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Joseph the Dreamer
The birth narrative in Matthew is told entirely from Joseph’s point of view, and like his namesake in the final 21 chapters of Genesis, Joseph is a dreamer of dreams. Through dreams God communicates with him, telling him to take Mary as his wife, to flee the murderous cruelty of Herod, to return to Israel,…
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Matthew’s Gospel
Matthew opens his gospel with a genealogy of Jesus. He presents three lists, representing three periods of time, each comprising 14 generations. The first list goes from Abraham to King David. The second goes from David to the Babylonian exile. The third goes from the exile to Joseph, the father of Jesus. Throughout Matthew’s gospel…
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Green Hair
My daughter has green hair. It is not the pale, pastel green you sometimes see on unicorns or fairy princesses. It is the deep, rich, vibrant green of tree leaves in high summer when the chlorophyll is at its peak. It is a very green green with the merest hint of blue in it. It…