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Thespian Theology
Advent, Christmas, Epiphany
Thespian Theological Thoughts
Joseph is a towering example of righteousness trusting in God. Sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, tempted and then wrongly accused by Potiphar's wife, imprisoned alone and in a foreign land, Joseph nonetheless trusted in God and did the right thing (Psalm 37). And his generous treatment of his scoundrel brothers could only be motivated by our Lord's Golden Rule: "Do to others as you would have them do to you."
Joseph didn't have the benefit of God's word written out for him. But God wrote it on Joseph's heart.
Because Joseph trusted God ... and because he listened!
Cast
Dan Rathernot
Joseph
Voice of God (offstage)
Props/Costumes
Table, two chairs
Sign: "Nile News Network"
(Table and two chairs are at center stage; "NNN" sign on table. Dan Rathernot is seated at the table)
Dan: Dan Rathernot here at Pharaoh's palace, with a Nile News Network exclusive! Pharaoh's Chief Dream Interpreter and Executive Vice-President, Zaphenath-paneah, has just sent his eleven brothers -- the same scum-bags who sold him into slavery -- back to the land of Canaan to bring their father to Egypt. In an unprecedented move, Pharaoh commanded that these eleven scoundrels be given the best provisions Egypt has to offer. Three-N News has arranged an exclusive interview with the architect of all this prosperity: Zaphenath-paneah himself. (Joseph enters stage right and sits at table) Zaphenath-paneah, I know that you are a busy man, and I think you for coming in to talk with us today.
Joseph: I'm glad to do it, Dan. But please just call me Joseph. Zaphenath-paneah is such a mouthful!
Dan: It sure is, Joseph. How did you get that handle, anyway?
Joseph: Pharaoh gave it to me, after I interpreted his dream. It means "God speaks; He lives."
Dan: Hmmm, that's a nice segue into my next question, Joseph: Are you saying that God speaks to you and tells you to do all these wildly unconventional things?
Joseph: Yes, God speaks to me and through me. But what do you mean by "wildly unconventional"?
Dan: Well, for starters: You have never resented your brothers for selling you into slavery and telling your father that you were dead. That's just not the conventional way, Joseph. Most of us (yours truly included) would be outraged at anybody -- especially family members -- who would do something as awful as that! What about you?
Joseph: Well, God told me:
Voice of God: (Offstage) Do not fret because of the wicked ... Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
Dan: He told you what?
Joseph: Didn't you hear him?
Dan: I didn't hear a thing.
Joseph: Oh. Well, he told me not to bother about the bad guys, but to trust in God and do the right thing.
Dan: Trust in God, and do the right thing. Hmmm, that sounds like pretty good advice. And you say God told you this?
Joseph: Well, God told David, and he told me --
Dan: David?
Joseph: Oh, he's a king of Israel -- but he hasn't been born yet.
Dan: Oh, I see ... I think. Well, I know our viewers are wondering about this, Joseph: Your life has been full of ups and downs -- you were sold into slavery; you became Potiphar's trusted manager; you were set up by Potiphar's wife on a phony rape charge; you came from prison to become Pharaoh's Chief Dream Interpreter/Executive VP, and now you are overseeing the logistics of a seven-year famine. How have you managed to deal with this roller-coaster ride?
Joseph: Roller-coaster ... what's that?
Dan: Sorry ... it's a media cliché. Means ups 'n' downs.
Joseph: Oh, I see ... I think. Well, I have dealt with life's fortunes and misfortunes by knowing that God's hand has been in it all. He is the one who sent me to Egypt, in order to preserve life ... don't you see?
Dan: Well, with 20/20 hindsight I guess I do.
Joseph: 20/20 hindsight? What's that?
Dan: Sorry ... another media cliché. Means we can look back now and see God's hand at work. But how did you see God back then, when you were a slave and a prisoner?
Joseph: God told me:
Voice of God: Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart ... He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
Dan: He told you what?
Joseph: Oh, I'm sorry, you didn't hear him, huh? You have to listen with your whole heart. What God told me was that, if I trust him and wait upon him and take delight in him, he will make things right for me, in his good time and in his good way ... and he did, didn't he?
Dan: Yup. We can't argue with that. But come on now, Joseph: Look at your situation, and let's get real! These scum-bag brothers of yours sell you into slavery and tell your father that you are dead; and years later they come to you with their hats in their hands, looking for a food handout. Weren't you tempted just to go "Neener-neener-neener" and tell them to take a hike?
Joseph: "Neener-neener-neener"?
Dan: Sorry --Êanother dumb cliché. Means "I've got the goods, and you don't, and you can't have what I've got!"
Joseph: I couldn't say that to my brothers!
Dan: Why not? The dirt-bags sold you as a slave!
Joseph: I can't do it because God commanded me:
Voice of God: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you ... Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Dan: God speakin' again?
Joseph: Yes. Now, listen with your whole heart, Dan!
Voice of God: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you ... Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Dan: Love your enemies? What kind of command is that?
Joseph: It's the command from Jesus --
Dan: Jesus? Who's that, another king of Israel?
Joseph: Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords.
Dan: And this Jesus told you to "do to others as you would have them do to you"?
Joseph: That's right. And that's the real reason I did everything I did.
Dan: (Turns to audience) We media folk have another saying: "Do it to others before they do it to you!" I wonder ... Would the way of this Jesus work better? This is Dan Rathernot, Three-N News, reporting live from outside Pharaoh's royal palace. Now back to Atlanta.
