The Glory Of The Lord
Drama
Lectionary Scenes
57 Vignettes For Cycle A
Theme
To God be the glory.
Summary
The voices of all creatures praise the Lord. A reader's theatre production.
Playing Time: 7 minutes
Setting: Eternity
Props: Folders from which to read
Costumes: Black
Time: Eternity
Cast: EIGHT READERS
(READERS ENTER AND TAKE THEIR PLACES)
FIRST MAN: On the Lord's day I was in the Spirit and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet ... I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me and when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said:
SECOND MAN: Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
FIRST MAN: After this, I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said:
SECOND MAN: Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.
FIRST MAN: At once I was in the Spirit. I looked and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north -- an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures.
FIRST WOMAN: In appearance their form was that of a man, but each of them had four faces and four wings.
SECOND WOMAN: Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze.
THIRD MAN: Under their wings on their four sides they had the hands of a man.
THIRD WOMAN: All four of them had faces and wings, and their wings touched one another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.
FOURTH MAN: Their faces looked like this: each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left side the face of an ox, each also had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces.
FOURTH WOMAN: Their wings were spread out upward; each had two wings touching the wings of the creatures on either side and two wings covering its body.
SECOND WOMAN: Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the Spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went.
THIRD WOMAN: The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches.
THIRD MAN: Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and the lightning flashed out of it.
FOURTH MAN: The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.
FIRST MAN: As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces.
FOURTH WOMAN: This was the appearance of the structure of the wheels: they sparkled like chrysolite, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. As they moved they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not turn about as the creatures went.
FIRST WOMAN: Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around
THIRD MAN: When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. Wherever the Spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
SECOND WOMAN: Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked like an expanse, sparkling like ice and awesome.
THIRD WOMAN: Under the expanse their wings were stretched out toward one another.
FOURTH WOMAN: When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still they lowered their wings.
THIRD MAN: Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire and high on the throne was a figure like that of a man.
THIRD WOMAN: I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.
FIRST WOMAN: Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.
FIRST MAN: When I saw him I fell face down.
FIRST WOMAN: And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow resembling an emerald, encircled the throne.
SECOND WOMAN: Surrounding the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.
THIRD WOMAN: From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Before the throne seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.
THIRD MAN: Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
FOURTH WOMAN: In the center, around the throne, were the four living creatures, and day and night they never stopped saying:
FOUR LIVING CREATURES: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is, and is to come.
FIRST WOMAN: Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
TWENTY-FOUR ELDERS: You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created, and have their being.
FIRST MAN: Then I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne, a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice:
MIGHTY ANGEL: Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?
FIRST MAN: But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me:
ELDER: Do not weep. See the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.
FIRST MAN: Then I saw a lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne, and when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song:
FOUR CREATURES AND TWENTY-FOUR ELDERS: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.
FIRST MAN: Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They circled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:
MANY ANGELS, FOUR CREATURES AND TWENTY-FOUR ELDERS:
Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise.
FIRST MAN: Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them singing:
EVERY CREATED THING: To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever.
FIRST MAN: After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count from every tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. And they cried out in a loud voice:
GREAT MULTITUDE: Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.
FIRST MAN: All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:
ANGELS AND ELDERS AND CREATURES: Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen.
To God be the glory.
Summary
The voices of all creatures praise the Lord. A reader's theatre production.
Playing Time: 7 minutes
Setting: Eternity
Props: Folders from which to read
Costumes: Black
Time: Eternity
Cast: EIGHT READERS
(READERS ENTER AND TAKE THEIR PLACES)
FIRST MAN: On the Lord's day I was in the Spirit and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet ... I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me and when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said:
SECOND MAN: Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
FIRST MAN: After this, I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said:
SECOND MAN: Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.
FIRST MAN: At once I was in the Spirit. I looked and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north -- an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures.
FIRST WOMAN: In appearance their form was that of a man, but each of them had four faces and four wings.
SECOND WOMAN: Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze.
THIRD MAN: Under their wings on their four sides they had the hands of a man.
THIRD WOMAN: All four of them had faces and wings, and their wings touched one another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.
FOURTH MAN: Their faces looked like this: each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left side the face of an ox, each also had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces.
FOURTH WOMAN: Their wings were spread out upward; each had two wings touching the wings of the creatures on either side and two wings covering its body.
SECOND WOMAN: Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the Spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went.
THIRD WOMAN: The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches.
THIRD MAN: Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and the lightning flashed out of it.
FOURTH MAN: The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.
FIRST MAN: As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces.
FOURTH WOMAN: This was the appearance of the structure of the wheels: they sparkled like chrysolite, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. As they moved they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not turn about as the creatures went.
FIRST WOMAN: Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around
THIRD MAN: When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. Wherever the Spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
SECOND WOMAN: Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked like an expanse, sparkling like ice and awesome.
THIRD WOMAN: Under the expanse their wings were stretched out toward one another.
FOURTH WOMAN: When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still they lowered their wings.
THIRD MAN: Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire and high on the throne was a figure like that of a man.
THIRD WOMAN: I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.
FIRST WOMAN: Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.
FIRST MAN: When I saw him I fell face down.
FIRST WOMAN: And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow resembling an emerald, encircled the throne.
SECOND WOMAN: Surrounding the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.
THIRD WOMAN: From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Before the throne seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.
THIRD MAN: Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
FOURTH WOMAN: In the center, around the throne, were the four living creatures, and day and night they never stopped saying:
FOUR LIVING CREATURES: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is, and is to come.
FIRST WOMAN: Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
TWENTY-FOUR ELDERS: You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created, and have their being.
FIRST MAN: Then I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne, a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice:
MIGHTY ANGEL: Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?
FIRST MAN: But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me:
ELDER: Do not weep. See the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.
FIRST MAN: Then I saw a lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne, and when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song:
FOUR CREATURES AND TWENTY-FOUR ELDERS: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.
FIRST MAN: Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They circled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:
MANY ANGELS, FOUR CREATURES AND TWENTY-FOUR ELDERS:
Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise.
FIRST MAN: Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them singing:
EVERY CREATED THING: To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever.
FIRST MAN: After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count from every tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. And they cried out in a loud voice:
GREAT MULTITUDE: Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.
FIRST MAN: All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:
ANGELS AND ELDERS AND CREATURES: Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen.
