What's The Word?
Drama
Thespian Theology
Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Cycle A
Object:
Thespian Theological Thoughts
When I was a mindless teenager (that was a few years before I became a mindless adult), I was an acolyte in a large midwestern Episcopal church. As a senior in high school, I was privileged to be one of the servers at the midnight service on Christmas Eve. When the Gospeler, an elderly and revered priest, stood up and read John 1:1-14, I was scandalized!
Where's all the warm-fuzzy stuff about the baby Jesus and the manger and the shepherds and the lambs? What's this stuff about "In the beginning was the Word," anyhow?
It took me many years to realize what John I is about -- and I'm not sure I've got it all right yet! But one thing I have grasped: Jesus is "the exact imprint of God's very being."
And Christmas is really the Feast of the Incarnation. That little baby was -- and is -- almighty God, and he came here to redeem me.
Merry Christmas! Spread the news!
Cast
Gospeler
Norman Nativity
John The Apostle
Luke The Physician
Props/Costumes
Gospeler -- t-shirt (or sign): "Gospeler"
__________
(Gospeler enters down the center aisle, reading John 1)
Gospeler: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and ..."
(Norman Nativity, who has been sitting in the audience, stands up and interrupts)
Norman: Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a minute: This is Christmas! You know: Happy birthday, Jesus! Where's the story about Jesus?
Gospeler: Excuse me? This is the story about Jesus.
Norman: No, it's not! At least, it's not the one I want to hear. (Quotes from Luke in the King James Version) "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night ..."
Gospeler: Well, yes -- that is a story about Jesus, and it's a lovely one, but ...
Norman: You're darn right it's a beautiful story! Why, that feller Handel even wrote a song about it. (Starts to sing) "There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night ..." That's the story we want to hear on Christmas: Baby Jesus in the manger and the shepherds and the angels, and all like that! Not all this heavy theology about "the Word was with God and the Word was God." What's with that?
Gospeler: It's the story of Jesus.
Norman: Huh?
Gospeler: "And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory."
Norman: Huh?
Gospeler: The Word is Jesus, and Jesus is God in the flesh, Mr., um ... what is your name, sir?
Norman: I am Norman Nativity ... and I still say that on Christmas we should be hearing the story about baby Jesus and the angels and the shepherds and the lambs. That's what Christmas is about, isn't it?
(John The Apostle enters stage right)
John: Not!
Norman: Say what?
John: Christmas, Norman, is about much more than the miraculous birth of a child to a peasant girl.
Norman: Huh? Who are you?
John: I am "the apostle whom Jesus loved."
Norman: John? Then you wrote that stuff about the Word, huh?
John: Well, God wrote it through me.
Norman: So, what are you saying about Christmas, John?
John: I'm saying that if you think Christmas is just a warm-fuzzy story about a little baby born in a manger, you're missing the point, Norman.
Norman: Huh?
John: Christmas is about what the Gospel says in verse 14 back there. (Points to Gospeler) Read it again, please.
Gospeler: "And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth."
Norman: But ... but ... but ...
John: Sounds like you left your motor running, Norm. What are you trying to say?
Norman: Well, gee ... I just love that nativity story so much, John! I've heard it on Christmas ever since I was a little shaver. It was read in the Christmas pageant when I was in the second grade: I was a shepherd, and I got to smear mud on my face and wear my bathrobe to church. My little sister was an angel. What a monumental piece of miscasting that was! Even the TV guys play that story at Christmas. It must be what Christmas is about!
John: Because the TV guys use it?
Norman: No ... because we're all so familiar with it.
Gospeler: As I said, Norman, the nativity is a wonderful story -- and it is beautifully told in Luke, and we all love it. But do you know what Christmas is, Norman?
Norman: Huh?
Gospeler: Christmas is the Feast of the Incarnation.
Norman: Huh?
John: It's the celebration of God becoming flesh and living among us, Norman. And if we miss that fact, we miss the point of it all; Almighty, eternal God became a little baby, born to a peasant girl in a cold, dirty animal pen. The God who created everything in the universe became one of us, and lived with us, and showed us the Way and the Truth and the Life. That's why we read the scripture which you called "heavy theology." It's to remind us that Jesus is "the reflection of God's glory, and the exact imprint of God's very being." That's from my brother Paul.
Norman: Oh. So you mean I can't hear the story about the baby Jesus in the manger, and the angels and the shepherds and the lambs?
(Luke The Physician enters stage left)
John: I don't mean that at all, Norman. You can hear that story any time you want to. In fact, my brother Luke here will tell it to you now, if you'd like. (Luke puts his arm around Norman, and they start to exit stage right)
Norman: All riiiight!
Luke: But, Norm?
Norman: Yes?
Luke: Just remember who that little baby is, and why he came here, okay?
Norman: Gotchya, boss! (Norman and Luke continue to exit stage right) But can we sing the part about (Sings) "And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God' ..."
