"Samuel, Samuel"
(Based on 1 Samuel 3)
There are 5 characters in this Drama. 1 & 2 are narrators (the same as Opening Day and Day Three Vespers, if possible) who stand to one side of wherever is considered "center stage." S (Samuel) and E (Eli) start out offstage. At the appropriate points they enter and lie down separately (as if in different rooms) on both sides of center stage. Blankets to cover up with might be good props, but not necessary. G (God) should not be visible and, if possible, should speak through some sort of megaphone (bullhorn, microphone, rolled up paper, or something) from offstage.
2 - Do you think these people are getting tired of us.
1 - Why do you ask?
2 - I’ve noticed some of them yawning as we tell our stories.
1 - Well, we have been spinning our yarns rather late at night.
2 - "Spinning our yarns"? What does that mean? Are we headed to a
fabric store or
something? I always hate it when my Mom drags me along to that place.
1 - "Spinning a yarn" is another way of saying that we’re telling
a story.
2 - Oh.
1 - Besides, I kind of like fabric stores.
2 - What does that have to do with the story we’re supposed to tell.
1 - You brought it up.
2 - But you continued it.
1 - Anyway.
2 - Anyway.
1 - I was saying that some people may be yawning because we’re telling our
stories
right before bedtime.
2 - That could be. I just hope we don’t fall asleep.
1 - Now, why would we fall asleep?
2 - Well, whenever my Dad used to read to me at bedtime, he’d always fall
asleep.
There are a lot of stories I don’t know the end of because he fell
asleep
before we got there.
1 - Why didn’t you just read on in his place.
2 - I had more fun puttin’ stuff in his nose, or messin’ with his hair.
He has a really weird
snore. Do you want to hear what it sounds like?
1 - No.
2 - Party pooper.
1 - We’re here to tell a story, remember?
2 - Okay. But you’re still a party pooper.
1 - (glares at 2, then goes on) Actually,
this story takes place at bedtime.
2 - Oh, man! I hope our characters haven’t fallen asleep.
1 - Two of them have.
2 - But there are three characters in this story. What’s with the third?
1 - That would be God.
2 - We won’t be seeing God, will we?
1 - By now you should know that.
2 - Why isn’t God asleep?
1 - The Bible says that God neither slumbers nor sleeps.
2 - But I thought that God rested in the beginning.
1 - I guess that, for God, resting is not the same as sleeping.
2 - Or slumbering.
1 - Or slumbering.
2 - Is that how a lumber jack sleeps?
1 - Is what how a lumber jack sleeps?
2 - Slumbering?
1 - I’ll slumber you if you don’t watch out.
2 - Oh, I’m soooo scared!
G - I’m watching.
2 - Thank you for reminding me, Lord! (to 1:)
I forgot, God’s not asleep.
G - I’m listening, too.
2 - You’re also speaking.
1 - I’m glad you pointed that out, because that’s what our story is
about.
2 - It is?
1 - Yes. In our Bible tale, God talks to a young boy.
2 - Oh, yeah. I remember now. This boy is learning about listening to God.
1 - Precisely. You could say that this is a story about prayer.
2 - Prayer? I thought that prayer is talking to God.
1 - It is. But it’s also listening to God. In fact, prayer
probably involves more listening
than talking.
2 - That’s good, because I often don’t know what to say when I pray.
1 - Maybe we have something to learn from Samuel.
2 - That’s the name of the boy. He’s the one God talks to.
1 - Yes. Samuel was a servant of Eli the priest at Shiloh. (pronounced
"shy-low")
2 - Wasn’t that a Civil War battlefield?
1 - What are you talking about?
2 - Shiloh. Wasn’t that a battle in the Civil War?
1 - I don’t know. This Shiloh was a holy place in Israel.
2 - Oh, that Shiloh!
1 - You have no idea where I’m talking about, do you?
2 - Not a clue.
1 - Anyway, Eli was a holy man there, and Samuel was his helper.
2 - Sort of like a "staff assistant" here at camp.
1 - Yes, or maybe even like a "counselor in training."
2 - From what I hear, Eli wasn’t doing very good.
1 - No, he wasn’t. He had two sons who were supposed to be priests
themselves. But they
were doing a rotten job of it.
2 - Yeah. It all seemed to be one big joke to them.
1 - The people were pretty upset about it.
G - I wasn’t too happy about it, myself.
2 - And when God’s not happy, ain’t nobody happy.
G - I think I can speak for myself, thank you.
2 - Sorry.
1 - Let’s go on with the story. It’s found in the first book of Samuel.
