus teaches his followers to offer forgiveness and renewal and freedom to others, just like the Hebrews were commanded for the year of Jubilee. Forgive debts. Feed the hungry. Welcome strangers. Live graciously and generously toward others, the way God lives toward you.

Our culture does this most at Christmas, I think. Just today I saw two notices about free Holiday meals for any and all, and sign-up sheets for donations for Christmas gifts for the needy have made their rounds from the school.  It's a mini Jubilee to celebrate His birthday.

During Jesus' first recorded sermon, He read this from the Isaiah scroll in the synagogue in Nazareth:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

And then he told everyone, "today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

What's the year of the Lord's favour? Yep, you guessed it: Jubilee 😊. 

Merry Christmas, friends. 

xo.