Living Together in Peace

30 May 2023
Manna Jar

OneEarth Jubilee, a U.S. based non-profit organization founded in 2000, has recently joined URI’s global community as a Cooperation Circle. Their vision and purpose are aligned with URI’s global aim, “to create cultures of peace justice and healing for the Earth and all living Beings.”

Their website explains their intention and values:

We work at the intersection of ecology, economics, and spirituality, insisting on the powers of creation amidst the commodification of nature, and the powers of being truly human amidst dehumanization...

"[...] We see abundance where others see scarcity and austerity. We see promise and vitality in the bounty of living within the limits of what economic activity can be done on One Earth, rather than living as if there were many earths to do our business.”

They use the symbol of the “manna jar” and re-interpret a well- known Biblical story when God sent manna from heaven. They teach that the story is not about a miraculous gift of bread falling from the skies as has been commonly taught. The blessing of “manna from heaven” is about the miracle of people deciding to share in common.

 Here is their interpretation:

The ‘Manna Jar’ is a core symbol of “Jubilee Economics” because it comes from a story when people learned to live creation-based lives instead of empire-based lives (see Exodus 16). The story of manna in the wilderness is not about the miracle of some kind of bread showing up mysteriously every morning— as commonly taught. It is far more radical.

"[...]It presents conversion from using more than our share to sharing in common. Conversion from thinking that making astute economics decisions to get more money and more power are most important, to economic thinking of enough for all living beings, and living within our planet’s abundance. The manna story puts spiritual Presence at the heart of daily economic practice, which is to say, there is a spiritual energy at work in the universe to provide life for all beings when we live a creation-based economy and paradigm.”