"In God’s House"
A three-act worship comedy

Drama presented December 28, 2003
Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Glen Arm, Maryland USA
based upon Luke 2:41-52 and Colossians 3:12-17 

Order of Worship

         All three portions of this drama take place in a car - with three seats up front diagonally placed so that all participants can be see by the congregation. The mother (M) is in the drivers seat in the first two acts, with the father (D) beside her. In the third act, they trade places. The son (S) is seated in the "back" seat of the car behind the parents (though clearly visible to all due to the diagonal placement of the chairs). He (S) is not in the second act.

Act One

S - Dad?

D- What, son?

S - Are we almost there?

D- Almost... I think.

S - You don’t know?

D- Well, your mother is driving.

S - Huh?

M - What your father is trying to say is that he doesn’t know.

S - Why don’t you know, Dad?

D- I’ve never been to where we’re going before.

S - Mom has?

D- Yes, she has. These are her relatives.

M - You remember Uncle Joe and Aunt Betty, don’t you?

S - No.

M - Sure you do. Actually, they’re my aunt and uncle, but we’ve been to their home many times.

S - Is that the place with the little "hot dog" dog?

M - Yes, I thought you’d remember.

D - Who could forget that yappy mutt!

M - You never did like that dog, did you, dear?

S - He did bark a lot, didn’t he Dad?

D - (mumbling) Just like his mistress.

M - Hush! That’s no way to speak, especially after Christmas.

D - Well, she does go on and on and on.

M - Just because you prefer to plant yourself in front of the TV whenever we visit...

D - Bowl games weren’t meant for conversation.

S - But, Dad, you always talk to the television during a game.

D - That’s different. You don’t see Uncle Joe chattering away in the second half.

M - No, usually by then he’s snoring away.

S - (loudly imitates Uncle Joe’s snoring)

D - (laughs) That’s about right.

S - Dad, we’ve been to their house before. How come you don’t know how long till we get there?

M - Because we’re meeting them at their church this time.

S - Their church?

M - Yes, we thought we’d go to church together.

D - Your mother thought it would be a good idea.

S - You didn’t, Dad?

D - Well, yes ... but ... err ... I ... it’s ... (stumbling for words)

M - What your father is trying to say is that his wife is a very wise woman.

D - Whom I listen to ... some of the time.

S - Is this church like our church?

M - Well, kind of.

S - Will they have a children’s story?

M - I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see.

S - Will Dad sing there like he does at our church?

D - What do you mean?

M - I know exactly what he means. Yes, son, your Dad will sing all the notes - just not at the same time as everyone else.

D - Are you implying that I don’t know how to sing?

M - Not at all! You are just a ‘creative’ singer.

S - Like I was being ‘creative’ when I forgot to take off my muddy boots in the house last week?

M - Sort of like that, yes.

D - Gee, I get no respect in this family.

M - We love you, dear!

S - Will we be going to Sunday School, too?

D - Well, no.

S - We’re not going to Sunday School? That’s the best part.

D - Son, it’s not our church. The only people we know there are Joe and Betty.

S - Why go to church if you don’t go to Sunday School?

M - The truth is, dear, that more relatives are going to be coming to Uncle Joe and Aunt Betty’s home this afternoon, and she needs to get home as soon as possible after church to get ready.

D - Yes, son, there’s going to be a big meal. All sorts of good stuff. Your Mom is going to help get ready.

M - So is your father!

S - But why can’t we go to Sunday School. Doesn’t that happen before church, like where we go?

M - No, this church is a little different. Sunday School comes after worship here.

S - Can’t we stay?

D - Listen to your mother, son. She’s the ‘wise one.’ Even if we’d rather do something else.

M - Yeah, like you really wanted to stay for Sunday School.

D - Actually, I’d rather skip church altogether.

S - But, church is important, Dad!

D - You’re absolutely right!

M - You better agree on that one!

D - Yes, dear.

S - Can’t we stay for Sunday School?

M - You don’t know any of the children, or the teacher.

S - That doesn’t matter.

M - I’m sorry. We do need to get back to the house quickly. But I’m glad you feel the way you do, honey.

D - Maybe another time we’ll come and stay.

M - Really?

D - Don’t push it.

S - (dejectedly) I guess it’s okay.

D - Hey, did you bring your football? Maybe we can toss it around before the meal.

M - In the snow?

D - Hey, we’re tough guys! Right, son?

