Act III
The Tales of BART & ANDY
Have Spirit,
Will Travel
Or
To the Ends of the Earth
Or
The Holy Spirit Really
Gets Around!
By
Paul Dallgas-Frey
3.
The PLAYERS
BART & ANDY
Bartholomew and Andrew... yep,
again! The Holy Spirit has come – and amazing things are happening!
The TEACHER
She still knows everything!
The SETTING
The UPPER ROOM.
Same ol' Upper Room! We see a bare table this time, otherwise, the room is
empty. A reproduction of DaVinci's last Supper on the wall might be fun. If you
are really ambitious, you could recreate the painting with your actors, one or
two of them creating the various poses and then pasting them in with a photo editing program!
The PLAY Begins
Teacher Welcome back! And
look... we're back in the Upper Room again!
You
remember Bartholomew and Andrew – Bart & Andy – two of Jesus'
disciples. When we first met them they were hiding in here, remember? Jesus had
died and then 40 days later had gone up into heaven – and now they didn't
know what to do.
But
Jesus promised he would send the Holy Spirit!
And
that's just what he did – the Holy Spirit came! He came with the roar of
a mighty wind and fire, and filled the disciples with his power! We call that
day the Day of Pentecost.
Well,
now it's a little while after that...
And
the disciples have been busy, spreading the Good News of Jesus all through
Jerusalem and all around. And some amazing things have been happening –
people who were blind are seeing again, people who couldn't walk got up and
walked!
But
best of all, people were finding out that God is real – and that he loves
us very, very much!
So
now, let's see what's been going on with Bart & Andy!
[Bart & Andy come
bursting in – carrying two Cokes and a sack from McDonald's
(if you can warm it up so
the smell of McDonald's French fries fills the room...
that would be cruel! :O) )]
Bart [overflowing
with excitement!] Can you believe it!
Andy It's
a miracle!
Bart Unbelievable!
Andy Incredible!
Bart This
whole lunch for less than five dollars!!!
Andy What???
Bart Burgers,
fries and a Coke – all for less than a five dollars!! It's a miracle!!!
Andy [shaking
his head] Bart, you never cease to
amaze me!
Bart Huh?!
Andy Nevermind...
Let's eat – those fries smell amazing!
[opens the bag and begin
to dig into their burgers and fries, slurping Cokes loudly!]
Bart Hey,
Andy...
Andy What,
Bart?
Bart
You
gonna eat all your fries???
[Enter Teacher]
Teacher Ahem!
Bart What?!
Teacher Bart... Andy... you
know they didn't have McDonald's in your day!
Bart Burger
King?
Teacher Nope.
Andy Wendy's?
Pizza Hut??? Subway??? [teacher is quietly shaking her head 'no'] They had to have Subway – they're everywhere!
Bart What's
a subway, anyway???
Teacher It's a train
that goes underground... but, never mind that! C'mon, hand it over! [motions
for them to fork over the goods! Bart and Andy are pantomiming to each other
Ôwhat's a train?']
Here...
I brought you some nice cheese curds and goat's milk. [pulls out a greasy
package wrapped in cloth and a jug of goat's milk... I guess I should have you
told you all this before now!)]
Bart [sniffing
the goat's milk suspiciously] Got any
chocolate?
Teacher Sorry.
Bart Ketchup?
Teacher Sorry, no...
Enjoy your lunch!
Bart [half-heartedly] Thanks.
[Teacher exits. Bart
pulls a bag of fries out from under the table... hushes audience to keep quiet]
Bart [munching
on fry] Hey, Andy...
Andy [sharing
fries] What, Bart?
Bart Wasn't
that amazing?!!
Andy What
now??? These fries??? Those Big Macs we almost had???
Bart No!!!
What we've been doing the last few days!!!
Andy Ohhh!!! Totally!!!!
Bart The
blind can see!
Andy Cripples
can walk!
But
that's not the most amazing thing – just think of how many people have
been baptized!
Bart Hundreds!
Andy Thousands!
Bart Lots
even!
Andy And
now we all know that when we die – it's not the end – just like it
wasn't the end for Jesus. Jesus rose from the dead – and one day, so will
we – and we'll live with him forever!
Bart Amazing!
Andy
Stupendous!
[Pause]
Bart Hey,
Andy...
Andy What,
Bart?
Bart Our
little group isn't so little anymore! The Good News is spreading through all of
Jerusalem – and all around! It's spreading like wild fire!
Andy That's
because it IS a fire... well, sort of... the fire of the Holy Spirit!
[pause]
Bart [Thinking]
Hey, Andy...
Andy What,
Bart?
