Sarah
Drama
Who Is This Man -- This Jesus?
Fifteen Dramatic Lenten Monologues
Object:
(Sarah enters purposefully, carrying a bowl, plate, or cup and is headed somewhere in a hurry. She calls out as if answering someone in the direction she's headed.)
Just a minute! Be patient! I'm coming, Abram! (stops and shakes her head as if disgusted with herself for getting his name wrong) I mean, Abraham!
(turns to the audience and talks to them) I can never get his new name right! All my life, since I was a little girl, I knew him as Abram -- for 99 years he was Abram, and now suddenly, he had to go and change his name to Abraham. He said God gave him the new name, which means "father of many," because God promised to make him the father of many nations. Nations, mind you! Quite a thing to promise a childless old man who was married to a childless old woman! At least, we were childless, until ... until that changed, too.
Our whole life together has been one of many changes, big changes, ever since that day back in Mesopotamia when Abe -- Abraham -- was visited by the Lord and told to get up and go to a new land that God would show him. Until then, things had been stable and predictable. We lived in Haran and did pretty well for ourselves, except for not having any children. Our nephew, Lot, lived with us, as did many servants and workers, and we could have expected a comfortable retirement there, but when Abe turned 75, he came to me and said we needed to pack up our tents and belongings because we were moving to Canaan.
At first I thought his turning 75 must have triggered a mid-life crisis, you know, time to buy a new camel, dye his hair and beard dark again, lose some weight ... but he spoke with such passion and conviction, I knew something amazing must have happened! He said the Lord God had come to him and called him to go to a new land; that he would make a great nation of him and that through him all nations of the world would be blessed. The world! I was dumbfounded, but did as he told me and soon we were on the way to the land of the Canaanites.
More changes! First we stayed at Shechem, in northern Canaan, then moved down to Egypt where there was food and water for us and our flocks. Then, back to the Negev, and finally to a place Abraham called Bethel, which means "house of God." After that, there came more changes, as our nephew, Lot, left us to move to a place named Sodom, near Gomorrah, because he said he wanted to live in a city that had a future!
Then Abraham changed my name! I used to be Sarai, which was good enough for me for almost ninety years, but now he called me Sarah. My name now means "princess" (postures and preens a little), which actually isn't bad! It had something to do with God's promise that I would become the mother of many nations.
There was a problem: All this talk of Abraham and me becoming parents of many nations was fine, but that's the one area where our lives hadn't changed. We still did not have any children. Ten years had gone by since God had promised Abraham that he would have children, but there was no sign of that happening. Was God wrong? Had Abraham misunderstood the promise? Had we been faithful enough, or had God changed his mind? Should we appeal to the many other gods of the people of Canaan? Could they help us instead?
No, we would trust the true God over all other gods, even though his promise was so outlandish, so impossible it would take an all-powerful God to accomplish it. For God promised not just a son, and not just many descendants from many nations, he also promised one special descendent he called "the Seed." One seed, one offspring, through whom all the nations of the world would be blessed. That had to mean a Savior, a Messiah, like the one promised long ago to Eve. Was it possible that this Savior would come from us and our descendants?
We would trust God and take him at his word, but maybe, we thought, he needed a little help. If I couldn't bear any children, maybe someone else could for me, a surrogate mother, so to speak, to bear Abraham's promised son. After all, that was the custom of many of the tribes around us, that an infertile wife could provide someone else to become the mother of her children, so I decided to send my handmaiden, Hagar, to Abraham.
What a mistake that was! Sure, she became pregnant, which itself was something of a miracle since Abraham was 86 years old by now, but once she gave birth to her son, Ishmael, we had all kinds of problems.
First, Hagar went around flaunting her son, Ishmael, and reminding everyone just whose son he really was, which made me so jealous! Then, she started treating me with contempt, me, her mistress! I became so angry! I know it was wrong, but no longer did I want Ishmael to become Abraham's heir -- I just wanted her and the boy to go away. I stormed up to Abraham and demanded he get rid of them and so he did, sending them away into the desert with just a bag of water. Later she came back and submitted to me, saying the Lord's angel had appeared to her and commanded it.
Neither Ishmael nor his seed would be the promised one. God had someone else in mind. But who?