S - Yeah! ... Tough guys!

M - Okay, you "tough guys." Here’s the church. Let’s find Uncle Joe and Aunt Betty. They said they’d wait outside for us...

**********

Act Two

D - I’ve got to admit, that is a friendly church.

M - Now, aren’t you glad we came.

D - I confess that I was dreading it. After all, we don’t know these people.

M - But we do know Joe and Betty. The place reminded me of them.

D - Yeah, the preacher did kind of go on and on and on...

M - He did not!

D - Were you looking over at Joe?

M - No, why?

D - You know what he does during the football game?

M - He didn’t!?

D - Didn’t you see Betty poking him in the ribs?

M - No. I was paying attention to the service.

D - So was I!

M - Besides, if Uncle Joe was sleepy, maybe he needed that kind of rest.

D - I’ll remember that the next time you poke me in the ribs.

M - I was surprised you actually were a bit closer to being on key during the hymns.

D - Why, thank you. I live to please.

M - Then, again, it’s hard to mess up Christmas carols.

D - Your confidence in me is amazing.

M - Did you get something out of the service?

D - Yes, I did.

M - Like what?

D - Like the sermon. I was listening.

M - Really? What was it about?

D - Umm.. Ah.. Give me a minute.

M - Huh! I thought so.

D - Come on, bear with me. Hey, that’s it. "Bear with one another." Wasn’t that the title?

M - Ah! So you can read the bulletin.

D - No, I was listening. He spoke of how we give each other a bit more slack at Christmas, and how we should extend that beyond the holidays. You know, starting the new year off on a note of forgiveness and all.

M - I’m impressed.

D - Of course, it’s all good and well to talk about forgiveness. It’s another thing to do it.

M - I suppose your right.

D - Whoa! You admitting I might be right about something! Where’s a tape recorder when you need one.

M - Don’t stretch it.

D - Speaking of "stretch," are you sure the little monkey is with Joe and Betty.

M - He asked if he could ride home with them instead of us, and I let him.

D - He does seem to like them.

M - He should. They were my favorite Aunt and Uncle growing up.

D - I’ve got to admit I was surprised he really wanted to go to Sunday School.

M - Yes, he was pretty insistent about it - though he did agree, finally.

D - I wasn’t big on Sunday School when I was his age.

M - Maybe you just didn’t have a good teacher.

D - You got that one right. It was sooo boring, if I remember correctly.

M - We’re blessed his Sunday School teacher is so good.

D - Yeah. I’d never have guessed that Ralph, of all people, would connect so well with kids.

M - The children love him. He’s like a big bear.

D - Reminds me of a linebacker.

M - With a few years on him, that is.

D - Well, of course. But, he looks like he could. Maybe that’s why the boys look up to him.

M - He knows his Bible, that’s for sure.

D - Better than I do.

M - But he doesn’t pound it over the kids’ heads.

D - Maybe that’s why our son likes Sunday School.

M - Possibly. Hey, look, there they are, ahead of us.

D - Are we almost home.

M - About a block, I think.

D - Do you see him in the back seat?

M - (pause and squint) Now that you say that - no, I don’t.

D - He isn’t a big guy. He could be there.

M - Or maybe he’s lying down.

D - You did say something to Joe and Betty about him coming home with them, didn’t you?

M - Yes... I think I did... No, wait... Did I?

D - Either you did or you didn’t.

M - I can’t remember.

D - You don’t think he "arranged" to be left behind, do you?

M - Now, don’t jump to conclusions, dear.

D - He was pretty adamant about staying for Sunday School.

M - He wouldn’t purposely disobey us, though. Would he?

D - He’s your child.

M - Hey, he’s your kid, too.

D - So help me, if he did this, he’s got some answering to do.

M - Look, they’re getting out of the car.

D - I don’t see him.

M - Oh, dear.

D - Leave the car running. I’ll go check. We may have to go back to the church.

M - Try to remain calm, hon. Remember, "bear with one another..."

D - Yeah, but this papa may be one grizzly bear.

**********

Act Three

D - I’m pretty disappointed in you, son.

M - You really had us worried for a while.

S - Why were you worried?

M - All sorts of things can happen nowadays. There are people in this world who might take advantage of a young boy.

S - I know about "stranger danger," but this was church.

M - I hate to say it, but even church is not totally safe - especially when we don’t know anybody at this church.

S - We know Uncle Joe and Aunt Betty.

