A Special Night
Drama
SUNDAY MORNING READERS' THEATER
Cast: A FATHER, his DAUGHTER and his SON
Length:
8 minutes
The FATHER is seated on his stool, reading a newspaper. The SON and DAUGHTER enter and take the stools on either side of him.
SON: Daddy!
FATHER: (From behind his paper) Hummm?
DAUGHTER: Dad!
FATHER: (Still behind his paper) What is it, honey?
DAUGHTER: Daddy! Listen to us!
FATHER: (Coming out from behind the paper) Sorry! What was that?
SON: Tell us, Dad. Why is tonight different from all other nights?
FATHER:
Different? How is it different?
DAUGHTER: That's what we want to know.
SON: First off, it's Thursday, right?
FATHER: Yes.
SON: Why are we going to church on a Thursday?
DAUGHTER: There must be something special about it. Why this Thursday and no other Thursday?
FATHER: Tonight is Maundy Thursday. We always go to church on Maundy Thursday.
DAUGHTER: But why? Why do we go?
FATHER: Oh, I see. You want to know the story.
SON: Yes, Dad. Tell us the story!
FATHER: Okay. Make yourselves comfortable. Well, you see, this is the anniversary of the day God led the chosen people out of Egypt when Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, wanted to keep them there as slaves.
DAUGHTER: And who were the chosen people?
FATHER: Well, they were the Jews, the people of Israel in the Old Testament times.
SON: Why are we celebrating a Jewish anniversary?
FATHER: Because it's an anniversary for us, too. For all people who follow the One True God.
DAUGHTER: Okay! So what did God do?
FATHER: Well, first he told Moses, the leader of the Jews, to ask Pharaoh politely if he would let their people go.
SON: And Pharaoh said "no."
FATHER: Right.
DAUGHTER: I could have guessed that.
FATHER: Yes, so did Moses. But God wanted to give Pharaoh a fair chance.
SON: So what did God do?
FATHER: God sent nine plagues on Egypt, each one more awful than the last - gnats, flies, boils, disease, hail. It was pretty awful.
DAUGHTER: And Pharaoh still said "no"?
FATHER: Well, each time he said "yes" until God made the plague go away. Then he changed his mind and said they had to stay.
SON: Pretty rotten.
FATHER: True.
DAUGHTER: And then what?
FATHER: The last plague was going to be the worst. God was going to kill the firstborn of every family and every family's animals.
DAUGHTER: Eeeww!
FATHER: Except for those who obeyed God and followed his instructions.
SON: What instructions?
FATHER:
Each family was supposed to kill a lamb and smear its blood on their doorway.
SON: Eeeww!
FATHER: When the Angel of Death came in the night, it would see the blood on those houses and pass them by. That's why it's called "Passover." The angel passed them over.
DAUGHTER: Then what?
FATHER:
Then they were supposed to cook the lamb with some bitter herbs ...
SON: (Interrupting) What are ...?
FATHER: (Anticipating him) ... which symbolized the suffering of the people and eat the lamb with unleavened bread which showed how much of a hurry they were in.
DAUGHTER: Because they didn't have time to wait for it to raise.
FATHER: Exactly! They were supposed to eat this meal dressed in their traveling clothes so they would be ready to leave the moment God gave the word.
SON: That's pretty exciting.
DAUGHTER: And then what?
FATHER: And he told them, "This day shall be a day of remembrance to you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord, throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance." Every year they were supposed to go through the same ceremony to remember how God had freed them from their enemies, how he loves us and cares for us and, perhaps most importantly, how, although he doesn't move quite as quickly as we would like, he always comes through in the end. Then he took them through the wilderness to the Promised Land.
SON: But why don't we?
FATHER: Why don't we what?
SON: Why don't we celebrate this every year like God said?
DAUGHTER: Yeah! Why do the Jews get all the fun anniversaries?
FATHER: Well, we do celebrate it. In a way. We have lamb for Easter Sunday dinner every year.
DAUGHTER: Oh, that's why we have lamb!
SON: But why don't we tell it to the children "throughout our generations"?
FATHER: We do. I'm telling it to you and now you can tell it to your children.
SON: Great!
FATHER: Jesus celebrated it, too, you know.
SON: He did?
FATHER:
Yes. That's what the Last Supper was. It was the Jewish Passover celebration. He had the lamb and the bitter herbs and the unleavened bread.
DAUGHTER: But the Last Supper is something else.
FATHER:
It is, and it isn't. The Last Supper also shows us how much God loves us, and how he will always take care of us. And how Jesus will die for us, just like the lambs had to die so the people could be saved. And when the Angel of Death comes for everyone else, it will pass us by.
SON: Christians won't die?
FATHER:
Our bodies will die, but we will have eternal life with Jesus in heaven.
DAUGHTER: Well, I'm certainly glad to know all this.
FATHER:
You remember it well, so you can tell your children.
SON: We will!
FATHER:
So run along now and get ready for church. We don't want to be late.
DAUGHTER: Okay, Dad!
The SON and DAUGHTER run off.
FATHER:
(To audience) Whew! That was a close one! That's one of God's admonitions I had completely forgotten about. (He folds up his newspaper) Good thing we have kids around to keep us old guys on our toes.
