A Blind Man Sees
Drama
Lectionary Scenes
57 Vignettes For Cycle A
Sometimes the blind can see better than those who have sight.
Summary
A man, blind from birth, is healed by Jesus but faces opposition from the temple authorities. The man sets them straight and then believes in Jesus. A humorous retelling of the old story.
Playing Time: 5 minutes
Place: The Holy Land
Props: None
Costumes: Dog, bird, peasant, Temple official,
Time: Bible times
Cast: DOG -- a clever mutt
DISCIPLE -- not as clever as the mutt
BIRD -- a passerby
JESUS -- the leader
MAN -- needs healing
FATHER
MOTHER
NEIGHBOR -- lives close by
OTHER -- lives farther away
PHARISEE -- won't live close to anyone
NARRATOR
NARRATOR: As Jesus was walking one day He saw a man.
DOG: Woof!
NARRATOR: Oh, yes, I forgot, a man with a dog. A seeing-eye dog.
DOG: Woof. That's better.
NARRATOR: I forgot to tell you the man was blind.
DISCIPLE: Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?
JESUS: Neither this man nor his parents.
DISCIPLE: I don't get it.
JESUS: This happened so that the work of God might be shown in his life. As long as I'm here I must do the work of Him who sent me. While I am in the world I am the light of the world.
NARRATOR: After He said that He spit on the ground.
DOG: Woof. Boy, you have to watch out when people are spitting.
DISCIPLE: It's all right. It's holy spit.
NARRATOR: Are you finished? Good. May I continue? Jesus made some mud with the saliva and put it on the man's eyes and said to him ...
BIRD: (FLYING BY) Hey! That's not nice. My mother would never let me play in the mud.
DISCIPLE: That's all right. It's holy mud.
NARRATOR: Well, anyway, Jesus needed some mud. Now that that's settled I will continue. Jesus made the mud and put it on the man's eyes.
JESUS: Go wash in the pool of Siloam. (JESUS EXITS)
NARRATOR: And he did.
MAN: (WASHING) I can see. I really can see.
DOG: Woof. Does this mean I'm fired?
MAN: Why, of course not. I could never get rid of you. You're my friend.
DOG: Woof!
NEIGHBOR: (ENTERS ALONG WITH OTHER) Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?
OTHER: No. He only looks like him.
MAN: I am the man.
DOG: Woof. He is.
NEIGHBOR: How can you see now?
MAN: Do you know Jesus? Well, He put some mud on my eyes and told me to go wash in the pool of Siloam. I did and now I can see.
OTHER: Let's take him to the Pharisees.
NARRATOR: And they did and the Pharisees asked the blind man:
PHARISEE: Did Jesus do this?
MAN: Yes.
PHARISEE: Ah ha, Jesus is working on the Sabbath again.
DOG: Woof. I always worked on the Sabbath. If I hadn't my master would have bumped into things.
PHARISEE: This Jesus cannot be from God because He does not keep the Sabbath.
NEIGHBOR: How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?
OTHER: I guess there is a division here.
DOG: Woof. I hate division. I rather like addition and subtraction though.
PHARISEE: What do you have to say? It was your eyes He opened.
MAN: He is a prophet.
DOG: Woof. I'll go along with that.
NARRATOR: And the Pharisees still did not believe that the man had been born blind and so they sent for his parents. (PARENTS ENTER)
FATHER: (LOOKING AROUND) Wow! Nice place.
PHARISEE: Is this your son?
MOTHER AND FATHER: Yep. He's ours.
PHARISEE: Is he the one who was born blind?
MOTHER: Yep. He was born blind.
FATHER: But we don't know how he can see or who opened his eyes.
MOTHER AND FATHER: Ask him. He's old enough to speak for himself.
NARRATOR: And for the second time the Pharisees questioned the man born blind.
MOTHER: Whew!
FATHER: That was close. They could have thrown us out of the synagogue. (MOTHER AND FATHER EXIT)
PHARISEE: Give glory to God. We know that this Jesus is a sinner.
MAN: I don't know if He's a sinner or not, but I do know I was blind but now I see.
PHARISEE: What did Jesus do to you? How did He open your eyes?
MAN: I've already told you but you didn't listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become His disciples too?
NARRATOR: Then they hurled insults at him.
PHARISEE: You are this Jesus' disciple. We are disciples of Moses. We know God spoke to Moses. As for Jesus, we don't even know where He comes from.
DOG: Woof. Back off, Jack!
MAN: Come here, Fido. Now that is remarkable. You don't know where He comes from yet He opened my eyes. We know God listens to those who do His will. Have you ever heard of a man opening the eyes of a blind man? If this man, Jesus, was not from God He could do nothing.
PHARISEE: You were steeped in sin at birth. How dare you lecture us! (MAN IS THROWN OUT)
DOG: Woof, WOOF! (DOG CHASES PHARISEE OUT AND THEN RETURNS TO MASTER)
JESUS: (ENTERS) I knew they had thrown you out of the synagogue so I've been looking for you. Do you believe in the Son of Man?
MAN: Who is He, Sir? Tell me so that I may believe in Him.
JESUS: You have now seen Him. In fact, He is the one speaking to you.
MAN: (KNEELING) Lord, I believe. (PHARISEE ENTERS)
JESUS: I came into the world to judge so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.
PHARISEE: What, are we blind too?
JESUS: If you were blind you would not be guilty of sin, but since you say you see, your guilt remains.
