In real life, Joseph's role couldn't have been easy.
MARILYN WAS AN UNFORGETTABLE "Joseph" in the Christmas play at our all-girls' school. Actually, no one else in our fourth-grade class wanted to be Joseph. He spoke no lines and stood in the background most of the time. But Marilyn made the role come alive. She really understood Joseph—his tender concern for Mary, his awe at the baby Jesus, his fierce protectiveness of their new little family. The Nativity story was new to Marilyn, who was from a non-Christian tradition. But Joseph's gentle, faithful nature touched her to the core.
IN REAL LIFE, Joseph's role couldn't have been easy.See Matt. 1:18-25. It couldn't have been easy finding out that the woman he was about to marry was mysteriously "with child." It couldn't have been easy wondering if he should "put ... away" this woman. Or allow her to be stoned to death, as ancient law required.
