Who Ya Gonna Trust?
Drama
Thespian Theology
Advent, Christmas, Epiphany -- Cycle B
Thespian Theological Thoughts
As often happens in this business, the following play kind of wrote itself. That's my cowardly way of apologizing to those of you who may be offended by the somewhat smart-alecky persona of Mary in this piece. But I do believe with all my heart that Mary was:
... a little girl who had a little curl,
right in the middle of her forehead --
and when she was good, she was very, very good,
and when she was bad, she was horrid.
And what an interesting paradox it is that Mary's very name means "rebellion" in Hebrew!
Throughout human history, our God of paradox has used ordinary people like Mary -- and like you and me --Òto accomplish his extraordinary purpose of reconciling us to himself. The wonder of it all is that Mary chose to say, "Yes," to the outlandishly foolish and improbable invitation to bear the Son of God in her womb. In the face of worldly wisdom which said that this scenario was impossible and/or scandalous, Mary chose to trust in the Lord with all her heart, and lean not unto her own understanding. We -- and all of humankind -- are the beneficiaries of her decision.
Hail, Mary!
Cast
Narrator
Mary
Joseph
Angel Gabriel
Waldo, the Warden of Worldly Wisdom
Props/Costumes
Waldo -- business card, Bible
(Narrator is on stage)
Narrator: This is a true story about trust ... it's the ultimate trust-story, about a young Jewish girl who was called to trust an outlandishly improbable and foolish invitation. (Mary enters stage left) This young girl was named Miriam.
Mary: Excuse me! I prefer the modern form of my name: Mary.
Narrator: Miriam, Mary ... whatever. Do you know what your name means in Hebrew?
Mary: Of course I do, but why don't you tell us?
Narrator: Mary means "rebellion." Isn't that interesting?
Mary: Why do you say that?
Narrator: Well, it's very interesting in light of who you are, ma'am!
Mary: Rebellion may be my name; it wasn't my game! But we're getting ahead of ourselves here! Get on with the story, please. (Sits down, center stage)
Narrator: Oh, right you are. Well, young Miriam -- oops, I mean "modern Mary" -- was born in First Century Palestine, in a little backwater town called Nazareth. She was very much like most young girls of her time -- or of any time: If there had been shopping malls and 'N Sync concerts in her day, Mary would have been there with her girlfriends. (Joseph enters stage left; he and Mary hold hands) According to the custom of that time, when Mary reached her early teenage years her parents arranged for her marriage to Joseph, a local carpenter who was quite a few years older than Mary. (To audience) I wonder how many of you twenty-first century women would put up with that scenario?
Mary: Don't go there! Just get on with the story.
Narrator: You're right. Thanks! Well, before they could be married, Mary and Joseph had to be betrothed for a whole year. That meant they couldn't live together (Joseph exits stage right) and they had to behave! How 'bout them apples?
Mary: I said, don't go there!
Narrator: Ooops, sorry. Well, one night while Mary was still betrothed to Joseph, the Angel Gabriel appeared to her with some astonishing news.
(Gabriel enters stage left)
Gabriel: Hi, Miriam.
Mary: Mary.
Gabriel: Whatever. Mary, I've got news for you. You are greatly favored by God.
Mary: Really?
Gabriel: Really! God has chosen you for a special task: You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and his name will be Jesus. He will be the Son of the Most High God, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David, and his kingdom will have no end.
Mary: This is a favor? I'm engaged to Joseph, you know, and we have behaved. How can this be?
(Waldo enters stage right; he and Gabriel stand on either side of Mary)
Waldo: It can't be! Don't you see?
Mary: And who might you be?
Waldo: Waldo, the Warden of Worldly Wisdom, at your service, ma'am. (Hands her his card) Mary, you can't really believe this nonsense! The Son of God, indeed! And you, a virgin, conceiving in your womb! Why, nothing like that has ever happened in all of human history. It just doesn't make sense!
