- Jesus Drama  (1. Jesus' Birth) -

  Biblical References : Luke 2:1-20

  Characters : baby Jesus / Mary / Joseph
                    angel (angels)
                    shepherds 1, 2, 3
                    inn-keeper
                    Roman soldier
                    guest 1, 2, 3
                  (animals)

  Backdrop ; Inn
                  Sable
                  Field


[Scene 1]

People are talking in front of the inn and a Roman soldier is walking around,
announcing the census.

soldier : To all the people of Bethlehem,
        a census is taking place here.
        All men who are descendants of David
        must register for the census.

Three people speak to each other as they walk towards the inn.

Guest 1 : I've never seen so many people in Bethlehem before.

Guest 2 : Why are they taking a census?
          Are they planning to send us to war?

Guest 3 : Quiet yourself!
          Rome is trying to figure out the number of men
          from all the nations it has conquered.

Guest 1 : And then Rome is going to use us
          for soldiers and workers.

Guest 2 : Use us to serve for Rome?
          But it's not like we could avoid the census and run away.

Guest 3 : Run away?
          Do you want to get into trouble?
          Come, let us find an inn to stay for the night.
          With so many people gathered here in Bethlehem,
          we might not even be able get a room.

The three people hurry inside the inn.

Inn-keeper : Welcome.
        How may I help you?

Guest 1 : We need a room to stay for the night.

Inn-keeper : I have just one room left.
        You are very fortunate.

Guest 2 : The last one left?
        If we came any later we wouldn't have been so lucky!

Inn-keeper : Now the only place left to escape the cold night
        is that stable over there.

Animal sounds are heard from the stable.

(Animals : sounds of cows mooing, horses neighing,
        and crickets chirping can be heard)

At that time Joseph, holding Mary by the hand, walks towards the inn.

Joseph : Sir, my wife is about to have a child,
      do you have a room where we can stay for the night?

Mary : (wrapping her hands around her stomach)
      I'm starting to feel the pain.
      Please is there an empty room?

The inn-keeper and the guests look at each other
and then look up and down at Joseph and Mary,
both whom were tired from the journey
and were without money.

Inn-keeper : (with a reluctant expression)
        I'm sorry, but the inn is full.
        You're gonna have to look somewhere else.

Joseph : We have been to other places
        but they have no room, too.
        We have come a long way from the north of Nazareth,
        and I suppose we arrived late
        and lost our chance of getting a room.

Inn-keeper : It is pretty dark and cold right now, I'm sorry..
        I do have a stable, but..
        Do you mind staying in the stable for the night?

Joseph : Thank you for your kindness.

Mary : (weakly)
      Thank you.

As Joseph and Mary settle down inside the stable
the guests look at each other and start to talk.

Guest 1 : She's about to have a baby.
        Shouldn't we give up our room to them?

Guest 2 : What are you talking about?
          Aren't we as equally exhausted as they are?

Guest 3 : The wife did look like she was in awful pain..
          Now, let us get inside and get ready to sleep.

Inn-keeper : My guests,
          Please come in and rest.

(Sounds of the Roman soldier shouting can be heard from afar,
 and the lights from the inn and the stable go out.) 

soldier : All men must register for the census,
        all men must register...


[Scene 2]

Elsewhere, a group of shepherds were looking after their sheep
near the fields of Bethlehem and talking to each other.

Shepherd 1 : Hey, how about we take turns watching over the sheep,
        since its late into the night.

Shepherd 2 : Why don't you take a nap, first?
        We'll wake you up in about an hour or so later.

Shepherd 3 : Sure, I'll be first.
        Take care of the sheep, and be careful of the wolfs.

Shepherd 3 falls fast asleep
and shepherd 1 and 2 look after the sheep,
while quietly starting to sing praises to God.

Shepherd 1, 2 : "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want,"

(Suddenly an angel appears and stands among them
 and a bright light shines around them.

Shepherd 1 and 2 are taken by surprise and fall to their knees face-down,
shepherd 3 rubs his eyes and gets up
but is also surprised and falls back face-down.

Angel : Do not be afraid.
        I bring you good news of great joy
        that will be for all the people.

Shepherds : (looking at each other while still on their knees)
        What does he mean by the good news of great joy?

Angel : As God has promised a long time ago,
        a Savior is born in Bethlehem, the town of David.
        He is Christ the Lord.

Shepherd 1 : Christ the Lord is born in Bethlehem?

Shepherd 2 : How is Christ the Lord born in the poor and small town
          of Bethlehem and not in the big and glorious city of Jerusalem?

Shepherd 3 : How come you tell this great news to us poor shepherds
          and not to the king or the prophets and priests?

Angel : You are shepherds looking after the flock in the cold, dark night.
      The Lord watches over his people just as you watch over your flock.
      The Lord is a truly humble Lord.

Shepherds : The Lord is a truly humble Lord?

Angel : As it is written in the Scriptures the Lord is born
      not in a comfortable house
      but in a stable in the small town of Bethlehem.

Shepherds : The Lord is born in a stable?

Angel : When you enter Bethlehem
        you'll find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
        This will be proof that the newborn child is Christ.

(Then, suddenly, magnificent [angels'] voices singing praise to God
 were heard and the angel who was among them was also praising.
 The shepherds get up on their knees and watch)

 "Glory to god in the highest, and on earth
  peace to men on whom his favor rests."

