April 23, 2016: Jubilee Chapter Talk
JUBILEE
Jubilee. What does it mean when we say that word? Just what are we celebrating today? Let’s look at the word itself. Jubilee derives from the Latin jubilare, to shout with joy. Going back even farther in time, it comes from the Hebrew word, yobhel “jubilee”, formerly a trumpet made from a ram’s horn. The original jubilee was a year of emancipation of slaves and restoration of lands, and was announced by the sounding of the ram’s horn on the Day of Atonement. So you might say that it is a day of rejoicing, of calling the people together to celebrate God’s faithful love and action in the lives of his people. A time of freedom and coming home to our own land, our heart, our true self, all through the tender and faithful love, hesed, of God.
So today, we shout with joy at the tender love which invited you, Margarita and you, Pam, to embark on a journey into God’s heart by embracing the call into the freedom of the children of God, the daily walk from enslavement to actions that pull us from God and others, and a coming home to our own inner land where we meet God in his hesed, and go forth to share that love with all. Today you are jubilee, a shout of joy, a meeting-place of God’s faithfulness through the years, all the ups and downs, ins and outs and all that has come to be your destiny and made you who you are. What Mary has proclaimed, “Let it be done” God is accomplishing in you. We thank you for your “yes” and join with you in singing for joy for all that God has done and is doing in you very specially this day, and in all of us as we journey together into the Heart of God. Raise a song and sound the horn! His love is everlasting!!!