What's In A Name?

The Naming of Justice Jubilee Paul

Isaiah 42:1, 5-9

Here is my servant, whom I uphold

My chosen one in whom I delight;

I will put my Spirit on him

And he will bring justice to the nations…

This is what God the Lord says-

He who created the heavens and stretched them out,

Who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,

Who gives breath to its people,

And life to those who walk on it:

“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;

I will take hold of your hand.

I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people

And a light for the Gentiles,

To open eyes that are blind,

To free captives from prison

And to release from the dungeon

Those who sit in darkness.*

I am the Lord, that is my name…

See, the former things have taken place,

And new things I declare;

Before they spring into being

I announce them to you.”

It seems appropriate to give birth to a child on the eve of Advent.  For us, we have been anxiously waiting for our child to come into this world.  Our lives for the past year have been filled with hope and expectation, mystery and anxiety.  Our prayers, both silent and spoken, have been for this long awaited day when mother and father can gaze upon their creation and give her a name- Justice Jubilee. 

Much like the hope and expectation of the impending birth of our daughter, Joy and I also look toward the future as it impends upon the present.  And our present, as ones who profess Jesus as Lord, is shaped by God’s desire to make all things well: where love and faithfulness embrace and justice and peace kiss (Psalm 85).  We are filled with joy this week, but we also understand our lives to fit within a broader story of God’s redemptive work in history.  And our child has now been born into that story.  One does not have to look at the world for long to see that all is not well.  Disease and famine abound; poverty and war continue to wage.  We tend to care more about protecting our possessions than loving our neighbors.  God’s righteousness seems distant.

And yet, Advent fills Christians with hope.  Advent is that time in which we anticipate a God who comes near and dwells among us, among the poor, among the dying, and among the imprisoned.  We sing along with Mary when she exclaims: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior…He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.  He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.  He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful [sic]” (Luke 1).  It is that time of year in which we once again anticipate God’s coming restoration of all things.  We anticipate the promise of salvation and redemption by becoming carriers of God’s hope for the world- embodying the way of Christ in our life together.  In short, we practice justice and mercy while we walk humbly with our God (Micah 6). 

And so our daughter, Justice Jubilee, carries in her namesake the hope we have for the world.  Some may say that this is quite a burden to place upon a child.  But for us, we not only pray that she grows to embody such hope within her own life, but we also recognize that this is no more a burden than what we have been called to be and do as the church.  And so, with your help, we ask God to continue working within her life.  We pray that she grows to be a strong daughter of God, living the jubilee call that points toward God's justice in the present moment.  In short, her name is our prayer.

Peace,

Eric and Joy Paul

* The Jubilee is a Jewish concept carried throughout the Hebrew prophets and Jesus’ gospel proclamation.  It is known as the Year of the Lord’s favor found in Lev. 25 and Luke 4.  It consists of the following:

1). Leave the soil fallow

2). Slaves are to be freed

3). Debts are to be canceled/forgiven

4). The land (access to livelihood) is to be returned or redistributed to its original holders.

The Jubilee year represents one economic example of the way God would order relationships.  The Jubilee would be met with joyful greetings (jubilation) as it would reconstitute just and equitable relationships among the people.

My Amazing Husband

Tomorrow is Eric's birthday.  He's big on surprises and generally likes for me to plan this event.  For Eric, it communicates my love and devotion when I plan something I know he will love.  Surprises are most definitely NOT my thing, so I struggle with this every year (and again at Christmas), but I typically do okay.

This year, friends, I failed.  Our baby is due this week.  I have not been so tied up in "baby" that I didn't plan Eric's birthday.  But I have been tied up in everything-that-needs-to-get-done-at-work-before-my-brain-will-turn-off before the baby comes.  And yes, I failed at planning my husband's birthday.  I didn't get a gift, I didn't plan a meal, and I have no surprises.  Best Wife of the Year Award - right here.