(the sounds of praising fades away and the angels disappear.)

The shepherds get up and talk to each other about this.

Shepherd 1 : We should hurry to Bethlehem and see the child.

Shepherd 2 : Yes, we should hurry and see for ourselves
        what the angel has revealed to us.

Shepherd 3 : I know a stable that is next to an inn.
        We could start looking there.
        Alright, let's go!
        But, what about the sheep?
        The night is dark and the fields are dangerous.

Shepherd 1 : God will surely send his angels to watch over the flock
        while we go to Bethlehem to see what the Lord has told us about.
        Come on, let's go!


[Scene 3]

Baby Jesus is wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger
in the middle of the stable, behind him sat Mary and Joseph,
and around him were people who heard
that he was born and had come to see him.

The shepherds arrive at the stable, out of breath,
and see baby Jesus and talk to each other.

Shepherd 1 : The baby wrapped in cloths and lying in manger is
              Christ the Lord!

Shepherd 2 : It's just as the angel has told us!

Shepherd 3 : Let us kneel before our Christ the Lord and worship him.

When Mary, Joseph, the inn-keeper and the guests saw
the shepherds hurry into the stable
and bow down before baby Jesus they were surprised.

The shepherds got up their feet and the people began to talk to them.

Inn-keeper : What is the meaning of this?
        A baby is born in a manger,
        and then the night sky becomes brighter..

Guest 1 : Who are you?
        Why do you come running here
        and bowing down to this newborn baby?

Guest 2 : Yes, why are you worshipping the newborn child?

Guest 3 : And how did you know this place?

Shepherd 1 : We are shepherds taking care of the flocks
          in the fields of Bethlehem.
          We were watching over the sheep
          when all of a sudden everything turned bright and an angel appeared.

Shepherd 2 : That's right.
          An angel appeared to us
          and revealed the good news of great joy,
          which is that Christ the Lord has been born in Bethlehem.

Shepherd 3 : He also said that Christ the Lord is such a humble Lord
          that he will not be born in a big and glorious city like Jerusalem
          but in a poor and small town of Bethlehem.

Shepherd 1 : And to prove he is Christ the Lord
          the angel told us that the baby would be wrapped
          in cloths and lying in a manger.

Shepherd 2 : Not only that,
          but a legion of angels appeared from the heavens and sang,
          "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
          peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Shepherd 3 : And that's why we rushed here
          to find out what the Lord was talking about.

When Joseph, Mary, the inn-keeper and the guests all heard this,
they were all surprised and knelt before baby Jesus,
and got up and expressed apologies to Mary and Joseph.

Inn-keeper : I have made a big mistake.
          I should have gave my room to you.
          I'm terribly sorry.

Guests : (altogether)
          We have also been rude.
          We should have gave up our room..

Joseph : It's okay.
          To be honest, even we didn't know the baby would be born
          in a stable.

Mary, Joseph, the inn-keeper and the guests and the shepherds
who were in the stable began to praise the Lord.

 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
 peace to men on whom his favor rests."

 "Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!
  O' God, thank you,
  thank you, God. ~~
  You have sent Christ the Lord to us just as You have promised.
  O' Lord, we thank you ~~
  Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!"

Everyone was joyful and gave thanks and looked at each other,
laughing and in high spirits.

The shepherds kindly asked Mary and Joseph.

Shepherd 1 : May I ask what name you gave to Him?

Shepherd 2 : The angel only told us that Christ the Lord would
              be born but did not give us the name.

Shepherd 3 : We want to know the good news and great joy of
              our Lord's name.

Mary : His name is Jesus.
        It was given to me by an angel of the Lord
        when I was only engaged to Joseph and did not live together.

Everyone was surprised and looked at each other.

Joseph : When we were only engaged and not yet together
      an angel appeared to her
      and said to her that she'll have a baby
      through the Holy Spirit of the Lord.

Everyone : (is surprised and nods heads)
      So that's how it happened!

Joseph : And then not long after that,
      an angel appeared to me too and told me the same thing.
      Even if the whole world doesn't know,
      Mary and I for sure know this.
      (looks up into the skys and then back at the surrounding people)
      That baby Jesus was not born through me
      but through the Holy Spirit of the Lord.

Everyone again worships baby Jesus.

Everyone was greatly joyful
but at the same time were expressing apologies to Mary and Joseph.

Inn-keeper : Allow me to prepare a room for baby Jesus.
        Food will also be ready,
        and everyone is invited to celebrate Jesus's birth!

Guests : No, no,
        We'll give up our room for baby Jesus.

Inn-keeper : That's unnecessary,
        I'll give my room to them.

Shepherd 1 : I'm glad everything is well.
        I've seen with my own eyes the Saviour, our Lord,
        and a room with hot water and food is prepared for him,
        and I'm all the more happy.
        Now then, we should head back to the fields and tend our flocks.

Inn-keeper : Leaving already?
        Rest and have some food with us.

Shepherd 2 : We'd really like to,
        but the Lord would surely want us to go back into the fields
        and watch over the sheep.

Shepherd 3 : We should hurry back now.
        Let's get a move on!

The shepherds hurried back into the fields,
praising God along the way,
and the rest of the people were filled with joy and thankfulness
and brought baby Jesus into the inn.