"Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won’t stay there."
~~ Clarence W. Hall

Hi all,

Happy early Easter!  I hope the weather is pleasant where you are and you're able to enjoy an easter egg hunt or two.  :-)

Given the season, I decided to take a break from the usual and focus on Joshua in this newsletter.  Unfortunately, my original idea didn't pan out.  There's a movie that came out entitled Mary Magdalene and I wanted to write about Joshua and Mary going to see it.  But then the movie didn't actually open in my city so... never mind on that!  Maybe I can revisit the idea when the DVD comes out.  So I went with tropes as a fallback.  It was nice to revisit the Joshua stories and they put me in the mood for Holy Week.  I hope it can do the same for you but, if not, I'll be back in a couple weeks with something Andrew-centric.

God bless,
Jenni
Joshuan Tropes for Easter

(Links to all stories can be found here.)

Meaningful Echo- There are lots of callbacks to the Gospels in the Joshua stories.  But one of the most dialogue based ones connects these two scenes:

From John 20: 11-13:

"Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying.  As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 

They asked her, 'Woman, why are you crying?'

'They have taken my Lord away,' she said, 'and I don’t know where they have put him.'

At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

He asked her, 'Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?'"

From "Promises of Someday":

Joshua pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt and approached the weeping woman.  "Miss, why are you crying?"  He held his hands out so he could help JenniAnn to her feet.

JenniAnn struggled to speak.  The cold air had burned her lungs as she'd run, searching for Andrew.  Finally, she pushed the words out.  "My... my friend... he... he's in trouble, sir.  And I... I don't know where he is."  She stared at her helper whose face was obscured by her tears and his hood.  Even at that, she felt calmed as she looked at him.  She noticed his hands were outstretched and she took them, letting him help her to her feet. 

I suppose it's also a bit of an Ironic Echo since, in the first case, Mary was looking for Jesus but came upon two angels.  In the second, JenniAnn is looking for an angel and,  albeit unknowingly, comes upon Jesus.  Regardless, the gist of both scenes is the same: He's back!

Coins for the Dead- A couple of the characters have semi-related, misguided attempts to make peace with the dead via money.  Or rather with the resurrected...  As a child, JenniAnn believed that leaving coins for Jesus in her church would make Him come back since Judas taking coins made Jesus go away.  (Kid logic)  Joshua did actually come get the coins but instead of appearing to little JenniAnn, he threw them to get her attention so she'd see Andrew and that whole anam cara thing would start up.  (Joshua... such a planner!)  Of course, via one of Andrew's assignments, Joshua did return and appear to JenniAnn so, I suppose, her ploy kinda worked.  Yehuda himself ended up doing a version of this except he had no delusions that the silver he was collecting would help Joshua.  He only hoped it would allow Joshua to see how sorry he was.  Of course, Joshua already knew that... it was Yehuda who needed to see that he'd been forgiven a long time ago.

Cruel and Unusual Death- Joshua even gets listed on the actual trope page...  Post-"The Carpenter," we learn that a number of the angels actually witnessed the Crucifixion either while in Jerusalem or from some vantage point in Heaven.  There is some reason to believe that they, and possibly others of the Friends, have deliberately held back some information regarding Joshua's death.  Joshua himself very carefully handles the subject when it comes to new angels, as with Violeta.  I think it's just one of those things that probably all of the Friends have dark moments with but kinda push through so they can live their lives.  After all, Joshua doesn't want anyone to be moping around in the name of dedication to him or his sacrifice.  But I do think it's the ur-trauma that's in the back of everyone's minds and sometimes the emotions connected to it threaten to boil over.  I don't think Joshua's presence necessarily would negate that for the Friends.  I think it's highly possible that they could have a hilariously wonderful evening with him and later, alone in their rooms, be struck anew with the knowledge that someone willfully drove nails into him. 

Dark is Not Evil- Joshua directly addresses this in "Remembrance": "There's holiness in the dark, in secret places as much as in the light and the known world."   While TBAA had the big revelation scenes bathed in light, Joshua is just as at home in the dark.  His first meeting with JenniAnn happens at night in an alley.  Salma comes to recognize him in the darkness of a garden.  Fr. Mike meets him in the gloom of an empty church at night.  Michael is introduced as a voice in the darkness.  And then there are the angels of death,  In popular culture, they're often depicted as dark robed entities.  Obviously, TBAA eschewed that and the Dyeland stories followed suit.  But even when the AODs dance with the darker elements of life, they remain forces of good.