Joseph is a towering example of righteousness trusting in God. Sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, tempted and then wrongly accused by Potiphar's wife, imprisoned alone and in a foreign land, Joseph nonetheless trusted in God and did the right thing (Psalm 37). And his generous treatment of his scoundrel brothers could only be motivated by our Lord's Golden Rule: "Do to others as you would have them do to you."
Joseph didn't have the benefit of God's word written out for him. But God wrote it on Joseph's heart.
Because Joseph trusted God ... and because he listened!
Cast
Dan Rathernot
Joseph
Voice of God (offstage)
Props/Costumes
Table, two chairs
Sign: "Nile News Network"
(Table and two chairs are at center stage; "NNN" sign on table. Dan Rathernot is seated at the table)
Dan: Dan Rathernot here at Pharaoh's palace, with a Nile News Network exclusive! Pharaoh's Chief Dream Interpreter and Executive Vice-President, Zaphenath-paneah, has just sent his eleven brothers -- the same scum-bags who sold him into slavery -- back to the land of Canaan to bring their father to Egypt. In an unprecedented move, Pharaoh commanded that these eleven scoundrels be given the best provisions Egypt has to offer. Three-N News has arranged an exclusive interview with the architect of all this prosperity: Zaphenath-paneah himself. (Joseph enters stage right and sits at table) Zaphenath-paneah, I know that you are a busy man, and I think you for coming in to talk with us today.
Joseph: I'm glad to do it, Dan. But please just call me Joseph. Zaphenath-paneah is such a mouthful!
Dan: It sure is, Joseph. How did you get that handle, anyway?
Joseph: Pharaoh gave it to me, after I interpreted his dream. It means "God speaks; He lives."
Dan: Hmmm, that's a nice segue into my next question, Joseph: Are you saying that God speaks to you and tells you to do all these wildly unconventional things?
Joseph: Yes, God speaks to me and through me. But what do you mean by "wildly unconventional"?
Dan: Well, for starters: You have never resented your brothers for selling you into slavery and telling your father that you were dead. That's just not the conventional way, Joseph. Most of us (yours truly included) would be outraged at anybody -- especially family members -- who would do something as awful as that! What about you?
Joseph: Well, God told me:
Voice of God: (Offstage) Do not fret because of the wicked ... Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
Dan: He told you what?
Joseph: Didn't you hear him?
Dan: I didn't hear a thing.
Joseph: Oh. Well, he told me not to bother about the bad guys, but to trust in God and do the right thing.
Dan: Trust in God, and do the right thing. Hmmm, that sounds like pretty good advice. And you say God told you this?
Joseph: Well, God told David, and he told me --
Dan: David?
Joseph: Oh, he's a king of Israel -- but he hasn't been born yet.
Dan: Oh, I see ... I think. Well, I know our viewers are wondering about this, Joseph: Your life has been full of ups and downs -- you were sold into slavery; you became Potiphar's trusted manager; you were set up by Potiphar's wife on a phony rape charge; you came from prison to become Pharaoh's Chief Dream Interpreter/Executive VP, and now you are overseeing the logistics of a seven-year famine. How have you managed to deal with this roller-coaster ride?
Joseph: Roller-coaster ... what's that?
Dan: Sorry ... it's a media cliché. Means ups 'n' downs.
Joseph: Oh, I see ... I think. Well, I have dealt with life's fortunes and misfortunes by knowing that God's hand has been in it all. He is the one who sent me to Egypt, in order to preserve life ... don't you see?
Dan: Well, with 20/20 hindsight I guess I do.
Joseph: 20/20 hindsight? What's that?
Dan: Sorry ... another media cliché. Means we can look back now and see God's hand at work. But how did you see God back then, when you were a slave and a prisoner?
Joseph: God told me:
Voice of God: Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart ... He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
Dan: He told you what?
Joseph: Oh, I'm sorry, you didn't hear him, huh? You have to listen with your whole heart. What God told me was that, if I trust him and wait upon him and take delight in him, he will make things right for me, in his good time and in his good way ... and he did, didn't he?
Dan: Yup. We can't argue with that. But come on now, Joseph: Look at your situation, and let's get real! These scum-bag brothers of yours sell you into slavery and tell your father that you are dead; and years later they come to you with their hats in their hands, looking for a food handout. Weren't you tempted just to go "Neener-neener-neener" and tell them to take a hike?
Joseph: "Neener-neener-neener"?
Dan: Sorry --Êanother dumb cliché. Means "I've got the goods, and you don't, and you can't have what I've got!"
Joseph: I couldn't say that to my brothers!
Dan: Why not? The dirt-bags sold you as a slave!
Joseph: I can't do it because God commanded me:
Voice of God: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you ... Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Dan: God speakin' again?
Joseph: Yes. Now, listen with your whole heart, Dan!
Voice of God: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you ... Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Dan: Love your enemies? What kind of command is that?
Joseph: It's the command from Jesus --
Dan: Jesus? Who's that, another king of Israel?
Joseph: Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords.
Dan: And this Jesus told you to "do to others as you would have them do to you"?
Joseph: That's right. And that's the real reason I did everything I did.
Dan: (Turns to audience) We media folk have another saying: "Do it to others before they do it to you!" I wonder ... Would the way of this Jesus work better? This is Dan Rathernot, Three-N News, reporting live from outside Pharaoh's royal palace. Now back to Atlanta.
