07/26/2026
Our featured art for today, the seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, is "Jubilee" by Lauren Wright Pittman. Pittman writes, "“In the Year of Jubilee, God offers rest—a break for farmers, relief for those experiencing economic injustice, and Sabbath for the land. This radical rest is counter to the rhythm of our lives; it resists valued ideologies like efficiency and productivity and has broad economic implications. Jubilee has remained a theoretical, hopeful concept tucked away in scripture. This kind of radical slowing down is difficult to imagine, however... so is a global, economy-halting pandemic.
Rest feels unnatural in a pandemic, but it’s available to us if we are willing to receive it. Rest slows our vision and illuminates gifts that normally whirl by us. While sheltering in place, I’ve searched for positivity, and during such great loss, I’ve found more—more time, space, and color. I found a patch of mint in my yard, and the scent became my soul’s balm. Rest offers recovery. The earth is thriving with a break from humanity. Scientists are seeing significant decreases in air pollution and animals are returning to previously uninhabitable waterways.
Rest offers perspective. God does not want us worn ragged, reaping the maximum extent of our harvest. God wants new eyes for us to recognize broken systems so we can enact change that sustains everyone: ‘You shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God’ (v.10). God is found in the connective tissue of our relationships to our neighbor—particularly those most vulnerable.
Rest reminds us of our interconnectedness. Despite physical distancing, people are rediscovering one another while longing for and celebrating every moment of connection. Despite future insecurity, people are finding innovative ways to support one another. Rest uncovers the enoughness in our lives, and as my dear mentor used to say, ‘Enough is abundance.’ What will we glean from this time of rest?”
Pittman is one of the creative team members behind A Sanctified Art, one of our partner ministries in the Presbytery of WNC. You can learn more about Pittman and A Sanctified Art at their website, https://sanctifiedart.org/