Bart It's
not us.
Andy Not
us, what?
Bart We're
not doing anything amazing.
Andy No?!
Bart Nope.
The blind seeing, the crippled walking... we're not doing it!
Andy We're
not?!
Bart No!
It's not us – it's the Holy Spirit!
Andy You're
right – it is the Holy
Spirit... working in us!
Bart Without
the Holy Spirit...
Andy ...
we'd still be hiding in this room!
Bart But
the Holy Spirit came, just like Jesus promised...
Andy ...
and now we're doing amazing things!
Bart You
mean together with the Holy Spirit we are doing amazing things!
Andy Yeah...
you can't see or hear a spirit...
Bart But
you can see and hear us!
Andy So
the Holy Spirit works through us!
Bart We
go where he sends us...
Andy And
speak the words he wants to speak! We make a pretty good team – the Holy
Spirit and us!
Bart Yea
Holy Spirit!!!
[Munch a little on their
cheese curds and goat's milk... yum!]
Bart Hey,
Andy...
Andy What,
Bart?
Bart That
was pretty amazing!
Andy Now
what?!
Bart Philip!
Andy Philip???
Bart The
story he told! Of how the Holy Spirit used him!
Andy Oh,
yeah! It was amazing!
Bart Hey...
Andy!
Andy What,
Bart?
Bart Let's
act it out! You can pretend you're the Ethiopian, and I can be Philip... want
to...?
Andy I
don't know...
Bart Come
on!
Andy [hesitating] Oh...
Bart It'll
be fun!
Andy Oh...
all right.
Bart Okay!!!
Let's see... here, [pulling a chair out into the center of the room] this will be your chariot. Remember, Philip told us
the Holy Spirit sent him to speak to someone riding in a chariot.
Andy Yeah...
but remember, this wasn't just some ordinary someone – he was a powerful
official in the court of the QUEEN of Ethiopia... so I wouldn't be driving some cheap two door model
chariot! I'd be driving a luxury model!
Bart Of
course! Covered in gold and expensive cloth...
Andy That's
sounds good!
Bart Four
camel drive.... Dual exhaust...
Andy Huh???
Bart With
built in GPS navigation and DVD players for the kids!
Andy What?!!!
Bart Sorry...
I must have been dreaming there for a second! Anyway... [grabbing the chair.
Sizing up Andy's chariot in admiration]
That's one fancy chariot!
Andy Thanks!
Bart Hey,
Andy...
Andy What,
Bart?
Bart Where's
Ethiopia?
Andy It's
at the end of the earth! Remember how God led Moses and our people out of
Egypt? Ethiopia is even farther away than that! You go all the way down through
Egypt and then hang a left!
Bart That
is far away!!!
...okay, so let's see, where were we? Oh yeah... Philip
said he was in Samaria – telling the people there all about God....
Andy He
was spreading the Good News about Jesus!
Bart But
then the Holy Spirit told him to go down to the desert road, the road that goes
down from Jerusalem to Egypt. He told him he would see a chariot there...
Andy That
was the Ethiopian! He came all the way from Ethiopia to worship in the temple
in Jerusalem, and now he was on his way back home... he must have really wanted
to find God – but he needed someone to guide him.
Bart Like
the Holy Spirit!
Andy We
all need the Holy Spirit to help us know God!
Bart Okay...
So you are the Ethiopian... [Andy strikes an aloof pose, nose in the air... very
official! Bouncing along in a chariot.]
That's
good!
Andy I
am very powerful - don't you forget it!
Bart Okay...
and I'm Philip, and I come running along side, just like the Holy Spirit said I
should do. [Begins to jog in place alongside the 'chariot']
Andy I
was reading from the Book of Isaiah [pantomimes reading from a iPad]
Bart What
are you doing???
Andy All
those scrolls are just too big and bulky to carry in a chariot... so I have all
the scriptures on this handy little electronic device...
Bart Andy...
what are you talking about??!!
Andy Oh...
sorry! I had the craziest dream lat night! You could put all the Scriptures in
something you could hold in your hand!
Bart That'll
never happen!!!
Andy That's
for sure!!! The books of the Scripture are written on a large scrolls... [Pantomimes
picking the scroll of Isaiah from a pretend collection] Here... here's the book of Isaiah...
Bart That's
better!
Andy So...
I was reading from Isaiah... [collects himself, opens the scroll and begins to
read...]
"He
was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
like
a lamb before the shearer he was silent."
Bart [as
Philip] Do you understand what you
are reading?
Andy [as
the Ethiopian] How can I? I don't
have anyone to help me!