He leaves.
Length:
8 minutes
The FATHER is seated on his stool, reading a newspaper. The SON and DAUGHTER enter and take the stools on either side of him.
SON: Daddy!
FATHER: (From behind his paper) Hummm?
DAUGHTER: Dad!
FATHER: (Still behind his paper) What is it, honey?
DAUGHTER: Daddy! Listen to us!
FATHER: (Coming out from behind the paper) Sorry! What was that?
SON: Tell us, Dad. Why is tonight different from all other nights?
FATHER:
Different? How is it different?
DAUGHTER: That's what we want to know.
SON: First off, it's Thursday, right?
FATHER: Yes.
SON: Why are we going to church on a Thursday?
DAUGHTER: There must be something special about it. Why this Thursday and no other Thursday?
FATHER: Tonight is Maundy Thursday. We always go to church on Maundy Thursday.
DAUGHTER: But why? Why do we go?
FATHER: Oh, I see. You want to know the story.
SON: Yes, Dad. Tell us the story!
FATHER: Okay. Make yourselves comfortable. Well, you see, this is the anniversary of the day God led the chosen people out of Egypt when Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, wanted to keep them there as slaves.
DAUGHTER: And who were the chosen people?
FATHER: Well, they were the Jews, the people of Israel in the Old Testament times.
SON: Why are we celebrating a Jewish anniversary?
FATHER: Because it's an anniversary for us, too. For all people who follow the One True God.
DAUGHTER: Okay! So what did God do?
FATHER: Well, first he told Moses, the leader of the Jews, to ask Pharaoh politely if he would let their people go.
SON: And Pharaoh said "no."
FATHER: Right.
DAUGHTER: I could have guessed that.
FATHER: Yes, so did Moses. But God wanted to give Pharaoh a fair chance.
SON: So what did God do?
FATHER: God sent nine plagues on Egypt, each one more awful than the last - gnats, flies, boils, disease, hail. It was pretty awful.
DAUGHTER: And Pharaoh still said "no"?
FATHER: Well, each time he said "yes" until God made the plague go away. Then he changed his mind and said they had to stay.
SON: Pretty rotten.
FATHER: True.
DAUGHTER: And then what?
FATHER: The last plague was going to be the worst. God was going to kill the firstborn of every family and every family's animals.
DAUGHTER: Eeeww!
FATHER: Except for those who obeyed God and followed his instructions.
SON: What instructions?
FATHER:
Each family was supposed to kill a lamb and smear its blood on their doorway.
SON: Eeeww!
FATHER: When the Angel of Death came in the night, it would see the blood on those houses and pass them by. That's why it's called "Passover." The angel passed them over.
DAUGHTER: Then what?
FATHER:
Then they were supposed to cook the lamb with some bitter herbs ...
SON: (Interrupting) What are ...?
FATHER: (Anticipating him) ... which symbolized the suffering of the people and eat the lamb with unleavened bread which showed how much of a hurry they were in.
DAUGHTER: Because they didn't have time to wait for it to raise.
FATHER: Exactly! They were supposed to eat this meal dressed in their traveling clothes so they would be ready to leave the moment God gave the word.
SON: That's pretty exciting.
DAUGHTER: And then what?
FATHER: And he told them, "This day shall be a day of remembrance to you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord, throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance." Every year they were supposed to go through the same ceremony to remember how God had freed them from their enemies, how he loves us and cares for us and, perhaps most importantly, how, although he doesn't move quite as quickly as we would like, he always comes through in the end. Then he took them through the wilderness to the Promised Land.
SON: But why don't we?
FATHER: Why don't we what?
SON: Why don't we celebrate this every year like God said?
DAUGHTER: Yeah! Why do the Jews get all the fun anniversaries?
FATHER: Well, we do celebrate it. In a way. We have lamb for Easter Sunday dinner every year.
DAUGHTER: Oh, that's why we have lamb!
SON: But why don't we tell it to the children "throughout our generations"?
FATHER: We do. I'm telling it to you and now you can tell it to your children.
SON: Great!
FATHER: Jesus celebrated it, too, you know.
SON: He did?
FATHER:
Yes. That's what the Last Supper was. It was the Jewish Passover celebration. He had the lamb and the bitter herbs and the unleavened bread.
DAUGHTER: But the Last Supper is something else.
FATHER:
It is, and it isn't. The Last Supper also shows us how much God loves us, and how he will always take care of us. And how Jesus will die for us, just like the lambs had to die so the people could be saved. And when the Angel of Death comes for everyone else, it will pass us by.
SON: Christians won't die?
FATHER:
Our bodies will die, but we will have eternal life with Jesus in heaven.
DAUGHTER: Well, I'm certainly glad to know all this.
FATHER:
You remember it well, so you can tell your children.
SON: We will!
FATHER:
So run along now and get ready for church. We don't want to be late.
DAUGHTER: Okay, Dad!
The SON and DAUGHTER run off.
FATHER:
(To audience) Whew! That was a close one! That's one of God's admonitions I had completely forgotten about. (He folds up his newspaper) Good thing we have kids around to keep us old guys on our toes.
He leaves.