Luke: Sure, Norman. That's my favorite part also. (They exit stage right)
When I was a mindless teenager (that was a few years before I became a mindless adult), I was an acolyte in a large midwestern Episcopal church. As a senior in high school, I was privileged to be one of the servers at the midnight service on Christmas Eve. When the Gospeler, an elderly and revered priest, stood up and read John 1:1-14, I was scandalized!
Where's all the warm-fuzzy stuff about the baby Jesus and the manger and the shepherds and the lambs? What's this stuff about "In the beginning was the Word," anyhow?
It took me many years to realize what John I is about -- and I'm not sure I've got it all right yet! But one thing I have grasped: Jesus is "the exact imprint of God's very being."
And Christmas is really the Feast of the Incarnation. That little baby was -- and is -- almighty God, and he came here to redeem me.
Merry Christmas! Spread the news!
Cast
Gospeler
Norman Nativity
John The Apostle
Luke The Physician
Props/Costumes
Gospeler -- t-shirt (or sign): "Gospeler"
__________
(Gospeler enters down the center aisle, reading John 1)
Gospeler: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and ..."
(Norman Nativity, who has been sitting in the audience, stands up and interrupts)
Norman: Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a minute: This is Christmas! You know: Happy birthday, Jesus! Where's the story about Jesus?
Gospeler: Excuse me? This is the story about Jesus.
Norman: No, it's not! At least, it's not the one I want to hear. (Quotes from Luke in the King James Version) "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night ..."
Gospeler: Well, yes -- that is a story about Jesus, and it's a lovely one, but ...
Norman: You're darn right it's a beautiful story! Why, that feller Handel even wrote a song about it. (Starts to sing) "There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night ..." That's the story we want to hear on Christmas: Baby Jesus in the manger and the shepherds and the angels, and all like that! Not all this heavy theology about "the Word was with God and the Word was God." What's with that?
Gospeler: It's the story of Jesus.
Norman: Huh?
Gospeler: "And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory."
Norman: Huh?
Gospeler: The Word is Jesus, and Jesus is God in the flesh, Mr., um ... what is your name, sir?
Norman: I am Norman Nativity ... and I still say that on Christmas we should be hearing the story about baby Jesus and the angels and the shepherds and the lambs. That's what Christmas is about, isn't it?
(John The Apostle enters stage right)
John: Not!
Norman: Say what?
John: Christmas, Norman, is about much more than the miraculous birth of a child to a peasant girl.
Norman: Huh? Who are you?
John: I am "the apostle whom Jesus loved."
Norman: John? Then you wrote that stuff about the Word, huh?
John: Well, God wrote it through me.
Norman: So, what are you saying about Christmas, John?
John: I'm saying that if you think Christmas is just a warm-fuzzy story about a little baby born in a manger, you're missing the point, Norman.
Norman: Huh?
John: Christmas is about what the Gospel says in verse 14 back there. (Points to Gospeler) Read it again, please.
Gospeler: "And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth."
Norman: But ... but ... but ...
John: Sounds like you left your motor running, Norm. What are you trying to say?
Norman: Well, gee ... I just love that nativity story so much, John! I've heard it on Christmas ever since I was a little shaver. It was read in the Christmas pageant when I was in the second grade: I was a shepherd, and I got to smear mud on my face and wear my bathrobe to church. My little sister was an angel. What a monumental piece of miscasting that was! Even the TV guys play that story at Christmas. It must be what Christmas is about!
John: Because the TV guys use it?
Norman: No ... because we're all so familiar with it.
Gospeler: As I said, Norman, the nativity is a wonderful story -- and it is beautifully told in Luke, and we all love it. But do you know what Christmas is, Norman?
Norman: Huh?
Gospeler: Christmas is the Feast of the Incarnation.
Norman: Huh?
John: It's the celebration of God becoming flesh and living among us, Norman. And if we miss that fact, we miss the point of it all; Almighty, eternal God became a little baby, born to a peasant girl in a cold, dirty animal pen. The God who created everything in the universe became one of us, and lived with us, and showed us the Way and the Truth and the Life. That's why we read the scripture which you called "heavy theology." It's to remind us that Jesus is "the reflection of God's glory, and the exact imprint of God's very being." That's from my brother Paul.
Norman: Oh. So you mean I can't hear the story about the baby Jesus in the manger, and the angels and the shepherds and the lambs?
(Luke The Physician enters stage left)
John: I don't mean that at all, Norman. You can hear that story any time you want to. In fact, my brother Luke here will tell it to you now, if you'd like. (Luke puts his arm around Norman, and they start to exit stage right)
Norman: All riiiight!
Luke: But, Norm?
Norman: Yes?
Luke: Just remember who that little baby is, and why he came here, okay?
Norman: Gotchya, boss! (Norman and Luke continue to exit stage right) But can we sing the part about (Sings) "And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God' ..."
Luke: Sure, Norman. That's my favorite part also. (They exit stage right)