I did remember his birthday, which is step in the right direction after forgetting our anniversary.  So we started talking about it last week and I was honest and admitted my lack of planning.  Instead of being utterly disappointed and let down, my stellar husband planned his own birthday outing!  While surprises are the way to HIS heart... planning it out is the way to MY heart!  I was so happy :)

On Friday we celebrated Eric.  He picked a restaurant we've not been to before, a local place serving local food with a menu that changes daily.  Great pick.  And he decided he would like a new sweater from REI, all I had to do was take him there!  GLORY!  I was so excited to celebrate Eric's birthday with him on Friday!  After the meal, the waiter asked if we were interested in dessert.  Eric kindly declined, which is normal, except on birthdays.  We normally go all out on birthdays.  So after the waiter walked away I asked Eric about dessert - didn't we at least need to look at the dessert menu?  His response, "we won't be having dessert here."

You see, my amazing husband had planned a surprise for ME on his birthday!  A while back I had mentioned it would be a special treat to have some handmade chocolates in our house for after the baby arrives.  At the time I made some comment like, "it will give me something to look forward to."  As if the BABY isn't enough?  I don't know what I was thinking, and neither does Eric, but he remembered.  So after dinner he took me a local chocolate shop and we picked out some treats for the birthday dessert and bought a box of chocolates to bring home.

While I'm not sure what I was thinking when I said, "it'll give me something to look forward to,"  it has worked!  Each time I open the cupboard and see that clear box with milk chocolate turtles staring me down,  I can't help but think Come, Baby, Come!

Testing Correction

When I re-read my previous blog, I almost couldn't believe what I wrote.  That I would have a "breeze of a week," with a "ridiculous amount of standardized testing."

Clearly, I have pregnancy brain.

There is no "breeze" with testing.  Yes, we are testing for several hours this coming week.  No, it will not be easy.  Our innocent children will be tested for HOURS this week on skills they have never been introduced to. You see, our fabulous assessment measures END OF Third Grade skills, which means I still have 7 solid months to teach them.  But this week they will stare at an assessment as if it is a foreign language, attempting to read questions they have never seen.  I envision a quiet hand raised.  "Mrs. Paul, what is this word?  What does it mean?"  As they think their oh-so-helpful-and-competent-teacher will surely provide some guidance.  And I will be left to dumbly respond, "I'm sorry, I cannot help you."

It breaks my heart.  What really tugs at my soul is seeing clueless faces that want so desperately to succeed, who try with everything they have, who understand test scores and what the outcome means... yet who are left to suffer through hours of self-defeating reading and math.

Why, oh why do we put our precious children through this?  Why, oh why do we increase anxiety, and frustration, and test-taking fears?  And WHY do we think it's okay to put kids through again and again and again?  These precious souls have been on the earth for 8 whole years.  They have countless hours/days/weeks of testing in their future.  And this week, the encouragement they will receive from the person they have learned to trust will be a mere, "I'm sorry honey.  Just try your best."

Surely - someone has a better plan?

It's Coming

Our day is getting close.

Our baby's day is getting close.

We're 39 weeks today.  I still don't think we'll ever be "ready" but we're trying really hard!  The baby is definitely dropping, as my shape is changing fairly consistently.  It's awkward, but not awful.  I still feel great and spend upwards of 9 hours on my feet every day.  I guess there's some sit-stand-sit moments, but for the most part I'm on my feet and walking.  I am so thankful for my health, and the baby's health.

Throughout the past month or so I've had some benchmark dates of "If I can just get to here..."  I'm running out of benchmark dates :)  Tomorrow I turn in student portfolios to my principal.  I had been thinking this would be end-of-all-stress moments, when everything is turned in and all major loose ends are tied up.  But we have progress reports due on Monday.  And let's face it, I won't finish tomorrow!  I could be finished right now, but I don't want to leave a pile of grading and entering grades for my interim placement, so I'll probably spend a fair amount of time catching up on grades this weekend.

Next week should be a breeze at school... field trip, ridiculous amount of standardized testing (stinks, but takes hours of my day on 2 different days), an ecosystem unit in the library prepared by the librarian, a guest artist... and I'm sure I'm missing a thing or two.  This all equates to an out.of.control classroom of students, but also to less planning from me.

Oh, and we have a party tomorrow :)  I planned an Author's Celebration for my students.  So really, after tomorrow... and maybe a few weekend hours... I will have less stress.  And baby can make his/her appearance at any time.

Here's to hoping with less stress comes a few baby name ideas.  Well, really just one would due.

Come, baby, Come.