About the Work
“In My Arms” tells the familiar Christmas story from the perspective of one of the lesser-known characters: Joseph. The text imagines his conflicted thoughts as he grapples over how to respond to the news of Mary’s pregnancy, to the angel’s appearance in a dream, and to the prophecies of old: promises of light, glory, and the favor of the Lord, but also of vengeance, rejection, oppression, and slaughter.
Struck by these disturbing images, Joseph remembers the words of the angel and repeats them as comfort to himself and to the child: “Do not be afraid.” Holding the innocent baby, the subject and victim of these seemingly contradictory prophecies of hope and pain, Joseph recognizes his duty and makes a father’s commitment to the child: “In my arms, you are safe. In my house, there is room. In my heart, there is love. On my lips there is hope,” promises which are musically set to emphasize their cyclic, enduring, and invincible nature: “You are safe in my house. There is room in my heart. There is love on my lips,” and finally, words almost as significant to father as to son: “There is hope . . . in my arms.”
In that fleeting moment Joseph, like any good father, believed the illusion that he could, at least for a while, protect this helpless child from harm, providing shelter from the coming storm. He literally and figuratively embraced the Christ-child, accepting the boy as his own: “God with us, Immanuel, my son.”
“In My Arms” was premiered by the Viking Chorus under the direction of Mark Stover at the 2016 St. Olaf Christmas Festival.
