By Dr. Jill Suzanne Shook
We can look at Scripture and God’s story of salvation from many lenses. Broad themes throughout Scripture help us to see God’s commitment to land and housing justice, not just as propositional truths, but a theology that is lived, a theology that transforms society where all have access to a home they can afford.
A biblical vision of economic and land justice is throughout the Torah to Jesus and Paul with broad themes of Sabbath—rhythms needed to sustain all of life: rest every seven days, the earth to rest every seven years, debts forgiven every seven years, and the land returned to the original owner every seven times seven years—the Jubilee. The US and other nations practice a level of debt forgiveness through bankruptcy laws and land left fallow is still a wise practice recognized by farmers, and land distributions are not uncommon as you trace other national histories, but few would recognize it as part of a biblical practice of Jubilee. But we can practice Jubilee everyday by taking land off the speculative market and creating affordable housing on that land. In fact, some affordable housing nonprofits use Jubilee in their name.
Jesus proclaimed Jubilee in his Luke 4 mission statement and the early church lived it out in Acts 2-4 by selling land so that no one would be in need. Paul proclaimed the purpose of wealth, by quoting from the manna passage in the Old Testament in 2 Corinthians 8: 14-15. Paul’s stated purpose: to share our abundance with those in need—so that all might have their needs met. We are called to celebrate an economy of abundance and grace when we follow the Sabbath rhythms. Biblical theology cannot be disconnected from land and homes and public decisions regarding its fair distribution and use.
This is not a theology of socialism, utopianism, idealism, but the pure and simple gospel lived out both personally and publicly. It is about the longing for a place that God put in each of us. God moved Israel from landlessness (wilderness and exile) to yearning for and obtaining ‘landedness’ (the Promised Land).
Biblical authors wrote extensively about land. The first sins in Genesis resulted in a marred land. The dispute over land between Abraham and Lot separated them. The land of Sodom and Gomorrah was laid waste due to their neglect of the poor (Ezekiel 16: 49-50). Joshua is about equally dividing the land among the twelve tribes. Leviticus and Deuteronomy are about preparing a people to enter the Promised Land. These books provide detailed laws and regulations to be obeyed once Israel is ‘landed’ after forty years of wondering in the dessert. Once in the land, the prophets screamed down from heaven warning of losing the land if they neglect these laws. Lamentations is about grieving over the loss of land.
The Sabbath was Israel’s key organizing principle. Duet 15: 4 provides us with the purpose of these Sabbath laws: “there should be no poor among you.” Leviticus 25 outlines God’s rhythm of Sabbath practices to alleviate poverty. First, every seven days the Israelites were to rest, a wise re-creation with limits placed on our bodies, minds, spirits and souls—with scheduled days for rest and coming together to celebrate and worship. God rained down a powerful object lesson for forty years by providing twice the amount of Manna on the sixth day to promote rest on Sabbath.
Secondly, every seven years land was to rest from its work—a limit given to the soil’s work in order to regain its nutrients. Any farmer will say that land Sabbaticals are a wise economic practice, ultimately creating more productivity. Additionally, Leviticus 25 outlines how every seven years there was to be a limit on debt—a limit on the stress and burden of excessive un-payable debt.
“The Jubilee 2000 was a global campaign that led ultimately to the cancellation of more than $100 billion of debt owed by 35 of the poorest countries.” See: http://advocacyinternational.co.uk/featured-project/jubilee-2000
Thirdly, the Sabbath principle continues with the year of Jubilee—every seven-times-seven-years. On that 50th year the land value was to revert to zero. For example, if you purchased property 45 years before the Jubilee, it would cost you more since you would own it for 45 years. If you bought land five years before the Jubilee, it would cost you less, since you would own it for only five years. If you were a wheeler and dealer, buying up land during those 49 years, you knew there would be a limit to your ownership; you would have to give up some of your land in that 50th year. But if you had made poor choices, or had fallen on hard times, like Naomi or Ruth, there was also a limit to the consequences of your misfortune. Grace was applied and you would again have access to land and a home. This could be from the coming year of Jubilee or by a number of other means detailed Leviticus and summarized in Deuteronomy— such as no or low interest loans (Habitat for Humanity’s model) or perhaps by levirate marriage as in the case with Ruth and Boaz and many strong marriages and families today making housing more stable. While family homelessness is on the rise, typically individuals, isolated from their families make up the lion’s share of the homeless population.