M - Yes, we do know them, but...

D - That’s beside the point, son. We told you what the plan was, and you disobeyed us.

S - I didn’t do it on purpose, Dad.

D - Explain yourself.

S - Well, after Mom said it was okay that I go with Aunt Betty and Uncle Joe, I went over and stood with them.

M - Good. That’s what you were supposed to do.

S - Then I looked away, and the next thing I know, they were gone.

D - And?

S - Well, I looked for them, but I couldn’t find them. I’ve never been to this church before.

D - You should have come looking for us.

S - I did. I couldn’t find you either.

M - Oh, honey, I’m sorry. Did you get scared?

S - I started to, then this really nice lady came up and talked to me. She asked who I was, and if I wanted to meet some other children.

D - Did you say, "No, my mom and dad have other plans."

S - Not exactly.

D - What "exactly" did you do.

S - Well, I told the truth. I did want to meet those other kids.

D - Even if we said, "no!"?

M - (to husband) Let’s back off a bit, dear. It’s not like he did something bad.

S - Yeah, Sunday School is good, isn’t it?

D - So, that’s where you went, Sunday School.

M - Yes, that’s where I found him.

D - Even though we said, "no."

M - Remember, honey, "pick your battles."

D - (pause to exhale, count to 10, etc.) You’re right... Okay, did you learn anything in Sunday School?

S - Well, I had to leave before we got to the craft part.

M - I’m sorry I had to take you out. We do need to help Aunt Betty get ready.

S - That’s okay. The Bible story was about Jesus as a boy.

D - Oh. Was it about him learning his father’s trade - about being the son of a carpenter.

S - No, it was about when they went to Jerusalem as a family.

D - (pause) Why do I get the feeling I know where this is going?

M - Would you like some "crow" for dinner, dear? Go on, son.

S - Well, after they went to the Temple, everybody headed home. Only, when they were part way back, Mary and Joseph couldn’t find Jesus.

D - And they raced back to the Temple to find him, right?

S - Yeah, Dad. You know the story?

D - Yes, I do.

M - Pretend we don’t. What happened next.

S - Well, they looked all over and finally found him talking to a bunch of teachers. Can you imagine that? All those teachers were learning something from a kid!

D - Imagine that!

S - His mom found him, and she was really upset.

M - I can understand why.

S - She scolded him for staying behind. I guess she was worried about "stranger danger," too.

M - Maybe so.

S - Anyway, Jesus said, "why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know I’d be in my father’s house?"

D - His father’s house?

S - Yeah, his father’s house. He was talking about God.

D - I gathered that much.

S - His father’s house was where he belonged, that’s what he said.

D - Indeed. I get the point, son.

S - You’re doing better than Joseph.

D - Really?

S - Yeah. The teacher said that Jesus’ parents didn’t understand him.

M - Parents aren’t perfect, you know. We mess up some times.

S - That’s okay. So do kids. I imagine even Jesus got in trouble sometimes as a kid.

D - You think so?

S - Well, the Bible says that after they went home, Jesus obeyed his parents.

M - Wouldn’t that mean he didn’t mess up?

S - Come on, Mom. He was still a kid. All kids make mistakes sometimes.

D - Even when they’re trying to obey their parents?

S - Of course. Jesus probably should have told his parents before he stayed in the Temple.

M - Maybe they wouldn’t have let him.

S - Maybe. But the Bible says to honor your parents.

D - That it does.

S - I know he was in his father’s house. His real father was God, you know.

D - I do believe you’ve already made that clear.

S - But Joseph and Mary were important, too. He shouldn’t have worried them.

M - Like your own parents, huh?

S - Yeah.

D - Maybe we should get this in writing. He may forget it when he’s a teenager.

M - Hush!

S - I’m sorry I worried you guys.

M - You’re forgiven.

D - Ditto.

S - Do you think that next time we can stay for Sunday School?

D - I knew that was coming. Yes, son. Next time we will.

S - I belong in God’s house.

M - Mind if I remind you of that in a few years?

S - Sure, mom.

D - How about tossing some football when we get to the house, son?

S - Not till we finish helping Aunt Betty get ready, though.

M - "And his mother treasured all these things in her heart."

D - Somehow, I knew that one was coming, too.

©2003 Peter L. Haynes
(you are welcome to borrow and, where / as appropriate, note the source - myself or those from whom I have knowingly borrowed.)

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