Jesus Is The
Reason For The Season
The
setting of this cantata/play is somewhat versatile. It can be portrayed as if
it happened in AD 1900, 2000 or anytime in between. Of course it would have to occur
after General Booth started the Salvation Army but after it tended more toward
social outreach than the spread of the gospel. It could be in a small village
or on a city street. The point being it
can be set in any situation where people enjoy the ambience of the season yet
have no knowledge of the Christ of Christmas.
The characters are:
Mother or Father
Son or Daughter (10 or 11 years)
Minstrel
Santa
Children (4-6 of them, various ages 6-11)
2 or 3 couples and
The Choir, which includes soloist, and various other
ensembles as well as the full choir.
The
scene opens with the hustle and bustle of the season; children scurrying about
in winter attire carrying ice skates, maybe a sled, etc., all excited about
being off from school and anticipating the surprises that they'll have very
soon when they open the packages setting under the tree at home, couples
carrying packages fresh from the store, a quartet quietly singing in the
background a medley of excerpts from seasonal songs but without the true message of Christmas (Jingle Bells, Frosty
the Snowman, Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer, et al) the quartet finishes. Then
the Minstrel enters at one side, removes his hat and sets it on the ground. He
begins to sing “What Child Is This” but is interrupted by children who heckle
him and throw snowballs at him. A police officer shows up and asks him to
leave, which he does quietly with nothing but a respectful "yes sir".
Mother
and Son enter. Son marvels at all that he sees and hears:
|
Son: |
Mother,
this time of the year is so glorious, what with the decorations, lights and all. |
|
Mother: |
Yes,
dear, it is quite a nice time. |
|
Son: |
Did
you notice how everybody seems so nice. It's hard to believe that anybody
could not be happy this time of the year. |
|
Mother: |
Well,
I suppose I have met a few but those are usually unhappy no matter what time
of year. Nevertheless, I must agree, on the whole, most people are full of
good will and cheer. Oh dear, did you
hear? I made a rhyme without even trying. There I go again. |
|
Son: |
Yes,
Mother, you really seem to be getting into the spirit of the season. |
Minstrel
has entered again, and sets his hat down. He begins a quiet spiritual version
of "Hark the Herald Angel Sing".
Mother and Son stop to listen, the little boy puts out a hand to his
mother, she gives him a coin which he throws in the Minstrels hat. Minstrel
says thank you and continues to quietly hum the melody. Mother and Son continue
on by, Minstrel walks to the side humming,
|
Son: |
Mother,
that was a beautiful song, if ever I heard one. |
|
Mother: |
Yes
dear, it is quite lovely. |
|
Son: |
But,
Mother. |
|
Mother: |
Yes? |
|
Son: |
That
song, I wonder what it was about. Which reminds me... |
|
Mother: |
Reminds
you of what, dear? |
|
Son: |
Well,
this time of year; The decorations, The songs, The presents. What does it all
mean? Why do we do all this? |
|
Mother: |
Well,
it is just what we do, dear. |
Santa
enters
|
Santa: |
Ho ho ho...seasons greetings ...ho
ho ho... |
|
Son: |
Mother,
he seems extremely happy. Maybe he knows what this is all about. |
|
Mother: |
Excuse
me, sir? |
|
Santa: |
Ho ho ho, yes? |
|
Mother: |
Sir,
we were wondering, my Son and I, if you could tell us about this time of
year. |
|
Santa: |
Ho ho ho, well, uh, what do you
mean? |
|
Son: |
What
is it all about? |
|
Santa: |
Ho ho ho, well, it's about
happiness, cheer, joy and goodness for goodness sake, er,
something like that. |
|
Mother: |
Thank
you, sir. Good evening |
|
Son: |
Mother? |
|
Mother: |
Yes
dear? |
|
Son: |
He
did not seem very confident of his answer. |
|
Mother: |
No,
he was not |
Enter Bell
Ringer, ringing bell, carrying a drum/bucket for collection of donations.