Gabriel: Don't listen to worldly wisdom, Mary.
Waldo: All right, then: What about biblical wisdom?
Gabriel: What about it?
Waldo: (Pulls out his Bible) Says here, in Jeremiah 22:30, that no man of the descendants of Jeconiah will sit on the throne of David.
Mary: So?
Waldo: So, look at your future husband's family tree, Mary. Joseph is a descendant of Jeconiah, so no son of his can inherit David's throne. (Turns to Gabriel) So, neener-neener-neener!
Gabriel: You didn't do your homework, Waldo. Jesus will trace his lineage back to David through Nathan, and there's no curse on Nathan's line.
Waldo: Nathan? How does Jesus connect with Nathan?
Gabriel: (Points to Mary) Through his earthly mother. Jesus gets his blood right to David's throne through Mary, and his legal right to the throne through Joseph, his adoptive father. The virgin birth of Jesus guarantees that one of David's line will sit upon his throne and rule forever, while it keeps intact the curse on the line of Jeconiah.
Mary: Wait a minute! Enough of these legalisms, already! What I want to know is this: How in the world can all this happen?
Waldo: Exactly right, my dear! How can you conceive, when you know not any man? It isn't logical. It isn't believable. (Comes close to Mary's face) And Joe the carpenter will never believe it!
Gabriel: Mary, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High God will overshadow you; and for that reason, the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God. For nothing will be impossible with God!
Mary: Gee, I don't know. It just doesn't make sense!
Waldo: Right you are, my dear! Use common sense. Lean on your buddy Waldo, the Warden of Worldly Wisdom.
Gabriel: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Mary: Hmmm. Waldo, my buddy, you know what?
Waldo: What, my dear?
Mary: I think I'm going to take Gabe's advice. (Turns to Gabriel) Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.
Waldo: (Exits stage right) Curses! Foiled again.
Narrator: And even though her name means "rebellion," Mary trusted in the Lord ... and aren't we glad she did?
Mary: There's a message here for all of us. As Jesus liked to say: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
As often happens in this business, the following play kind of wrote itself. That's my cowardly way of apologizing to those of you who may be offended by the somewhat smart-alecky persona of Mary in this piece. But I do believe with all my heart that Mary was:
... a little girl who had a little curl,
right in the middle of her forehead --
and when she was good, she was very, very good,
and when she was bad, she was horrid.
And what an interesting paradox it is that Mary's very name means "rebellion" in Hebrew!
Throughout human history, our God of paradox has used ordinary people like Mary -- and like you and me --Òto accomplish his extraordinary purpose of reconciling us to himself. The wonder of it all is that Mary chose to say, "Yes," to the outlandishly foolish and improbable invitation to bear the Son of God in her womb. In the face of worldly wisdom which said that this scenario was impossible and/or scandalous, Mary chose to trust in the Lord with all her heart, and lean not unto her own understanding. We -- and all of humankind -- are the beneficiaries of her decision.
Hail, Mary!
Cast
Narrator
Mary
Joseph
Angel Gabriel
Waldo, the Warden of Worldly Wisdom
Props/Costumes
Waldo -- business card, Bible
(Narrator is on stage)
Narrator: This is a true story about trust ... it's the ultimate trust-story, about a young Jewish girl who was called to trust an outlandishly improbable and foolish invitation. (Mary enters stage left) This young girl was named Miriam.
Mary: Excuse me! I prefer the modern form of my name: Mary.
Narrator: Miriam, Mary ... whatever. Do you know what your name means in Hebrew?
Mary: Of course I do, but why don't you tell us?
Narrator: Mary means "rebellion." Isn't that interesting?
Mary: Why do you say that?
Narrator: Well, it's very interesting in light of who you are, ma'am!