2 - You mean Samuel had a book in the Bible named after him?
1 - Two books, to be exact.
2 - Whoa! He must have been a cool dude!
1 - Can we move on?
2 - Sure, why not!
1 - "Samuel served the Lord by helping Eli the priest, who was by that
time almost blind."
2 - "In those days, the Lord hardly ever spoke directly to people, and
he did not appear
to them in dreams very often."
1 - "But one night, Eli was asleep in his room."
("E" enters, yawns and stretches, then lies
down on one side of "center stage.")
2 - (after "E" is in place)
"Samuel was sleeping on a mat near the sacred chest
in the Lord’s house."
1 - (after "S" is in place)
"They had not been asleep very long when the Lord called out
Samuel’s name."
G - "Samuel ! Samuel !"
1 - "Samuel answered,"
S - "Here I am."
2 - Wait a minute. That was Moses’ line. Isn’t that plagiarism or
something?
1 - Actually, many people in the Bible answered God’s call to them with
those very same words.
2 - No kidding?
1 - Samuel didn’t realize it was God calling. He thought it was Eli’s
voice. So he ran to
Eli’s side.
("S" runs over to
"E" and shakes him awake)
S - "Here I am. What do you want?"
E - (grumbling) "I didn’t
call you. Go back to bed." (rolls over and returns to
sleep.
"S" goes back and lies down)
2 - (after "S" is in place)
"Again the Lord called out his name."
G - "Samuel ! Samuel !"
("S" again runs over to "E" and
shakes him awake)
S - "Here I am. What do you want?"
E - (more perturbed, and louder)
"Son, I didn’t call you. Go back to bed."
(rolls over and returns to sleep. "S" goes
back and lies down)
1 - (after "S" is in place)
A third time God called.
G - "Samuel ! Samuel!"
("S" again runs over to "E" and
shakes him awake)
S - "Here I am. What do you want?"
2 - Eli finally figured out something was going on here, like maybe it was
God speaking.
E - Samuel, it wasn’t me. This is what you should do. "Go back and lie
down! If someone speaks
to you again, answer, ‘I’m listening, Lord. What
do you want me to do?’ "
1 - Samuel did as Eli said. ("S" goes back
and lies down)
2 - (after "S" is in place)
"The Lord then stood beside Samuel..." Did God really
stand beside Samuel?
1 - That’s what it says.
2 - Did Samuel see God standing there?
1 - It doesn’t say that.
S - ("S" sits up to speak) It was dark that night. I couldn’t see a thing. But I was hearing loud
and clear.
2 - Interesting! "The Lord called out as he had done before."
G - "Samuel ! Samuel !"
1 - This time Samuel was prepared.
S - "I’m listening, Lord. What do you want me to do?"
1 - And so God told him.
2 - It wasn’t good news, was it?
1 - No. God was upset with Eli and had Samuel tell him so. Things were going
to change,
and Eli and his sons would soon be out of the picture. ("E"
gets up and leaves)
2 - And Samuel grew up and became a real prophet of God. ("S"
stands up)
1 - That’s right. It all began, though, on that night when God spoke and
Samuel listened
for the first time. ("S" leaves)
2 - I like that story! Now I’ll know what to do if I ever hear God call me.
1 - What’s that?
2 - I’ll say, "Here I am. What do you want me to do?"
1 - Not a bad idea. Of course, you need to be listening to hear God’s voice
calling in the
first place.
2 - Of course.
1 - Don’t grow discouraged, though, if you don’t hear what Samuel heard.
2 - What do you mean?
1 - Well, God speaks to us in lots of ways. Through the Bible, in prayer, in
the words of other
people, and even through nature as you’re just walking along the
trail here at camp.
It may be a thought you’d never thought before. Or it
might be something you’ve heard
many times, like a Bible verse.
2 - Cool.
1 - It’s good to have people we trust to talk to afterward. Sometimes we
don’t hear very
well, and it’s good to bounce what we hear off of others.
2 - Sounds okay to me. Are we done?
1 - I guess we are. I need to head off. See you later! (1 leaves)
G - (after pause, speak out 2's name twice)
_______! _______!
2 - Here I am, Lord.
©1999, Pete Haynes for Shepherd’s Spring OMC and Camp Mardela, Mid Atlantic District Church of the Brethren (Outdoor Ministries), to be used with "God is in our Midst" (rev. ed., ©1998, Geneva Press), part of the Sow Seeds ... Trust the Promise series. Except for a few instances, scripture texts are from the Contemporary English Version, ©1995, American Bible Society.
©1999Peter L. Haynes