So, You Wanta Be A Prophet, Huh?
Drama
Thespian Theology
Advent, Christmas, Epiphany
Thespian Theological Thoughts
As I finished writing this play, I realized that it's not really about "being a prophet." It's not about being another Jeremiah or Isaiah or Moses or Billy Graham. It's about becoming whatever it is that God formed me in the womb to become. It's about being faithful and obedient to him, so that he may form me into that unique creature he designed me to be.
... And when God calls you -- as he does call us all -- it's a good idea to answer, know-what-I'm-sayin'?
Cast
Peter Prophet
Friend 1
Friend 2
Friend 3
Jeremiah
Props/Costumes
Jeremiah: t-shirt: "APT"
(Peter Prophet and a group of Friends enter stage right)
Friend 1: Peter, I really loved what you said in the Bible study this evening. You have a great way with words, Peter!
Peter: Aw, shucks.
Friend 2: It's true, Peter. You seem to be able to read the Bible and really hear what God is saying to us today!
Peter: I do?
Friend 3: Yes, you do, Peter. I believe that you have the gift of prophecy.
Peter: Me, a prophet? Gee ...
All Friends: (Together) Think about it, Peter. (Exit stage left)
Peter: Hmmmm. Peter the Prophet! Wow, what a concept! (Puffs himself up)
(Jeremiah enters stage left; he wears t-shirt which says "APT")
Jeremiah: So, you wanta be a prophet, huh, Peter?
Peter: Who are you?
Jeremiah: My name is Jeremiah, and I am a prophet.
Peter: Jeremiah? As in "Jeremiah, the weeping prophet"? That Jeremiah?
Jeremiah: The same.
Peter: Well, what are you doing here?
Jeremiah: The Prophets' Union sent me.
Peter: The Prophets' Union?
Jeremiah: Yes, the APT: Amalgamated Prophets and Truth-tellers. (Points to his shirt) It's an apt name, don't you think?
Peter: I didn't know you folks had a union! But what do you want with me, Jerry?
Jeremiah: Jeremiah's the name, please. I don't want to be confused with that TV prophet of yours.
Peter: Who?
Jeremiah: Springer. He's a prophet for the other guy, you-know-what-I'm-sayin'?
Peter: Oh, for sure. But back to my question, Jeremiah: What do you and the Amalgam -- (Stumbles over the words)
Jeremiah: The APT.
Peter: Yeah. What does the APT want with me?
Jeremiah: Peter, we just want you to be sure that you know what you're getting into, if you're going to be a prophet.
Peter: What do you mean?
Jeremiah: If you think the life of a prophet of God is all honor and glory, Peter, forget about it!
Peter: Huh?
Jeremiah: Prophets don't have an easy life, Peter. Take Yours-Truly, for instance. First of all, I was commanded by God not to marry and have a family.
Peter: Gee, that must have made it a lonely life, huh?
Jeremiah: You said it, pal! And then, because I was seen as a prophet of doom, I didn't have many friends.
Peter: Well, that makes sense. Who'd want to hang out with a prophet of doom?
Jeremiah: But you see, Peter, I had a consumer image problem. I'm not really a prophet of doom and gloom: God's message, through me, is that although God's punishment for sin is severe, there really is hope in his mercy.
Peter: Oh, well, why didn't you say so, Jeremiah?
Jeremiah: I did say so, but people didn't listen to me, Peter. That's the trouble with being a prophet: Most of the time, nobody listens to you!
Peter: Then why did you want to be a prophet?
Jeremiah: I didn't! I tried my best to argue my way out of God's call. I told him I was only a boy, and I didn't know how to speak.
Peter: So what did God say to that?
Jeremiah: He told me to shut my mouth and to do what I was told! He said I shouldn't be afraid to do and say what he told me to, because he would be with me, to deliver me.
Peter: And so you just went and did what he said? Just like that?
Jeremiah: Well, not exactly. God put out his hand and he touched my mouth. And he said, "Now I have put my words in your mouth."
Peter: Wow, that's cool!
Jeremiah: And then he said, "I have appointed you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."
Peter: Way cool! So folks must have listened to you then, huh?
Jeremiah: Not at all, Peter! I was still just a boy, and I was rejected and persecuted by everyone around me.
Peter: Why was that?
Jeremiah: People don't want to hear the truth, Peter. Look at the way they treated Jesus -- and he is much more than just a prophet!
Peter: So, why would you want to be a prophet anyway, Jeremiah?
Jeremiah: I told you, I didn't want to! But when God calls, it's a good idea to answer, you-know-what-I'm-sayin'?
Peter: But how did you know that it was God calling you, Jeremiah? Couldn't it have just been your friends, or your own dreams, that put these wild ideas in your head?
Jeremiah: Aha! Now we're getting back to the reason I was sent to you, Peter. The reasons why I knew that it was God talking to me were:
First -- Being a prophet wasn't really something I wanted for myself; and
Second -- What God wanted me to do was not for my own glory, but to build up his people, the church; and
Finally -- When he told me that he knew me before he formed me in my mother's womb, I knew that it was God speaking!
Peter: So what do I do now?
Jeremiah: Do you still think you wanta be a prophet, Peter?
Peter: I dunno. It seems to me that joining the Amalgamated Prophets and Truth-tellers involves paying some pretty heavy membership dues: Rejection and persecution and lots of pain!
Jeremiah: Yes, but the retirement plan is awesome.
Peter: How so?
Jeremiah: You get eternal life with Jesus!
Peter: Hmmmm. Well, I don't know if I'm called to be a prophet, but whatever it is that God's calling me to, I guess it would be a good idea to answer.
