Name: Jeff Finkbiner
Email: oaktree@paonline.com
Date: Saturday - 26/Dec/98 - 14:51:55 GMT
Response:
Joseph moves me to consider the meaning of emotion in his epiphany story.
His anxiety or fear seems understandable in the face of community norms
which would seem to punish Mary's pregnancy. Even so, the text highlights
the epiphany and not his emotion. I am struck by the messenger's speech
within the context of Mary's pregnancy. The focus it seems is not for
Joseph to be a settled human being as it is for him to perceive the drama
unfolding in his life; a drama that provokes human response.