Joseph's Story

If Joseph's story as presented in the first two chapters of the Gospel of St. Matthew were to be diagramed in the Grand Argument Storymind model, how would it look?

We will need to identify four journeys, or points of view.  These can be described as the Objective Journey, the Main Character Journey, the Impact Character Journey, and the Subjective Character Journey.

We will need to identify the drivers of the story and the passengers of the story.  The drivers make the story happen.  The story wouldn't exist without the drivers.  The passengers can be described as the skeptic (questions, doubts), reason (needs or provides quantifiable answers), emotion (goes by feelings), and the sidekick (often the comic relief but more importantly the bearer of hope, belief, and faith).

We will need to identify the protagonist (or hero), the contagonist (the manipulator), the guardian (the protector--who is always weak), and the antagonist (or bad guy).

Finally, we will need to plug all these into the Mythological Cycle of the Journey Story.  The cycles are as follows...

1. The hero crosses a threshold--a point of no return.  Identify the threshold moment.
2. A helper comes -- there is a call to adventure.
3. A prize is gained -- this could be change or growth of the hero.
4. The hero crosses a threshold return.  The real story is not over yet.  This is where the prize becomes useful.
5. There is a return to the world, or what has become of the world in the hero's absense.
6. There is another prize gained.
7. A helper, or helpers, appear again.
8. There are tests.

As I am no expert on any of these points there is ample room for disagreement on any or all of my suggestions.

Let us say that the birth of Jesus is the Objective Journey.  The story would not exist without this event.  This event is what made everything in Matthew 1 & 2 happen.  Now the question is who is the Main Character and who is the Impact Character in this account?  If it is indeed Joseph's story, then wouldn't Joseph be the main character?  It is Joseph's choice that allows Mary to live and give birth.  It is Joseph's choice that provides a tribal lineage for Jesus.  It is Joseph's choice that provides a nuclear family for Jesus to be brought up in.  It is Joseph's choice that took them to Bethlehem.  It is to Joseph that the angel appeared in this telling of the birth of Jesus. 

If Joseph is the main character then Mary would be the impact character.  It was Joseph who allowed her to live, give birth, make the journey, etc. 

If we are seeing the story objectively through Joseph's point of view we are outside the story.  The Subjective Character Journey would put us inside the story.  We would see as they saw, feel as they felt, etc.  The subjective character journey then is the story of Joseph and Mary together.

There is no mention in Matthew 1 & 2 of Caesar's decree or a journey to Bethlehem to be a part of a census or to be taxed.  There is mention of King Herod and his concern of a popular or prophetic challenge to his right to the throne.  I am going to identify Herod as the story's driver.

Now to address the various passengers and their roles.  Joseph, I will say, is the skeptic.  His lawfully betrothed was found to be expecting a child and he knew he was not the father.  For him to believe her claim of a virgin conception would require a leap of faith beyond all reason.  Nothing less than a visitation by an angel could dispell his doubts.  Later he receives warning after warning and instruction followed by instruction to protect and provide for the infant Jesus.  Yes, Joseph would be the skeptic.

The reasonable characters in this story would be the chief priests, the scribes and the wisemen whose search of scripture and knowledge of prophecies lent legitamacy to both Mary's claim and Herod's irrational fear of a supposed newborn King of the Jews.

The emotional character would be Mary.  Afterall, it was she who would have died without Joseph's mercy towards her.  It was she who would have born an illegitimate child and thus suffered life-long disgrace.  It was she who was the one who stood to suffer the most in travel and travail.  It was she who was dependent on the intervention of angels at each turn of the tale.

The sidekick character, the one who remains ever hopeful, ever believing, ever faithful would be the angel who appears repeatedly to give witness, instruction, and comfort.

The protagonist, or hero, is Joseph in this particular account.  The antagonist is Herod and Herod's son   Archelaus--definitely the bad guys.  Then who would be the contagonist and who would be the guardian?  Is the angel the manipulator or is the angel the protector?  The protector is always weak.  The angel is weak in that he is only a messenger.  He can take no action.  But the angel is also the one who manipulates Joseph to make choices that have no grounding in reason.  I will say that the wise men from the east are the guardians.  The are weak for a number of reasons.  They were ignorant of Herod's own ignorance and of Herod's plot to destroy the very person they have come so far to homage.  They are weak because their only recourse to protect the infant is to leave secretly by another route.  They protect by bringing another witness as to the veracity of Mary's claim and the angel's proclamation.  They protect by providing valuable goods with which the destitute couple can barter to provide a living as long as would be needed til they could provide for themselves.  This leaves the angel as the contagonist or manipulator.

Can two chapters comprised of a mere forty-eight verses or sentences by diagramed in the mythological cycle of the Journey Story?  Let's try.

Where would Joseph have crossed the threshold or point of no return?  This account begins with Joseph, describing himself as a just man and therefore not willing to make of Mary a public example for being found with child, being of a mind to put her away privily.  This would have been the orthodox or accepted thing to do.  There would have been no shame for Joseph and no physical injury to Mary.  Their lives would have proceeded according to custom -- injured of heart and reputation but without permanent repercussion other than Mary being forever dependent on her parents or becoming a beggar and her child forever a bastard outcast of society.  I would say that Joseph crossed the threshold when he took Mary to wife as he was  instructed to do in a dream.  He crossed the threshold when he believed the words of the angel which confirmed Mary's claim that the child in her was conceived of the Holy Ghost.  He crossed the threshold when he accepted the counsel to name the baby Jesus, which means "he shall save his people from their sins."  What exactly Joseph thought that to mean is not given here -- whether this would be a physical or a spiritual redemption or both.  The only explanation given here is that it was a fulfillment of a prophesy recorded in the book of Isaiah in the fourteenth verse of the seventh chapter.

The call to adventure is given by the angel  in a dream to Joseph, telling him to arise and flee into Egypt.  The help came from the wise men who unwittingly provided the where-with-all to make the journey.  They might have heard from travelers of Herod's merciless strike at the innocents of Bethlehem and all the surrounding coasts.  The prize Joseph gained would have been their very lives.  The prize Joseph gained might have been the faith he gained from being sustained during the flight and subsequent days of political refuge.  The prize might have been Mary's growing confidence in his ability to recieve and follow personal revelation which blessed her, the child, and the family with safety.  They learned to believe and trust in the providence of their God.

The Threshold Return experience would then be when they returned to the land of Israel.  His attainment of the prize might have been his patience in awaiting further direction from God.  The help that he again received would be the angelic message in a dream to "take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life."  After doing so Joseph was again helped by heavenly messenger as to his choice of location -- "he turned aside into the parts of Galilee".   All along these were tests to Joseph's faithfulnees, submissiveness, and mercy.

Wow!  Joseph's story does indeed fit the Mythological Cycle of the Journey Story as described in the Storymind model.  Amazing.