Mary: Rebellion may be my name; it wasn't my game! But we're getting ahead of ourselves here! Get on with the story, please. (Sits down, center stage)
Narrator: Oh, right you are. Well, young Miriam -- oops, I mean "modern Mary" -- was born in First Century Palestine, in a little backwater town called Nazareth. She was very much like most young girls of her time -- or of any time: If there had been shopping malls and 'N Sync concerts in her day, Mary would have been there with her girlfriends. (Joseph enters stage left; he and Mary hold hands) According to the custom of that time, when Mary reached her early teenage years her parents arranged for her marriage to Joseph, a local carpenter who was quite a few years older than Mary. (To audience) I wonder how many of you twenty-first century women would put up with that scenario?
Mary: Don't go there! Just get on with the story.
Narrator: You're right. Thanks! Well, before they could be married, Mary and Joseph had to be betrothed for a whole year. That meant they couldn't live together (Joseph exits stage right) and they had to behave! How 'bout them apples?
Mary: I said, don't go there!
Narrator: Ooops, sorry. Well, one night while Mary was still betrothed to Joseph, the Angel Gabriel appeared to her with some astonishing news.
(Gabriel enters stage left)
Gabriel: Hi, Miriam.
Mary: Mary.
Gabriel: Whatever. Mary, I've got news for you. You are greatly favored by God.
Mary: Really?
Gabriel: Really! God has chosen you for a special task: You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and his name will be Jesus. He will be the Son of the Most High God, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David, and his kingdom will have no end.
Mary: This is a favor? I'm engaged to Joseph, you know, and we have behaved. How can this be?
(Waldo enters stage right; he and Gabriel stand on either side of Mary)
Waldo: It can't be! Don't you see?
Mary: And who might you be?
Waldo: Waldo, the Warden of Worldly Wisdom, at your service, ma'am. (Hands her his card) Mary, you can't really believe this nonsense! The Son of God, indeed! And you, a virgin, conceiving in your womb! Why, nothing like that has ever happened in all of human history. It just doesn't make sense!
Gabriel: Don't listen to worldly wisdom, Mary.
Waldo: All right, then: What about biblical wisdom?
Gabriel: What about it?
Waldo: (Pulls out his Bible) Says here, in Jeremiah 22:30, that no man of the descendants of Jeconiah will sit on the throne of David.
Mary: So?
Waldo: So, look at your future husband's family tree, Mary. Joseph is a descendant of Jeconiah, so no son of his can inherit David's throne. (Turns to Gabriel) So, neener-neener-neener!
Gabriel: You didn't do your homework, Waldo. Jesus will trace his lineage back to David through Nathan, and there's no curse on Nathan's line.
Waldo: Nathan? How does Jesus connect with Nathan?
Gabriel: (Points to Mary) Through his earthly mother. Jesus gets his blood right to David's throne through Mary, and his legal right to the throne through Joseph, his adoptive father. The virgin birth of Jesus guarantees that one of David's line will sit upon his throne and rule forever, while it keeps intact the curse on the line of Jeconiah.
Mary: Wait a minute! Enough of these legalisms, already! What I want to know is this: How in the world can all this happen?
Waldo: Exactly right, my dear! How can you conceive, when you know not any man? It isn't logical. It isn't believable. (Comes close to Mary's face) And Joe the carpenter will never believe it!
Gabriel: Mary, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High God will overshadow you; and for that reason, the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God. For nothing will be impossible with God!
Mary: Gee, I don't know. It just doesn't make sense!
Waldo: Right you are, my dear! Use common sense. Lean on your buddy Waldo, the Warden of Worldly Wisdom.
Gabriel: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Mary: Hmmm. Waldo, my buddy, you know what?
Waldo: What, my dear?
Mary: I think I'm going to take Gabe's advice. (Turns to Gabriel) Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.
Waldo: (Exits stage right) Curses! Foiled again.
Narrator: And even though her name means "rebellion," Mary trusted in the Lord ... and aren't we glad she did?
Mary: There's a message here for all of us. As Jesus liked to say: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