Abraham went and prayed and asked the Lord if one of our male servants was to be the inheritor of the promise. God said that was not to be, a son born to Abraham and to me would be the one. The Lord took him out under the night sky and showed him the sweep of stars shining above him. "Your descendants will number many more than these stars," he said, "more than the sands on the seashore."
Then came the day, when my husband was 99 years old and I was 89, when we had three special visitors. Being ever the gracious host, Abraham welcomed them in and ordered me to bring them some food. While I was preparing it, I overheard one guest tell Abe that one year from then I would give birth to his promised son. I couldn't help but laugh when I heard that! I would be ninety years old! How could I know the joy of giving birth to a child, of nursing him, and watching him grow?
Well, you can guess what happened. One year later I gave birth to a baby boy, and we named him Isaac, which appropriately means "laughter." I guess the last laugh was on me! We learned for certain that with God nothing is impossible!
(becomes somber) That is a lesson I need to remember, for the Lord has given Abraham -- and me -- one final test. That's why I'm taking this food to Abraham right now; he and Isaac are leaving on a journey together. The Lord has commanded him to take our son, our only son, Isaac, the son whom we love, up onto a mountain that is a three-day journey from here. When they get there (finds it hard to continue) ... when they get there ... Abraham is to offer our son as a sacrifice, a burnt offering to God. (pauses) Abraham hasn't told Isaac what he has to do. At first, he wasn't even going to tell me, but Abraham never could keep any secrets from me.
We spent last night in prayer and in tears, wondering how God, who has always blessed us so richly, could possibly command us to give up our only begotten son to him. Isn't Isaac the son of promise? Isn't he the one to begin the fulfillment of many nations of descendants? Isn't the Messiah to come through his line?
Abram ... Abraham ... and I don't understand. We love our son so much, and God knows how long we've waited for him to bless our home with the sound of laughter -- the sound of Isaac -- only now, he wants to take him away. How can it be? Why, except to test our faith, to see if we really trust God's promise no matter what would stand in the way? Could not the one who gave a son to an elderly couple like us, also return our son from the dead? Could he not provide a Savior for Isaac?
I am glad I am not Abraham today and face what he must do. I also know, that with God, nothing is impossible, and so I will trust in him. For my name is Sarah, and I am a woman of the promise.
Just a minute! Be patient! I'm coming, Abram! (stops and shakes her head as if disgusted with herself for getting his name wrong) I mean, Abraham!
(turns to the audience and talks to them) I can never get his new name right! All my life, since I was a little girl, I knew him as Abram -- for 99 years he was Abram, and now suddenly, he had to go and change his name to Abraham. He said God gave him the new name, which means "father of many," because God promised to make him the father of many nations. Nations, mind you! Quite a thing to promise a childless old man who was married to a childless old woman! At least, we were childless, until ... until that changed, too.
Our whole life together has been one of many changes, big changes, ever since that day back in Mesopotamia when Abe -- Abraham -- was visited by the Lord and told to get up and go to a new land that God would show him. Until then, things had been stable and predictable. We lived in Haran and did pretty well for ourselves, except for not having any children. Our nephew, Lot, lived with us, as did many servants and workers, and we could have expected a comfortable retirement there, but when Abe turned 75, he came to me and said we needed to pack up our tents and belongings because we were moving to Canaan.
At first I thought his turning 75 must have triggered a mid-life crisis, you know, time to buy a new camel, dye his hair and beard dark again, lose some weight ... but he spoke with such passion and conviction, I knew something amazing must have happened! He said the Lord God had come to him and called him to go to a new land; that he would make a great nation of him and that through him all nations of the world would be blessed. The world! I was dumbfounded, but did as he told me and soon we were on the way to the land of the Canaanites.
More changes! First we stayed at Shechem, in northern Canaan, then moved down to Egypt where there was food and water for us and our flocks. Then, back to the Negev, and finally to a place Abraham called Bethel, which means "house of God." After that, there came more changes, as our nephew, Lot, left us to move to a place named Sodom, near Gomorrah, because he said he wanted to live in a city that had a future!
Then Abraham changed my name! I used to be Sarai, which was good enough for me for almost ninety years, but now he called me Sarah. My name now means "princess" (postures and preens a little), which actually isn't bad! It had something to do with God's promise that I would become the mother of many nations.