Community Land Trusts (CLT), a model where home ownership is separated from land ownership, enables families to afford homes. Birthed in the 1930’s directly from the application of biblical Jubilee notion over 315 CLTs are practiced today in the US. CLT’s take land off the speculative market and recognize that ultimately “the land is Mine says the Lord.” (Lev. 25:23). This model additionally uses a limited equity resell formula to make it permanently affordable—a tool used by many cities to retain their affordable housing stock. A similar model is practiced by many universities, like Harvard, Cal State Channel Islands, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and more.
We can view God as Architect, with interest in every detail of land use and how buildings demonstrate access and welcome (11 full chapters in Exodus are dedicated to the temple blueprints!), or as a City Planner with a detailed vision for healthy and healing cities (Isaiah 65 and Revelation 21) or we could view God as a Law Maker—a creator of just laws—or God as a Community Developer, Organizer, and/or Restorer of broken walls for traumatized vulnerable people (Nehemiah). God cares deeply about us, about our communities and creating a built environment that brings vitality and health, and a place where love can grow and thrive. The most important attribute and the very essence of God is love. No command is more important than loving God and neighbor as self. If we want homes we can afford in good neighborhoods, we should want that for everyone. Israel longed for a home, and we are no different. Both inner transformation to love others as ourselves, and public transformation to make our communities work for everyone must work in tandem if we are to adequately house our nation. God is committed to redemption of both people and places, and we should be as well.
“If there are any poor in your towns when you arrive in the land….do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Instead, be generous and lend them whatever they need. Do not be mean spirited and refuse a loan because the year of release is close at hand.” Duet. 15:7-9
Here, the “year of release” refers to Jubilee. This is a challenge to both people, cities and nations to be hospitable, not just to those with means to buy their citizenship and homes, but for all as the US liberty Bell declares in reference to the biblical Jubilee, "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof” Lev. 25:10. Additionally, Lady Liberty stands in the NY harbor proclaiming, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” With a consistent message to care for the most vulnerable, most Old Testament prophets addressed cities and nations, and Jesus spoke to cities as well: “Woe to you Korizon and Bethsaida” (Matthew 11:21) “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks” (Matthew 24:37). Jesus even wept over Jerusalem. We need to consider not only how our churches welcome the most vulnerable (Matt 25:40), but how our cities reflect hospitality to all income levels. Fair and just access to land and housing is indeed good news for the poor.
