The land is mine

Today’s first reading (Leviticus 25:1, 8-17) may seem a bit confusing at first hearing: complex time lines (“seven weeks of years”) and complex references to the harvesting and selling of land.

A key to understanding this passage is found in the 23rd verse of this chapter:

The land shall not be sold in perpetuity;
for the land is mine,
and you are but aliens
who have become my tenants.

Ultimately, all things belong to the Lord: we are but stewards.

This idea of temporary stewardship underlies the jubilee year practice of restoring ancestral land and leaving the fields unharvested, as mentioned in today’s first reading.

All the more reason for us to be generous with others in our prudent stewardship of the things we have and most importantly to be fair and just.

Do not deal unfairly, then;
but stand in fear of your God.