Jeremiah/Peter: (Together) Know-what-I'm-sayin'?
As I finished writing this play, I realized that it's not really about "being a prophet." It's not about being another Jeremiah or Isaiah or Moses or Billy Graham. It's about becoming whatever it is that God formed me in the womb to become. It's about being faithful and obedient to him, so that he may form me into that unique creature he designed me to be.
... And when God calls you -- as he does call us all -- it's a good idea to answer, know-what-I'm-sayin'?
Cast
Peter Prophet
Friend 1
Friend 2
Friend 3
Jeremiah
Props/Costumes
Jeremiah: t-shirt: "APT"
(Peter Prophet and a group of Friends enter stage right)
Friend 1: Peter, I really loved what you said in the Bible study this evening. You have a great way with words, Peter!
Peter: Aw, shucks.
Friend 2: It's true, Peter. You seem to be able to read the Bible and really hear what God is saying to us today!
Peter: I do?
Friend 3: Yes, you do, Peter. I believe that you have the gift of prophecy.
Peter: Me, a prophet? Gee ...
All Friends: (Together) Think about it, Peter. (Exit stage left)
Peter: Hmmmm. Peter the Prophet! Wow, what a concept! (Puffs himself up)
(Jeremiah enters stage left; he wears t-shirt which says "APT")
Jeremiah: So, you wanta be a prophet, huh, Peter?
Peter: Who are you?
Jeremiah: My name is Jeremiah, and I am a prophet.
Peter: Jeremiah? As in "Jeremiah, the weeping prophet"? That Jeremiah?
Jeremiah: The same.
Peter: Well, what are you doing here?
Jeremiah: The Prophets' Union sent me.
Peter: The Prophets' Union?
Jeremiah: Yes, the APT: Amalgamated Prophets and Truth-tellers. (Points to his shirt) It's an apt name, don't you think?
Peter: I didn't know you folks had a union! But what do you want with me, Jerry?
Jeremiah: Jeremiah's the name, please. I don't want to be confused with that TV prophet of yours.
Peter: Who?
Jeremiah: Springer. He's a prophet for the other guy, you-know-what-I'm-sayin'?
Peter: Oh, for sure. But back to my question, Jeremiah: What do you and the Amalgam -- (Stumbles over the words)
Jeremiah: The APT.
Peter: Yeah. What does the APT want with me?
Jeremiah: Peter, we just want you to be sure that you know what you're getting into, if you're going to be a prophet.
Peter: What do you mean?
Jeremiah: If you think the life of a prophet of God is all honor and glory, Peter, forget about it!
Peter: Huh?
Jeremiah: Prophets don't have an easy life, Peter. Take Yours-Truly, for instance. First of all, I was commanded by God not to marry and have a family.
Peter: Gee, that must have made it a lonely life, huh?
Jeremiah: You said it, pal! And then, because I was seen as a prophet of doom, I didn't have many friends.
Peter: Well, that makes sense. Who'd want to hang out with a prophet of doom?
Jeremiah: But you see, Peter, I had a consumer image problem. I'm not really a prophet of doom and gloom: God's message, through me, is that although God's punishment for sin is severe, there really is hope in his mercy.
Peter: Oh, well, why didn't you say so, Jeremiah?
Jeremiah: I did say so, but people didn't listen to me, Peter. That's the trouble with being a prophet: Most of the time, nobody listens to you!
Peter: Then why did you want to be a prophet?
Jeremiah: I didn't! I tried my best to argue my way out of God's call. I told him I was only a boy, and I didn't know how to speak.
Peter: So what did God say to that?
Jeremiah: He told me to shut my mouth and to do what I was told! He said I shouldn't be afraid to do and say what he told me to, because he would be with me, to deliver me.
Peter: And so you just went and did what he said? Just like that?
Jeremiah: Well, not exactly. God put out his hand and he touched my mouth. And he said, "Now I have put my words in your mouth."
Peter: Wow, that's cool!
Jeremiah: And then he said, "I have appointed you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."
Peter: Way cool! So folks must have listened to you then, huh?
Jeremiah: Not at all, Peter! I was still just a boy, and I was rejected and persecuted by everyone around me.
Peter: Why was that?
Jeremiah: People don't want to hear the truth, Peter. Look at the way they treated Jesus -- and he is much more than just a prophet!
Peter: So, why would you want to be a prophet anyway, Jeremiah?
Jeremiah: I told you, I didn't want to! But when God calls, it's a good idea to answer, you-know-what-I'm-sayin'?
Peter: But how did you know that it was God calling you, Jeremiah? Couldn't it have just been your friends, or your own dreams, that put these wild ideas in your head?
Jeremiah: Aha! Now we're getting back to the reason I was sent to you, Peter. The reasons why I knew that it was God talking to me were:
First -- Being a prophet wasn't really something I wanted for myself; and
Second -- What God wanted me to do was not for my own glory, but to build up his people, the church; and
Finally -- When he told me that he knew me before he formed me in my mother's womb, I knew that it was God speaking!
Peter: So what do I do now?
Jeremiah: Do you still think you wanta be a prophet, Peter?
Peter: I dunno. It seems to me that joining the Amalgamated Prophets and Truth-tellers involves paying some pretty heavy membership dues: Rejection and persecution and lots of pain!
Jeremiah: Yes, but the retirement plan is awesome.
Peter: How so?
Jeremiah: You get eternal life with Jesus!
Peter: Hmmmm. Well, I don't know if I'm called to be a prophet, but whatever it is that God's calling me to, I guess it would be a good idea to answer.
Jeremiah/Peter: (Together) Know-what-I'm-sayin'?