In the process of repairing the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah also rebuilt the community and their restored their hope, which included addressing greed by enforcing the Jubilee. At one point, unfair taxes and credit practices forced Jewish families to re-mortgage their homes and sell their children. Nehemiah, committed to keeping the Sabbath laws holy, demanded that these oppressors give back their houses and children and no longer charge interest to the poor (Exodus 22:25), which they did. But over time, Israel refused to fully apply the Sabbath laws, eliciting strong rebukes from the prophets:
Enough, you princes of Israel! Stop all your violence and oppression and do what is just and right. Quit robbing and cheating my people out of their land! Stop expelling them from their homes. You must use only honest weights and scales… Ezekiel 45:9-10
…you hate honest judges and despise those who tell the truth. You trample the poor and steal what little they have through taxes and unfair rent.” Amos 5:10-11
“When you want a certain piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When you want someone’s house you take it by fraud and violence….you have evicted women from their homes and stripped their children of their God given rights.” Micah 2:2, 9
“Destruction is certain for you who buy up property, so others have no place to live. Your homes are built on great estates so you can be alone in the land. But the Lord almighty has sealed your awful fate. With my own ears I heard him say, “Many beautiful homes will stand deserted…” Isaiah 5:7-9
The prophets proclaimed that Israel would lose their land if they continued unjust practices, and they did. The whole book of Lamentations is about the lament over Israel’s losing their land. But in the midst of such a monumental loss, one verse gives hope in the midst of God’s judgement of Israel:
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)
Jesus came into a world with predatory lending practices, not much different than in the time of the Old Testament Prophets. Matthew records Jesus’ words:
“How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! You shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then, to cover up the kind of people you really are, you make long prayers in public.” Matthew 23:14
Jesus broke into history exposing both personal and socioeconomic sins of the day. Jesus inaugurated his mission in his own hometown as he stood and opened Isaiah’s scroll in the synagogue and read:
“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.” Luke 4:16-18
Scholars agree that the “year of the Lord’s favor” refers to Jubilee. The early church understood this message, selling land and having all in common, fulfilling the intent of the Sabbath laws stated in Duet. 15. “And there was no poor among them, because people who owned land or houses sold them and brought the money to the apostles to give to others in need” Acts 4:34. This astounding declaration was powerful evidence of the Holy Spirit!
By invoking the Jubilee vision to establish his own ministry, Jesus put his finger on a festering societal wound, pointing out that only by courageous, radical obedience both the rich and the poor are set free. Millard Fuller, who founded Habitat for Humanity was a wealthy man, owning cattle farms, airplanes and living in luxury. But his wife was tired of being married to someone addicted to work and money. She created a crisis in their marriage by going to New York on her own to consider what to do. This resulted in a mutual decision to start over, selling everything, and recommitting their lives to God’s purposes. Millard began testing the ideas of Habitat for Humanity in Georgia and Africa. Today Habitat is the largest home builder in the world—providing homeownership for low-income families throughout the globe. Millard followed the example of rich Zacchaeus by abandoning his wealth. He also followed the example of Jesus who, “Though he was very rich, yet for your sakes he became poor,” 2 Corinthians 8:9.
There was enough manna in the dessert for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed. (Ex.16:18, II Cor.8:15). We need to consider what this object lesson in the desert, then applied in the New Testament by St. Paul to the purpose of money, means for us. We need to figure out how the rhythms and limits of Sabbath laws apply within our context today. Some may say we lack sufficient land, yet we have air space over parking lots. Due to the great housing shortage in CA, a state law was passed that essentially rezoned the entire state saying anyone with a single-family home could build a “granny flat” or second dwelling unit. CA also has a density bonus law, whereby developers are given higher density in their development if they include a percentage of lower income units. We need these and many more good policies to solve our housing shortage that is pushing up the cost. How will we steward the laws of the land on which our homes, cities, and churches dwell?
Sixty churches in New York organized a strong network among themselves and the community, resulting in their building 5,000 two-family homes; all for homeownership, all for low-income families. They organized the land, people, and money. They worked with the city to give them the land. They were loaned 3.5 million from church headquarters and added this to the down payments of future owners (once they helped them repair their credit and learn to save), from which they created a revolving loan fund. They hired a builder of luxury homes committed to their vision with two-family homes designed to make the homeowners succeed (i.e. the rent from the second home offset the mortgage payment). Ahead of schedule they paid back the money loaned from the churches. This Nehemiah Strategy dramatically lowered crime, school-dropout rates and transformed congregations. Not one homeowner went into foreclosure even during the 2008 mortgage meltdown.
Twenty churches in Montgomery County, Maryland were able to work with their County Council to make 2.5 percent of all property taxes allocated yearly go into an affordable housing trust fund, enabling developers to make a huge step toward building sufficient affordable housing.
A biblical foundation, love and the power of the Holy Spirit provides the motivation, courage and inspiration for the Church be the example, to uphold the vision of Jubilee embedded in many US policies, and to set in motion new ways to bring just access to land, and homes so that everyone has a decent dwelling that they can afford.