The Jubilee of Jesus
March 30, 2025
“[Jesus] went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, ‘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 . . . Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’” -Luke 4:16-19, 21
As we continue the Jubilee Year of Hope, this weekend we celebrated the Jubilee of the Missionaries of Mercy. The Bible called for a Year of Jubilee to be celebrated every 50th year. In a Jubilee Year, a person was called to return home to their inherited land, the land was not to be cultivated (giving the land a sabbath rest), debts were forgiven, and slaves and prisoners freed. Unfortunately, we do not have evidence that Jubilee was actually practiced by the Jewish people. Its demands were probably deemed too radical and difficult economically, requiring too great of a “leap of faith.”
The coming of Jesus, his life and teachings, proclaimed the fulfillment of the meaning of Jubilee called for in the books of Leviticus and Isaiah. Jesus did work signs and miracles that freed the oppressed and healed those under the burdens of illness and disability. However, his true mission was to heal and free us, not from earthy infirmity or bondage, but from the tyranny of sin and death, offering us eternal life in union with himself. This is the deepest freedom, the ultimate fulfillment of Jubilee. (Galatians 5:1)
In order for us to fully enter into the Jubilee of Jesus, we must be honest about our relationship to sin. The Hebrew and Greek words which we translate in the Bible as “sin” comes from the archery term for “missing the mark.” When we misuse our freedom to choose selfishness instead of love of God and neighbor, we miss the bullseye, since the purpose or aim of human freedom is to choose to love God and neighbor. Sin is also associated with freely choosing to act without regard for justice (the right relationship between God, humans, and all of creation). Sin is not simply “breaking God’s rules” as if God’s moral law is something arbitrary and outside of us. Sin wounds us and others because it goes against who we are most fundamentally created to be, to be loved and to love.
The first step toward the freedom of Jesus’ Jubilee is to admit and repent of our sinful choices. Each one of us has wounded others through our sin, and we have been wounded by the sins of others. Like the folk singer Pete Seeger sang, we are all “waist deep in the big muddy.” Pope Francis was asked in an interview shortly after he was elected Pope twelve years ago, “Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?” His humble answer was, “I am a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon.” We echo this humility at the beginning of each Mass in the Penitential Act when we call to mind our sin and ask “Lord, have mercy.”
“If you, Lord, keep account of sins, Lord, who can stand? But with you is forgiveness and so you are revered.’” -Psalm 130:3-4
The Good News (Gospel) is that sin and death does not have the last word. Through his obedience, love, and compassion, Jesus’ Cross and Resurrection heals our pride and selfishness. The Mercy of Jesus brings good out of evil. As St. Paul wrote, “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” (Romans 5:20) Pope Francis inaugurated Missionaries of Mercy to offer Christ’s forgiveness and mercy widely to all because the name of God is Mercy.
The normal way that we receive God’s forgiveness and mercy in our lives is through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. On the night of his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his apostles, then “he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:22-23) Jesus shared with his first priests his power to forgive sins in his name through the Holy Spirit. Confession of sins has always been a Christian practice. “To receive his mercy, we must admit our faults.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1847). Jubilee freedom from the bondage of sin can be found through humbly confessing our sins and receiving God’s healing forgiveness. It is sad that so few Catholics avail themselves of this great sacrament of healing and peace. Perhaps this is because, like accepting the economic consequences of the biblical Jubilee, honestly confessing our sins requires a trusting “leap of faith” from us. I would like to encourage each of us to courageously take advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation this Lent in preparation for the celebration of the Easter mysteries.
Another way that we can receive God’s mercy during this Jubilee year is through an Indulgence. “An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted by Christ Jesus . . . opens up for us the treasury of the merits of Christ.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1478) Popes and bishops can attach an indulgence (remission of some or all punishment due to sin) for performing certain actions performed in faith. Pope Francis and Bishop Gruss have strongly encouraged us to avail ourselves of indulgences during the Jubilee Year. For example, we are looking forward to hosting Bishop Gruss here at Assumption on Thursday, April 24, 7:00 p.m. for a Holy Hour for Vocations. The bishop has attached a full or plenary indulgence to those who attend the Holy Hour, if they also receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion a week or so before or after the Holy Hour, pray for the intentions of Pope Francis, and sincerely repent of all sins, mortal and venial.
My prayer is that all of us fully receive the Grace of freedom from sin and of freedom to love God and neighbor more fully, offered to us during this Jubilee year.