And For My Next Sunday ...

 

Sunday school begins again at my church (Bethany Lutheran Church of Minot, North Dakota) and once again I will be teaching Parable Playhouse, our rotation Sunday school class where kids get to handle puppets to reinforce a Bible story – and often put their own spin on it! This reminds me of a few years ago when we had a lesson on The Good Samaritan, and after we finished the play with human puppets the young lady who'll be my teaching assistant this year rep … I'm sorry, one can only succeed Krista. Anyway, Dalyce came up with the idea since we had time to reenact the play with animals. I believe a fox was the Samaritan and the puppeteer helped the hen.

Although there's a plethora of plays available on the Rotation website (www.rotation.org) I'm not a fan of them because it would be for me too easy to use something off there I could print at the last minute. Because I originally studied to be a schoolteacher (and why I'm not one now is a long story) and I also grew up learning and studying the Bible – written four Bible studies already – I learn more from writing what we need for Parable Playhouse myself and seeing how the students (ok, the kids) interpret it and even needing some help with it make me look at something in a new way. Challenges like this are what keep me coming to church Sunday after Sunday. Seriously.

I got this typed up yesterday and I'm so proud and relieved it's done! Of course, and I will emphasize this as Karn who's currently in charge of our church's Sunday school program (and has been active in some role within it since 1965) gets the manuscript in her hot little hands, I may find out ten minutes after class starts that I did not plan for some spacing or some props I wanted to use are missing and Psalm 23 – that's the Old Testament passage that begins “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want” – might lend itself to some more action than I had anticipated … hey, this will work! Now I just need to find Psalm 23 sung in Hebrew (the original language of the Old Testament), because a psalm is a song, and to hear it as it was originally sung, oh, three thousand years ago, might give us some new insights!

Nine thirty in the morning, Central Standard Time. Bring your friends, bring your kids, bring yourselves, we would love to have you!

David

P.S. Psalm 23 is rendered in the play below as the translation from Today's English Version – it's the Bible the kids in my class will have to read from.

THE FIGHTING TWENTY-THIRD

SHEPHERD AND FOUR SHEEP

SHEPHERD: (working his way around the SHEEP) It's not easy being a shepherd.

SHEEP #1: (to SHEPHERD)You think it's easy being a sheep?

SHEEP #2: WE'RE the ones that give our wool,

SHEEP #3: we're the ones that get offered for sacrifice,

SHEEP #4: the ones you cook, kill, and eat –

SHEPHERD: (interrupts the SHEEP) Wait a minute, that's not true!

SHEEP #4: (sarcastic) Oh right, I'm out of order! You KILL us, then cook us, and then eat us!

SHEPHERD is about to say something, and pauses with mouth open.

SHEPHERD walks around and begins to hum.

SHEEP #1: (to SHEPHERD) What's that your humming?

SHEPHERD: Oh, I was just thinking.

SHEEP #2: That's dangerous! (SHEEP #2 looks to other sheep and giggles.)

 

 

SHEPHERD: I'm serious! Just like I'm the shepherd who makes sure you have what you need –

SHEEP #4: (interrupts) before we get killed, cooked, and eaten.

SHEEP #3: (to SHEEP #4) Hush!

 

 

SHEPHERD: (continues) – the Lord is my shepherd! (pauses) But … I'm a shepherd too, aren't I?

SHEEP #1: And I'm a shepherd,

 

 

SHEEP #2: and you're a shepherd,

 

 

SHEEP #3: Don't you want to be a shepherd too? (Laughter breaks out.)

 

 

SHEEP #4: (stick out his or her tongue) Oh that was baaaaaaaaaaad!

SHEEP #1: Guys, I'm just hungry, let me dig into some grass … (SHEEP #1 bends down and others are about to join him; SHEEP #2 leans too far and falls over)

 

 

SHEEP #2: OW!

 

 

SHEPHERD AND SHEEP: Are you ok? (Reach over to SHEEP #2 and help them to their feet.)

SHEEP #2: (shakes himself, like a dog drying off) I'm good, just glad I landed in the grass not in the dirt or the water! There's a lot of all this.

 

 

SHEPHERD: (inspired) “The LORD is my shepherd, I … have all I need.” (SHEEP look at SHEPHERD like he or she is dotty and they need to connect the dots.)

