I’ve been working a lot this past week on plans for our 50th Anniversary celebration here at Aldersgate UMC, especially on the worship service to be held on October 18th at 10:30 am.   It’s going to be quite a celebration – trumpets, handbells, choirs, dancers, and more.  Bishop Mary Ann  Swenson will be in attendance as well as the Conference Lay Leader (Ken Ellis), District Superintendent (Mark Ulrickson) and at least ten returning  clergy who have served over the years. There are still a lot of details to work out, but its coming along.

But what does it mean to be 50 years old as a congregation?  In particular, what does it mean to celebrate a Jubilee? I looked up the reference to Jubilee in the Bible and disovered its orgin in the Book of Leviticus 25:8-22.  We don’t often refer to the third book of the Torah in our scriptures, but it is part of our canon and an important reminder about our roots as the church.

Building on the concept of sabbath,  a Jubilee is declared every 50th year after seven Sabbaths of years (7 x 7 = 49).  At the beginning of the 50th year, liberty was proclaimed throughout the land for all of Israel’s inhabitants.  In particular, every Israelite was commanded to return to their ancestral land and clan.  If the land had been sold or indebted, it was to be returned to the original owners.  If the person returning to their clan had become an indentured servant, they were granted their freedom.  In other words, anything that indebted one person to another was eliminated, so that each could begin with a clean slate. 

Living in a society based on private ownership, this concept of Jubilee seems unfeasible.  But there is a theologcial message inferred in this economic liberation:  God is the ultimate owner and giver of life, land and blessings.  Celebrating the Jubilee year is a tangible reminder that the earth and all that is in it is God’s, and it is meant to be shared with all.

I certainly think this holds true for the church as well.  Each congregation in the Body of Christ is a community of faith held in trust for one another.  We do not “own” the church in our time, just as those charter members in 1959 did not “own” it in their day.  We are called to be good stewards of what  has been handed down to us over the past fifty years so that we may hand it down it down to our children and grandchildren in the next fifty years.  When you think about it in those terms, our Jubilee celebration is as much about looking forward to our shared future as it is about celebrating our past.