"The Third Millennium of the New Era draws near...The joy of every jubilee is above all a joy based on the forgiveness of sins, the joy of conversion...which is the pre-condition for reconciliation with God on the part of both individuals and communities. A commitment to justice and peace in a world like ours...is a necessary condition for the preparation and celebration of the Jubilee." (Pope John Paul II, The Coming of the Third Millennium, No. 32)
According to Rev. Joseph G. Donders, Countdown to 2000 Celebrating the Great Jubilee, Twenty-Third Publications, pp. 17-18, 21-22, 35-36):
Jubilee is a biblical idea. The main texts about it can be found in the Book of Leviticus, Chapter 25:
"You will count seven weeks of years--seven times seven years, that is to say a period of seven weeks of years, forty-nine years. In addition, on the tenth day of the seventh month you will sound the trumpet call; on the Day of Atonement you will sound the trumpet throughout the land. You will declare this fiftieth year to be sacred and proclaim the liberation of all the country's inhabitants. You will keep this a jubilee: each of you will return to his ancestral property, each to his own clan. This fiftieth year will be a jubilee year for you" (25:8-11).
The Hebrew word used in Leviticus for the instrument to be blown is jobel, a ram's horn. Translators spelled the Hebrew word in English letters: "jubel" or jubilee. And jubilee it has stayed. Jubilee is the year of liberation. (Nb 36:4; Ezk 46:17. See also Dt 15:1-15).
The celebration of a jubilee was a grandiose idea and ideal. It was a kind of restoration of the original creation, when people were free and no one was indebted to anyone. It was the year when all debts were forgiven, all slaves liberated: "they and their children with them shall be free" (Lv 25:41).
The most significant consequences of the jubilee celebration was the general emancipation of all those in the land in need of being freed. You can imagine with what enthusiasm and joy that liberation would have been celebrated. I say "would have been" on purpose, for as Pope John Paul II notes in his letter on the jubilee, the prescriptions for the jubilee year were more an ideal than an actuality--more a hope than an actual fact. Even so, a kind of social doctrine began to emerge that would eventually be more clearly developed in the New Testament and early church. The jubilee year was meant to restore equality among all the children of Israel, offering new possibilities to families who had lost their property and even their personal freedom (No. 13).
The jubilee was also called "the year of God's favor" because it was the year of the restoration of the world, the year of God's grace. The human family, indeed the whole of creation, looked forward to that new age. In Jewish folklore it is called: "tikkun olam," the repair of the world. With the psalmist, the people prayed: "God restore us! Bring us back! Let your face shine on us!" (Ps 80:3,7, and 19).
In addition, the prophets began to foretell that one day Yahweh would intervene. Someone would be sent "to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor (Is 61:1-2), to begin the final jubilee!
In Luke's Gospel, Jesus recalled the hopes and demands of a jubilee year when he returned home from his baptism in the Jordan. He presented himself for the first time to his neighbors as the one who was going to introduce the definitive time of God's favor.
He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought us, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it is written: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim a year of favor from the Lord. He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, "This text is being fulfilled today even while you are listening" (Lk 4:16-21).
The Pope's millennium letter notes how in this text "the theme of Christ's mission of preaching the Good News and the theme of the jubilee are interwoven" (No. 40). At the birth of Jesus, the final jubilee entered the world. All this happened 40x50, that is, 2000 years ago. Two thousand AD will surely be a jubilee of jubilees!
Jesus came to restore the reign of God here on earth. In his Sermon on the Mount, he spelled out what the restoration of the world will entail. In the eight beatitudes, he promulgated the rules for God's kingdom here on earth. He left us a prayer that is probably the most widely known element of his teaching, the Our Father. This is a prayer that expresses humanity's longing for a close bond with God, for spiritual renewal, and for the re-making of our world.
For Jesus, the proclamation of his role and intentions were not just words. He lived the jubilee; he put his life on the line for it. The Sabbath meeting in Nazareth showed him the danger he was in. As long as the people thought that he was only speaking about them and the blessings they would receive, they applauded his words. When he reminded them of the way Yahweh had helped a foreign army officer, Naaman, and a gentile widow in Sarepta--implying that the "Year of Jubilee" would be for the whole of the world's population--they booed him.
They resisted his interpretation of the jubilee. The did not want to hear it. Those in control of the world today still don't want to hear it, but it has to be proclaimed. In Nazareth, the people gave Jesus an unmistakable warning: "Don't expect us to change" and they tried to march him to his death that very day.
As Jesus announced in Nazareth, he was the one who came to introduce the final jubilee period. He introduced the time of the "repair of the world." He actualized the jubilee in our midst through his life, death, and resurrection. The jubilee he introduced is more than a feast to be celebrated--though celebration definitely should not be forgotten. His jubilee was and is a challenge.