|
Son: |
Mother? |
|
Mother: |
Yes
dear? |
|
Son: |
Maybe
she knows. |
|
Mother: |
Excuse
me miss? |
|
|
Yes? |
|
Mother: |
We were
wondering, my Son and I, if you might tell us what exactly the celebration of
this time of year is all about? |
|
|
Well,
it's about love, and kindness, and giving... I think? |
|
Son: |
Thank
you, ma'am. |
|
Mother: |
Good
evening. |
|
Son: |
She
didn't seem any more confident than that extremely happy man with the funny
red suit and fake beard. |
|
Mother: |
Dear,
you should not be so judgmental about the way other people dress and act.
It's a free country and one might choose whatever is preferred to express the
spirit of the … the season...uhm |
|
Son: |
Which
brings us back to the question. What is the spirit of the season? What is
this whole thing all about? |
|
Mother: |
Well
... what about the minstrel? Maybe he
knows? |
|
Son: |
That
transient? A vagrant? He sings a pretty Song but what could he possibly know? |
|
Mother: |
Now
Son, you know what I have told you about belittling those who are less
fortunate than we. |
|
Son: |
Well,
I am sorry, maybe you are right. Maybe he knows something after all. |
|
Mother: |
Excuse
me sir, your song it was very beautiful... |
|
Minstrel:
|
Yes,
ma'am, a beautiful song, and thank you for your gift, but the song, it isn't mine.
It's an old song, written many years ago. |
|
Mother: |
Yes,
that is all very well. But, what we were wondering, my Son and I, was, uh...
well... |
|
Son: |
This
time of year; All the decorations, the goodwill and cheer, the giving of
gifts and charity. What exactly is it all about. Do you know? Could you tell
us? |
|
Minstrel: |
Why
of course, young sir and gentle lady, I would be most honored if you would
allow me to tell you the story. but this reminds me of when I was but a young
lad such as yourself. I saw all this as you see now and... well, let me tell
you what happened. |
MINSTREL: JESUS IS THE REASON
FOR THE SEASON
|
Mother: |
Well,
that is all very interesting. But I have heard of this man named Jesus though
I think his significance has waned to the point that he is not all that
important... |
|
Son: |
but
Mother, did you hear what this man called Jesus did? It sounds marvelous. But
who was he and where did he come from. |
|
Mother |
Well,
I do not know about all that but I suppose our minstrel might know. |
|
Minstrel: |
It
seems that more and more people don't know the story I'm sad to say. But,
still, there are some who do… |
A
Mixed Quartet forms form the passers-by and sings:
|
Son: |
But
sir, this savior named Jesus who came from glory, that is to say heaven, how
did he come. |
|
Minstrel: |
The prophet
Isaiah foretold hundreds of years before how it would come to pass. |
The
Choir, as a crowd that begins to grow around the main characters sings:
|
Mother: |
This
would seem impossible, for mere men to accomplish that is. |
|
Minstrel: |
Yes,
for man this is impossible, just as impossible as being saved and going to
heaven. But with God all things are possible. |
|
Son: |
Tell
us more, then, where and what were the circumstances of his birth. |
|
Minstrel: |
The gospel
as told by Luke tells it best. The angel Gabriel was sent ... To a virgin engaged
to a man whose name was Joseph, ... and the virgin's
name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, |
|
Gabriel
(a man in the crowd): |
Hail,
thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee:
blessed art thou among women. |
|
Minstrel: |
And
when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what
manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her. |
Gabriel: THOU
HAST FOUND FAVOUR
|
Minstrel: |
Then
said Mary unto the angel, |
|
Mary: |
How
shall this be, seeing I know not a man? |
Gabriel: THE HOLY GHOST SHALL
COME UPON THEE
|
Minstrel: |
And
Mary said, |
|
Mary: |
Behold
the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. |
|
Minstrel: |
And
the angel departed from her.(Then Mary went to visit her cousin Elisabeth,
who was also miraculously with child, though not by the Holy Ghost like Mary
was, but because Elisabeth and her
husband were very old.) And it came to pass, that when Elisabeth heard the
salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled
with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud
voice, |
Elisabeth: BLESSED ART THOU
Mary: MY SOUL DOTH
MAGNIFY THE LORD
Choir: THE SHEPHERDS
IN THE FIELD
Angel: I BRING YOU GOOD
TIDINGS
Minstrel: And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying.(Luke
Choir: GLORY TO GOD
IN THE HIGHEST
Minstrel: Then when the angels were gone away
from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us go even unto
Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made
known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the
babe lying in a manger.(Luke
Mother: I can scarcely imagine what must have
gone through the minds of those shepherds.
