I turned 49 years old yesterday — seven sevens. That’s prompted me to think about the biblical idea of jubilee — a time of rest and release at the end of seven seven-year seasons, a time when the land would lie fallow and all debts were released. A beautiful picture of redemption.

What would it look like to live out jubilee in my life?

I’m inclined to answer this question with a turn of phrase from David Gate’s potent book of poetry, A Rebellion of Care. Gate says joy is rebellion against the the established order. He says the true joy of heaven can never be privitized or monetized. Life’s systems seek to drain us of joy. But as Gate says, “it will never, not ever, ransack our hallelujahs.” And so we maintain our “affinity for joy,” in spite of it all.

I think jubilee is about maintaining the affinity for joy.

As we age, the great threat isn’t high cholesterol or heart disease. It’s cynicism. We can grow so world-weary that joy becomes elusive. We may even think it childish at times, consigned to a nostalgic view of our former, silly selves. But I say, what’s wrong with childish? What’s wrong with silly? Maybe our over-serious world could use an extra dose of childish right about now. Maybe childish doesn’t make you immature. Maybe childish helps you maintain your sanity. Maybe childish helps you maintain an affinity for joy as a way of fending off the seductive temptation to be cynical.

Seems to be a worthwhile goal for the days ahead.