There was a problem: All this talk of Abraham and me becoming parents of many nations was fine, but that's the one area where our lives hadn't changed. We still did not have any children. Ten years had gone by since God had promised Abraham that he would have children, but there was no sign of that happening. Was God wrong? Had Abraham misunderstood the promise? Had we been faithful enough, or had God changed his mind? Should we appeal to the many other gods of the people of Canaan? Could they help us instead?
No, we would trust the true God over all other gods, even though his promise was so outlandish, so impossible it would take an all-powerful God to accomplish it. For God promised not just a son, and not just many descendants from many nations, he also promised one special descendent he called "the Seed." One seed, one offspring, through whom all the nations of the world would be blessed. That had to mean a Savior, a Messiah, like the one promised long ago to Eve. Was it possible that this Savior would come from us and our descendants?
We would trust God and take him at his word, but maybe, we thought, he needed a little help. If I couldn't bear any children, maybe someone else could for me, a surrogate mother, so to speak, to bear Abraham's promised son. After all, that was the custom of many of the tribes around us, that an infertile wife could provide someone else to become the mother of her children, so I decided to send my handmaiden, Hagar, to Abraham.
What a mistake that was! Sure, she became pregnant, which itself was something of a miracle since Abraham was 86 years old by now, but once she gave birth to her son, Ishmael, we had all kinds of problems.
First, Hagar went around flaunting her son, Ishmael, and reminding everyone just whose son he really was, which made me so jealous! Then, she started treating me with contempt, me, her mistress! I became so angry! I know it was wrong, but no longer did I want Ishmael to become Abraham's heir -- I just wanted her and the boy to go away. I stormed up to Abraham and demanded he get rid of them and so he did, sending them away into the desert with just a bag of water. Later she came back and submitted to me, saying the Lord's angel had appeared to her and commanded it.
Neither Ishmael nor his seed would be the promised one. God had someone else in mind. But who?
Abraham went and prayed and asked the Lord if one of our male servants was to be the inheritor of the promise. God said that was not to be, a son born to Abraham and to me would be the one. The Lord took him out under the night sky and showed him the sweep of stars shining above him. "Your descendants will number many more than these stars," he said, "more than the sands on the seashore."
Then came the day, when my husband was 99 years old and I was 89, when we had three special visitors. Being ever the gracious host, Abraham welcomed them in and ordered me to bring them some food. While I was preparing it, I overheard one guest tell Abe that one year from then I would give birth to his promised son. I couldn't help but laugh when I heard that! I would be ninety years old! How could I know the joy of giving birth to a child, of nursing him, and watching him grow?
Well, you can guess what happened. One year later I gave birth to a baby boy, and we named him Isaac, which appropriately means "laughter." I guess the last laugh was on me! We learned for certain that with God nothing is impossible!
(becomes somber) That is a lesson I need to remember, for the Lord has given Abraham -- and me -- one final test. That's why I'm taking this food to Abraham right now; he and Isaac are leaving on a journey together. The Lord has commanded him to take our son, our only son, Isaac, the son whom we love, up onto a mountain that is a three-day journey from here. When they get there (finds it hard to continue) ... when they get there ... Abraham is to offer our son as a sacrifice, a burnt offering to God. (pauses) Abraham hasn't told Isaac what he has to do. At first, he wasn't even going to tell me, but Abraham never could keep any secrets from me.
We spent last night in prayer and in tears, wondering how God, who has always blessed us so richly, could possibly command us to give up our only begotten son to him. Isn't Isaac the son of promise? Isn't he the one to begin the fulfillment of many nations of descendants? Isn't the Messiah to come through his line?
Abram ... Abraham ... and I don't understand. We love our son so much, and God knows how long we've waited for him to bless our home with the sound of laughter -- the sound of Isaac -- only now, he wants to take him away. How can it be? Why, except to test our faith, to see if we really trust God's promise no matter what would stand in the way? Could not the one who gave a son to an elderly couple like us, also return our son from the dead? Could he not provide a Savior for Isaac?
I am glad I am not Abraham today and face what he must do. I also know, that with God, nothing is impossible, and so I will trust in him. For my name is Sarah, and I am a woman of the promise.