Mixed
Quartet: WHO
IS THIS CHILD
Mother: It seems to me that this great event
would be attended to by the most noble and mighty in the land. Did anybody else come to pay obeisance?
Minstrel: Not immediately. But a year or two
later some notable people showed up.
Son: Better late than never I guess.
Minstrel: Well, you need to understand that they
didn't have cars or trains (or airplanes) back then so it took a while. But the
scripture tells us this about it: Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea
in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to
Choir: THE WISE MEN
FROM THE EAST
Mother: And well they should give gifts unto
so great a person
Minstrel: Amen!
Son: Yes, that's what I like about this time of
year, the presents, as well as the rest of it, but especially the things I get
from my grand parents, uncles, aunts and all it is
all most enjoyable. And of course, as I have said before, everybody is so nice
and charitable. And the parties, decorations ... and all that makes up this
time of year. I truly do love it.
Minstrel: Yes, that's all very nice, but let me
tell you what I love about Christmas.
Minstrel: I LOVE CHRISTMAS
Mother: But how does one, as you say, receive
this gift from God?
Minstrel: Well, it's so simple a very young child
can understand it. You see, as one great preacher said, God put it on the
bottom shelf, so that everyone could reach it. First, you need to know that
you're a sinner Romans
Mother: Without a doubt, even at our best, I
can see that we are each and every one of us, sinners. And so I must admit that
I am a sinner.
Minstrel: Amen. Next, you must believe that Jesus
died for you. You see, the Christmas story doesn't stop with the wise men
leaving. It goes on all the way to a hill called
Son: So, why exactly did he die? And why does
anybody have to die, for that matter?
Minstrel: Well, again, the book of Romans chapter
5 verse 12 says: "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered the world, and
death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
You see, it's like this, if your Mother/Father and father are human beings then
don't you think that when they have children that those children will be human
beings?
Son: But of course.
Minstrel: Well, Adam and Eve both sinned and both
of them died because of their sin. Then doesn't it make sense that all of their
children would be sinners and die?
Mother: Without a doubt.
Minstrel: You see, death is the payment for sin,
as the scripture tells us in Romans
Son: So, all of us deserve to die for even one
little sin.
Minstrel: Exactly, So, now that you believe these
things, Romans 10:9 tell us what to do about it; "That if thou shalt
confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved."
Son: So, all I have to do is ask and God will
give me eternal life?
Minstrel: That's right!
Son: Mother,
do you want to ask Jesus to save you right now?
Mother: Of course, let's ask him
together.
Mother and Son kneel, with eyes closed and heads bowed.
Mother
and Son: Jesus, I know I am a sinner
and deserve to die, but I believe that you died for me so that I could go to
heaven. Please, save me. Thank you. Amen.
Minstrel: Amen! Now, the best way to show
thanks to him is by living for him and telling others about what he has done
for you. It's such a great gift that some times you
can't even explain it. That's why the Apostle Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 9:15
"thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."
Minstrel/Choir: THANKS
BE TO GOD
Son: This is too good to celebrate just once a
year. We should celebrate throughout all the year.
All
players: JESUS IS
THE REASON FOR THE SEASON