DOG: Woof! And you call me a dog.
Summary
A man, blind from birth, is healed by Jesus but faces opposition from the temple authorities. The man sets them straight and then believes in Jesus. A humorous retelling of the old story.
Playing Time: 5 minutes
Place: The Holy Land
Props: None
Costumes: Dog, bird, peasant, Temple official,
Time: Bible times
Cast: DOG -- a clever mutt
DISCIPLE -- not as clever as the mutt
BIRD -- a passerby
JESUS -- the leader
MAN -- needs healing
FATHER
MOTHER
NEIGHBOR -- lives close by
OTHER -- lives farther away
PHARISEE -- won't live close to anyone
NARRATOR
NARRATOR: As Jesus was walking one day He saw a man.
DOG: Woof!
NARRATOR: Oh, yes, I forgot, a man with a dog. A seeing-eye dog.
DOG: Woof. That's better.
NARRATOR: I forgot to tell you the man was blind.
DISCIPLE: Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?
JESUS: Neither this man nor his parents.
DISCIPLE: I don't get it.
JESUS: This happened so that the work of God might be shown in his life. As long as I'm here I must do the work of Him who sent me. While I am in the world I am the light of the world.
NARRATOR: After He said that He spit on the ground.
DOG: Woof. Boy, you have to watch out when people are spitting.
DISCIPLE: It's all right. It's holy spit.
NARRATOR: Are you finished? Good. May I continue? Jesus made some mud with the saliva and put it on the man's eyes and said to him ...
BIRD: (FLYING BY) Hey! That's not nice. My mother would never let me play in the mud.
DISCIPLE: That's all right. It's holy mud.
NARRATOR: Well, anyway, Jesus needed some mud. Now that that's settled I will continue. Jesus made the mud and put it on the man's eyes.
JESUS: Go wash in the pool of Siloam. (JESUS EXITS)
NARRATOR: And he did.
MAN: (WASHING) I can see. I really can see.
DOG: Woof. Does this mean I'm fired?
MAN: Why, of course not. I could never get rid of you. You're my friend.
DOG: Woof!
NEIGHBOR: (ENTERS ALONG WITH OTHER) Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?
OTHER: No. He only looks like him.
MAN: I am the man.
DOG: Woof. He is.
NEIGHBOR: How can you see now?
MAN: Do you know Jesus? Well, He put some mud on my eyes and told me to go wash in the pool of Siloam. I did and now I can see.
OTHER: Let's take him to the Pharisees.
NARRATOR: And they did and the Pharisees asked the blind man:
PHARISEE: Did Jesus do this?
MAN: Yes.
PHARISEE: Ah ha, Jesus is working on the Sabbath again.
DOG: Woof. I always worked on the Sabbath. If I hadn't my master would have bumped into things.
PHARISEE: This Jesus cannot be from God because He does not keep the Sabbath.
NEIGHBOR: How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?
OTHER: I guess there is a division here.
DOG: Woof. I hate division. I rather like addition and subtraction though.
PHARISEE: What do you have to say? It was your eyes He opened.
MAN: He is a prophet.
DOG: Woof. I'll go along with that.
NARRATOR: And the Pharisees still did not believe that the man had been born blind and so they sent for his parents. (PARENTS ENTER)
FATHER: (LOOKING AROUND) Wow! Nice place.
PHARISEE: Is this your son?
MOTHER AND FATHER: Yep. He's ours.
PHARISEE: Is he the one who was born blind?
MOTHER: Yep. He was born blind.
FATHER: But we don't know how he can see or who opened his eyes.
MOTHER AND FATHER: Ask him. He's old enough to speak for himself.
NARRATOR: And for the second time the Pharisees questioned the man born blind.
MOTHER: Whew!
FATHER: That was close. They could have thrown us out of the synagogue. (MOTHER AND FATHER EXIT)
PHARISEE: Give glory to God. We know that this Jesus is a sinner.
MAN: I don't know if He's a sinner or not, but I do know I was blind but now I see.
PHARISEE: What did Jesus do to you? How did He open your eyes?
MAN: I've already told you but you didn't listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become His disciples too?
NARRATOR: Then they hurled insults at him.
PHARISEE: You are this Jesus' disciple. We are disciples of Moses. We know God spoke to Moses. As for Jesus, we don't even know where He comes from.
DOG: Woof. Back off, Jack!
MAN: Come here, Fido. Now that is remarkable. You don't know where He comes from yet He opened my eyes. We know God listens to those who do His will. Have you ever heard of a man opening the eyes of a blind man? If this man, Jesus, was not from God He could do nothing.
PHARISEE: You were steeped in sin at birth. How dare you lecture us! (MAN IS THROWN OUT)
DOG: Woof, WOOF! (DOG CHASES PHARISEE OUT AND THEN RETURNS TO MASTER)
JESUS: (ENTERS) I knew they had thrown you out of the synagogue so I've been looking for you. Do you believe in the Son of Man?
MAN: Who is He, Sir? Tell me so that I may believe in Him.
JESUS: You have now seen Him. In fact, He is the one speaking to you.
MAN: (KNEELING) Lord, I believe. (PHARISEE ENTERS)
JESUS: I came into the world to judge so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.
PHARISEE: What, are we blind too?
JESUS: If you were blind you would not be guilty of sin, but since you say you see, your guilt remains.
DOG: Woof! And you call me a dog.