Forgiven, but Not Forgotten- This is modus operandi for the Friends.  As followers of Joshua, they know the importance of forgiveness, grace, and mercy.  But they're also not stupid or masochistic.  It also depends on how the wrongdoer behaves.  For an example, let's contrast Eric and Derek.  Eric was a sleazebag who made everyone miserable during rehearsals for JCS.  He and Emma also had a fling during which he was ungentlemanly.  But when he returned, he made a humble, sincere apology and has been helping out with the Friends' various projects ever since.  They likely have both forgiven and forgotten his trespasses.  Derek, on the other hand, only made any semblance of apology and restitution because he realized Joshua had the upper hand and he wasn't going to be able to weasel his way out of trouble.  There's been no indication he truly feels bad about what he did to Emma or his family.  So while those he wronged try to forgive him, he will likely never be invited back into their lives.  Eric was just a thoughtless screw-up.  Derek is downright toxic. 

Hippie Jesus- Sometimes yes, sometimes no.  Joshua often wears jeans and tunics which are hippie-esque.  But he will wear a shirt and tie when appropriate.  It's obviously not the norm for him, though, since someone usually has to help him tie the tie.  (Although I suspect now it's more of an affectionate act as opposed to him genuinely struggling with a Windsor knot.)  As for the hair... it tends to grow more out than down.  So it is longish but not the shoulder-length, silky tresses of many art pieces and movies. 

Behaviorally, Joshua is all about peace and love... mostly.  He did knock a guy out in "Chrysalis" but he had his reasons:

"I'm so glad and grateful that everything worked out but..."  The man's [Joe Maxwell's]  face flushed.

"But?"  Joshua grinned.  "You want to know what happened up there?"

Joe nodded.

"Well, yeah...  I mean... it looked like you punched that perp but..."

"But it doesn't seem very Prince of Peace-like to knock a guy out?" Joshua finished for him.

"Yeah..."

Joshua chuckled and patted Joe on the back.

"That man is named Geoff.  He's always been act first, think later.  I knew he was part of the ring and when I didn't see him before, I figured it was him in the secret room.  And I knew he'd be armed.  He always is."  The carpenter shook his head.  "So... I decided it would be better for him to be unconscious and wake up with a headache than be conscious and headed to trial for shooting the district attorney in the head.  Not to mention..."  Joshua grinned.  "I'm far from done with you here, Joe."

So it was a beneficial knock-out.  :-)  Joshua also saw to it that Andrew had a sword in "Shadowlands"... which he proceeds to stab the demons, Nen and Tzila, with.  But, of course, it's a supernatural sword that does no real, physical damage.  Instead, it forces a sort of mental reset that reminds the demons of their creation and of God's love.  Which, yeah, is pretty hippie.

In Mysterious Ways- Well, there's the Geoff example described just above.  Joshua did something seemingly out of character but only because he knew the ripple effect of NOT doing it would be really, really bad.  For one, if Geoff had shot and killed Joe then Joe wouldn't have been around to help bring down the priestly abuse racket in "Broken Hallelujahs."

And there are also the dimes that Joshua threw to alert little JenniAnn to Andrew's presence.  It's such a bizarre, small thing but, without it, there wouldn't even be any Dyelanders because JenniAnn only returned to Dyeland with her Andrew/John Dye loving friends because of that moment.  Which might have also meant that the few remaining, aging Asterians would have also left since there wouldn't have been any young people to re-populate the world and keep it running.

Marty's/Metatron's anguish over Yeshua's death in "On a Hill Far Away" is just really, really sad... but the purpose for the grief only makes sense two thousand years later when it turns out that his tears blending with Yeshua's blood is the cure for vampirism.  So any children borne of any former vampires wouldn't exist if Marty hadn't been so distraught.

Even some TBAA loose ends start to make sense after the Joshua reveal.  Why did God let Monica and Tess treat Andrew like a third wheel?  Why did He leave JenniAnn alone for years after purposefully giving her a glimpse of her beloved?  Because He needed JenniAnn's and Andrew's longing and compassion to create Violeta.  Why didn't God let Monica have a relationship with Arthur (Mike in the show) at the time they met and bonded?  Because Liam was conceived in late 2008.  So he wouldn't have existed if his father had been in a committed, non-sexual relationship starting in 2001. 

So, yeah, God definitely has His mysterious ways in the Dyeland stories.

A Form You Are Comfortable With- Joshua can shapeshift and does so for assorted reasons.  Sometimes, he wants to be incognito.  Other times, he wants to be in a place where a grown man might look suspicious but a beautiful, white butterfly would be welcome.  And sometimes he just needs to put someone at ease.  The clearest example of this is with Salma in "Chrysalis."  As a survivor of sex trafficking, it's completely understandable that the male, human form would be experienced as threatening.  So Joshua takes on the form of a lion named Zmaray until he's earned Salma's trust.