 

 

SHEEP #1: (to SHEPHERD) You ok, boss?

SHEPHERD: (slowly) Sure, I'm fine. (looking around at the grass and the water, then sits down) “He lets me rest in fields of green grass … and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water.”

 

 

SHEEP #2: (to SHEPHERD) Baa! That you do, boss, that you do!

 

 

SHEPHERD: (to SHEEP) But there's more than that. (SHEPHERD gets up and SHEEP follow, back from water to center of room and advance toward wall.) What else does the LORD do? He's my shepherd,

 

 

SHEEP #1: He provides everything I need,

 

 

SHEEP #2: He lets me rest in fields of green grass,

 

 

SHEEP #3: He leads me to quiet pools of fresh water.

SHEEP #4: (stretches and yawns as he says this, loudly) He gives me new strength …

SHEPHERD: (snaps his fingers) That's great, we'll add that too! (SHEPHERD counts off on his fingers as he leads the sheep from behind them, making sure they're all in a line) “He gives me new strength. He guides me in the right paths, as he has promised.”

 

 

SHEPHERD and SHEEP are walking toward the door and teacher turns the light off.

SHEEP #1: Hey, what happened?

 

 

SHEEP #2: (bumped into SHEEP #1) Ouch!

SHEEP #3: Hey, what's the big idea?

SHEEP #4: The lights went out! Hey (SHEEP #4 says to SHEPHERD), where were you in the lights went out.

SHEPHERD: In the dark! Calm down, calm down … just follow me (SHEPHERD reaches out with staff) and we'll be fine.

 

 

SHEPHERD: (taps wall with staff and says, slow at first) Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, LORD, for you are with me.

SHEPHERD and SHEEP head out into hallway (adjust this for the room you operate in) and the roar of a lion is heard. Then the howl of a wolf is heard inside the classroom.

SHEEP #1: (to everybody, looking around) What's that?

SHEEP #2: It means we're stuck – we can't go forward,

 

 

SHEEP #3: we can't go back,

 

 

SHEEP #4: and we can't stay here.

 

 

SHEPHERD: (breaking up the SHEEP's bleating, a bit angry) We can ALWAYS move forward, and we will! (SHEPHERD raises his rod and bring it down on the head of the lion.)

 

 

SHEPHERD: (to SHEEP) “Your shepherd's rod and staff protect me.” (SHEPHERD herds sheep into kitchen area and they slowly walk through, SHEEP baah-ing very softly.)

SHEPHERD: “You prepare a banquet for me, where all my enemies can see me; you welcome me as an honored guest and fill my cup to the brim.” (to SHEEP) Anybody thirsty? (SHEPHERD offers water.)

SHEPHERD: (after they have finished, proceed with sheep through the front of the kitchen into family area, and back to room) “I know that your goodness and love will be with me all my life; and your house will be my home as long as I live.”

 

 

SHEEP #1-4: (as one) Wow.

 

 

SHEPHERD whacks wolf on head with staff.

 

 

SHEPHERD: Now that's a song. I'm not going to ask you to sing it, but I will ask you to remember it. Can we do that?

 

 

SHEEP: Sure we can!

 

 

SHEPHERD: Ok, say it with me: (to SHEEP 1) “The LORD is my shepherd;”

 

 

SHEEP 1: “The LORD is my shepherd;”

 

 

SHEPHERD: (to SHEEP 2) “I have everything I need.”

 

 

SHEEP 2: “I have everything I need.”

 

 

SHEPHERD: (to SHEEP 3) “He lets me rest in fields of green grass”

SHEEP 3: “He lets me rest in fields of green grass”

SHEPHERD: (to SHEEP 4) “and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water.”

SHEEP 4: “and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water.”

SHEPHERD: (to SHEEP): That's a great job! Not baa-ad! (pause) Ok, no more jokes. Let's finish it together:

 

 

SHEPHERD AND SHEEP: He gives me new strength. He guides me in the right paths, as he has promised.

Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, LORD, for you are with me. Your shepherd's rod and staff protect me.

You prepare a banquet for me, where all my enemies can see me; you welcome me as an honored guest and fill my cup to the brim.

I know that your goodness and love will be with me all my life; and your house will be my home as long as I live.

SHEPHERD: Thank You God.

THE END

© 2013 David Alvin