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.

So looking at the Manna Jar, how do we answer questions like: How can we survive without industrial agriculture? How can we live apart from the urban environments where resources and power are centered? What does creation-centered living look like? Is it living in perpetual scarcity and austerity? Is there ever abundance? How can we live with enough when the economy aiming for endless growth shapes us for more? Does greed really have to sabotage caring and sharing?

(You can get a Manna Jar for $30 plus shipping.)

Click to read an article by Paul Taylor and Lee Van Ham, “How Much Is Enough? The Living Symbol of the Manna Jar,” published in the May 2020 newsletter of Faith and Money Network, Washington, D.C.