Gossip Evolution- When I do the biblical flashbacks, I sometimes try to build in an explanation for how things might have gotten mucked up.  Why do people think Mary Magdalene was a prostitute?  Because Mary of Bethany married a man from Magdala whose first wife was forced into prostitution after he divorced her and the man proceeded to insinuate to Mary's siblings that she'd done the same.  Further complicating the matter, Yeshua had another follower named Mara who had been a prostitute and was good friends with Mary of Bethany/Magdala.  So you can see how, over time, it all could have gotten conflated and Mara/Mary merged together.  Why do people think Jesus and Mary Magdalene were an item?  Because a drunken, heartsick Lazar was so upset about his baby sister's marriage to an awful man that he voiced his wish that Yeshua had married her instead.  One person tells that true story... a few storytellers later and it morphs with Mary wishing Yeshua had married her... a few iterations later and Yeshua and Mary were married... and then out comes The DaVinci Code.  Meanwhile, Joshua just shakes his head and sighs and Mary keeps giving Lucius googly eyes. 

Act of True Love- Obviously, Yeshua's entire life is this.  He gave up Heaven to experience everything from the "joys" of puberty to sickness to a grisly death.  Joshua wasn't in near as much physical peril come "The Carpenter" but the sacrifice is still pretty immense.  He spends part of the time living in poverty and has to deal with anti-Semitic and anti-Middle-Eastern acts of hate.  There is a lot of goodness in that he gets doted on by several of the Friends... but for a lot of that time they have no idea who he is which was frustrating.  Because he'd set aside his omnipotence, Joshua gets genuinely and gravely concerned at points when he doesn't know if Owen and Emma, in particular, will comes to accept him and, even more importantly, truly love themselves.  And then it turns out that one of the reasons Joshua did all that was to reach the guy who betrayed him to death.

Laser-Guided Amnesia- Well, I guess it's as good of a term as any.  Joshua had experienced it, by choice, in at least a couple of different ways.  As Yeshua, he willfully set aside all memory of being God upon being born.  He didn't regain those memories until after his earthly death.  As Joshua, he chooses to forget the immediate future of nearly everyone he comes into contact with.  His reasoning is that since they don't know what's going to happen and have to interact with him without the benefit of omnipotence, it's only fair he experiences the same.  For example, Emma had to warm up to him and learn to trust him without knowing that it would turn out well for her.  Joshua's didn't feel it would be fair to engage with her if he absolutely knew it would all end with her recognizing him, loving him, and turning her life around.  She had to risk further disappointment and anxiety to trust him.  So Joshua experienced disappointment and anxiety to reach her.  And oops...  I just realized I already covered this one.  But I like this explanation better than my earlier one.

Parent-Child Team- This happens any time Joshua shows up to work an assignment with the angels and/or Friends. 

Character Name Alias- In "Broken Hallelujahs," Joshua has to use an alias when he calls JenniAnn from jail.  The reason?  The operator is a St. Genesius' fan who Joshua doesn't want to disappoint by sullying the reputation of Joshua Davidson.  The name he uses?  Jack Pearson from This Is Us.  It doubles as a Meaningful Name because Andrew and JenniAnn had just been talking about how the fictional Jack reminds them of Joshua... after having watched him die from complications after saving his family.  Additionally, Joshua has used the name Jack on prior occasions.  And for an added bonus... Pearson sounds a lot like Pierced Son. 

Purity Personified- That's him!  That being said... Joshua is not a fan of "purity culture" and neither is his mother.  Likely none of the protagonists are but Joshua and Maryam are often used as the poster children so it makes the issue even more pressing for them.  Several pure, virginal/chaste characters, including Joshua and Maryam, unload on purity culture in the "Carefully Taught" chapter of "The King."  It can be assumed that Yosef also checked out on purity culture a long time ago because when Maryam shows up pregnant in "Believe," he doesn't view her with disgust.  He blames himself for not being around to protect her from the presumed rapist who got her pregnant.  Yosef's own father, Yaqob, is troubled by the whole scenario and thinks maybe Maryam gave into temptation.  Even at that, he feels sorry for his son but doesn't judge Maryam harshly... he remembers being young.  Obviously, both men are very relieved when the truth of the baby's conception comes out.  But it doesn't change the fact that they were both far more compassionate than others would have been.  So Joshua comes by his distaste for purity culture from all sides. 

Friendly Rivalry- I couldn't finish this without reference to John/Yohannan!  His relationship with Joshua has elements of this.  John loves to remind everyone that he's six months older than Joshua who he'll refer to as his "little" or "baby" cousin.  They occasionally challenge each other in goofy contests.  But more than anything, they love each other.

Bonding Over Missing Parents- "The Carpenter" has a really sad example.  Andrew's on an assignment in Jerusalem when he's shocked to discover that Yeshua's been arrested.  The angel's assignment, a Roman, gets Andrew into the cell where Yeshua is being kept prior to his crucifixion.  Andrew breaks down and tells Yeshua that his father is dying.  Yeshua commiserates, telling Andrew about his own grief after Yosef's death.  Meanwhile, he's completely oblivious to the fact that Andrew's dying father is him.

But things got better!


This newsletter is dedicated to John Dye for reminding us of the joy of the Easter message: God loves you and a heavenly Home awaits you!

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