Bart I
can help you!
Andy Well,
then get in my chariot and show me! [Bart pulls up the other chair next to
Andy. They both bounce up and down together for a bit].
Now...
this part I was reading in Isaiah... it talks about someone being sacrificed... like
a lamb... who is Isaiah talking about?
Bart He
was talking about Jesus! Jesus was sacrificed for us. Jesus died on the cross
to pay the price for our sins!
[Pantomimes
picking up another scroll and turning to another part in the Scripture] See this part here?
Andy Yeah...
I never could understand it...
Bart It's
talking about Jesus! [picks up another scroll] And this part here, this part about the Messiah...
Andy I
don't understand that part either!
Bart It's
talking about Jesus! [reaches down for another scroll] And this part here...
Andy Let
me guess... it's talking about this Jesus too!
Bart Yep,
Jesus! It's ALL about Jesus! Jesus is the One God promised he would send to
save us from our sins, so we can live with him in heaven forever!
Andy What
do I have to do to live forever with Jesus?!
Bart Believe
and be baptized!
Andy Look!
There's some water! What's to stop me from being baptized right now!
Bart Nothing
at all!
[as
himself] So the Ethiopian stopped his
chariot right there and they went down into the water – and Philip
baptized him right then and there! He baptized him in the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Andy [as
himself] And then, when I came up
from the water...
[As the Ethiopian, looking around, bewildered] Where'd he go?
Where'd he go?!
Bart [as
himself] Just like that - Philip was
gone! The Holy Spirit took him away!
Andy That
must have been a little freaky!
Bart Totally!
Andy But
I went on my way rejoicing – now I had the joy of the Holy Spirit too!
And
I brought the Good News all the way to Ethiopia!
Bart All
the way to the ends of the earth!
[slight pause]
Bart Hey,
Andy...
Andy What
Bart?
Bart Remember
what Jesus said, just before he went up into heaven, when he said he would send
the Holy Spirit?
Andy What?
Bart He
said we would receive power from the Holy Spirit, and we would be his witnesses
in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth!
And
that's just what's happening!
Andy Yeah...
and I remember now, the prophet Isaiah said the same thing! He said, ÔI will
make you a light to the Gentles, that you will bring my saving grace to the
ends of the earth!
Bart WOW!
Our God really is a Great God!
Andy He
sure is!
[Enter Teacher. She has
goodies - Hostess Twinkies. You'll see why!]
Teacher Well, the Holy
Spirit sure is doing some exciting things!
Bart Yes
he is!
Andy He
wants the whole world to know how
much God loves us!
Teacher Oh, and I think
maybe... just maybe... he wanted me to bring you these! [gives them each a
Twinkie]
Bart
What
are these?!!!
Teacher Hostess
Twinkies! They are delicious... soft yellow cake with a creamy filling!
Bart Hey!
Sort of like us! ...with the Holy Spirit inside!
Teacher [laughs] Well... maybe! Sort of! But Twinkies haven't been invented
yet... so don't tell anyone!
Andy Thanks!
Bart Hey
Andy...
Andy What,
Bart?
Bart We've
got more work to do! There are still lots of people who don't know about Jesus!
Andy We
better get to work!
Bart With
the Holy Spirit's help!
[They run off]
Teacher There they go
again! They really are letting the Holy Spirit take them wherever he leads!
[ad
lib... Just some ideas to consider... I am sure you have better ones!] Do you know what your spirit is? You can't see it or
touch it. It's like it's inside you... but it is you! Your body is always changing – you don't
have the same body you had when you were a baby! But you have the same
spirit. No matter how your body
changes, the same spirit is there - it's the part of you that will go to heaven
– and get a new body!
Your spirit is the part of you that makes you you.
The
Holy Spirit is kind of like that – The Holy Spirit is God, like your
spirit is you. And when we believe in Jesus, God's Holy Spirit comes to us
– it joins with our spirit [fingers intertwined] and lives in us, and with us.
And
the Holy Spirit wants to tell the world how much God loves us – and how
Jesus died so we can live with him forever.
The
Holy Spirit wants every single person to know Jesus!
But
because you can't see or hear the Holy Spirit, he needs our help! He needs our
feet and our voices! He needs us to go out into the world and tell everyone
about Jesus!
He
needs your voice to tell the
people you know about Jesus!
The
Holy Spirit will show you how – if you let him!
And
then some amazing things can happen!
A Couple of
References
Acts
1:8
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Isaiah 49:6
Says the Lord, "It is too small a thing for you
to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel
I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring
my salvation to the ends of the earth."
© 2011 Paul Dallgas-Frey
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