And you shall hallow the fiftieth year, and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family.
[Adapted from “Living God’s Economy: Easter, Abundance, and the Call to Economic Justice” by Carla Long, Mar/Apr 2026 Herald, pp. 10–13]
We don’t need to look far to see that Jesus’ life was filled with moments of working toward economic justice. In fact, roughly 10 percent of the verses in the Synoptic Gospels speak about money in some fashion. Talk about a tithe! While Jesus likely would not have used the words “economic justice,” much of his teaching about money focuses on the kingdom of God and how we can build it. With the benefit of two millennia of hindsight and understanding, we easily can see that building the kingdom of God must include economic justice, which we must work toward daily. This is especially true during Holy Week. We need only to scratch the surface of what Jesus said and did during his last week on Earth to show his deep commitment to the marginalized and to confronting injustice. From riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, to knocking over tables in the Temple courtyard, to washing the feet of his followers, to allowing himself to be sold for thirty pieces of silver, Jesus’ final acts consistently point toward a kingdom of God that draws near only when justice is oriented toward “the least of these.”
How can we live the principles of economic justice every day as people of faith?
One answer perhaps comes from Money and Faith: The Search for Enough, edited by Michael Schut, speaking about the characteristics of God’s economy:
First, God’s economy imagines and intends an abundant life. Second, God’s economic household includes room for all creation, challenging any economic system that excludes concern and care for the entirety of life. Third, God’s economy pays special attention to the poor and powerless, and argues with those whose households exclude them. Finally, God’s economy is “meant for this world,” is meant to be embodied here and now, challenging those who believe that abundance is a promise meant only for the sweet hereafter (p. 19).
This week’s Daily Bread stories will focus on each of these characteristics and connect them not only to Easter, but to how they are lived around the world in Community of Christ. Tomorrow’s Daily Bread story will explore how God’s economy imagines and intends an abundant life.
Prayer Phrase
“See, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5).
Weaving a Life
Hold, or imagine yourself holding, a piece of patterned cloth. Examine it carefully. Notice overlapping threads, mingling colors that form the design. Write a journal entry or meditate about the threads and patterns of your life. What design do you see? How does the life pattern you are weaving create justice and wholeness in God’s world? What new pattern is God calling you to weave?
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.