Jesus before he left them Jesus' disciples asked him when he was going to finalize the restoration of the world. He answered them by saying that they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit, and they would be witnesses to the ends of the earth. It was up to them to continue the work of the re-establishment of the reign of God.
When, at this ascension, they stood gazing up after him, two angels appeared and told them to stop staring and to start moving (Acts 1:6-11). We, too, have been given the same challenge. We have been given the Holy Spirit and we are facing the same jubilee task. This something we often forget.
The remarks of Pope John Paul II in his millennium letter might be helpful here. He is not only prophesying a second Pentecost--even that event relates to the number fifty and jubilee, since it took place fifty days after Easter!--he sees the reign of God unfolding in the world. He notes that there is "a need for a better appreciation and understanding of the signs of hope present in the last part of this century" (No. 46).
The signs of hope he mentions are our scientific, technological, and especially medical progress in the service of human life. This means according to him that everything that is done to this end by scientists, engineers, technical specialists, physicians, and health workers should be seen as part of the "repair of the world"!
The Pope mentions the growing concern over the environment; the efforts to restore peace and justice; the desire for reconciliation and solidarity between North and South, commitment to Christian unity and interreligious dialogue as further signs of hope. All of this shows, he writes, a greater attention to the voice of the Spirit and to the importance of the role of the laity.
Our lives should be lived and our work and recreation should be done as "jubilee activities," through which we are helping to finish the task that Jesus set for himself "gathering into one the scattered children of God" (Jn 1:52).
Our Parish Pastoral Plan has identified a model of church which reflects the hope of our future as we celebrate this Jubilee Year. Our commitment to evangelization, youth ministry, small faith communities, leadership development, and justice and peace reflects our acceptance of the importance of our role in repairing and renewing our community and world.
In October 1998, the RENEW 2000 process of renewal and evangelization began at San Gabriel Mission. We are committed to a vision of church which recognizes our common call to discipleship as members of the body of Christ. Our small faith communities reflect our desire to live and witness the Gospel of Jesus through our life in community as servants of God's Reign.
In their document Called and Gifted for the Third Millennium, the U.S. Bishops reflect on small faith communities:
A new and promising development, often occurring in the context of parish renewal, has been the formation of small church communities which testify to "the creative grace of God at work" and are "a source of great hope for the whole Church" (Communion and Mission, p. 1). The mobility of our population, the stresses of the society in which we live, and often the size of our parishes are factors leading people to want to participate in the Church's life and ministry on a smaller scale...Small church communities not only foster the faith of individuals; they are living cells that build up the Body of Christ. They are to be signs and instruments of unity. As basic units of the parish, they serve to increase the corporate life and mission of the parish by sharing in its life generously with their talents and support (p.11).
To OPEN WIDE THE DOORS TO CHRIST will require creative education within our liturgies, homilies, parish assemblies, schools, religious education program, and other committees, groups and ministries of the San Gabriel Mission. Books, as well as other written materials and resources, will be available to promote a Jubilee Spirituality within our community.
The development and support of our Parish Small Faith Communities through the RENEW 2000 process, our Claretian Lay Evangelizers, Archdiocesan and other training programs will be a priority as we prepare to be active and committed leaders of the Church of the Third Millennium.
We also look forward to continued liturgical renewal and active participation in our Sunday worship. The Worship Committee, liturgical ministers, and all parishioners will be urged to participate in out efforts to celebrate the Eucharist with the joy and sincere commitment to our life and mission as a Catholic Community.
Finally, the success of our efforts to OPEN WIDE THE DOORS TO CHRIST during the Jubilee Year will depend on the leadership and service of our Lay Leaders, Claretian Missionaries, Dominican Sisters, and each and every parishioner of the San Gabriel Mission. Together, we will follow the Lord of History into a New Millennium of Christianity as His faithful disciples, in the sure knowledge that we will have the constant support of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Patroness of the Americas, to guide us.
Reconciliation
Promote a spirit of reconciliation, healing, and harmony within our personal lives, families, and parish community during the Jubilee Year.
Outreach
Promote a spirit of hospitality, welcome and outreach to all who attend our Eucharists, live in the neighborhoods of our community, and visit our parish as pilgrims during the Jubilee Year.
Social Justice
Promote a spirit of justice through solidarity with the poor and concrete efforts to serve our sisters and brothers during the Jubilee Year.
During Fall 1998, San Gabriel Mission started the RENEW process with small faith communities in three languages: Vietnamese, Spanish, and English. Under the leadership of a core community, training and orientation has been provided to the leaders of our small communities. Our small communities continue to grow in faith and in numbers. Many of our small communities gather weekly or bi-weekly.
If you would like to be a member of a small faith community, or if you are can serve as a leader/facilitator of a small faith community, please contact Antonio Ramirez or Irene Marciuska, at 626-457-3035, 457-3034, or e-mail us at sgm@sangabrielmission.org.
