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Testaments
Old and New
(2 Kings 2:1-12, Mark 9:2-9 NRSV)
Reader’s Theater style. Drama is in the
reading rather than the acting.
WL - Worship Leader (Narrator)
VA - Voice A (Elijah and "voice from cloud")
VB - Voice B (Elisha and Peter)
VC - Voice C (the "company of prophets")
(WL reads from the lectern; VA stands in front
of the lectern and slightly toward the center;
VB stands in front of the pulpit and slightly toward the center;
VC stands over to the side by the choir loft).
WL - (as WL speaks, VA, VB, & VC get
into place) We turn now to some scriptures from the two
Testaments, or Covenants, of God - both old and new. The first
tells of a transition moment found in the book of Kings, when one
prophet ascended to heaven and passed on the mantle of leadership
to another. The second scripture portrays a time of
transfiguration found in the gospel of Mark, when lawgiver,
prophet, and messiah stand together in the eyes of three disciples
and, in the process, everything changed... or did it? Let’s
listen to God’s Word: (pause)
WL - Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to
heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from
Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha,
VA - "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as far as
Bethel."
WL - But Elisha said,
VB - "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I
will not leave you." (VC moves in next to
VB)
WL - So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets
who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him,
VC - "Do you know that today the LORD will take your
master away from you?"
WL - And he said,
VB - "Yes, I know; keep silent."
WL - Elijah said to him,
VA - "Elisha, stay here; for the LORD has sent me to
Jericho."
WL - But he said,
VB - "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I
will not leave you."
WL - So they came to Jericho. The company of prophets who
were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him,
VC - "Do you know that today the LORD will take your
master away from you?"
WL - And he answered,
VB - "Yes, I know; be silent."
WL - Then Elijah said to him,
VA - "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the
Jordan."
WL - But he said,
VB - "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I
will not leave you." (VC quietly exits as
WL continues)
WL - So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company
of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as
they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle
and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to
the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on
dry ground. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha,
VA - "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken
from you."
WL - Elisha said,
VB - "Please let me inherit a double share of your
spirit."
WL - He responded,
VA - "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me
as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it
will not."
WL - As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of
fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah
ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. (VA quietly
walks to the back of the sanctuary) Elisha kept
watching and crying out,
VB - "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its
horsemen!"
WL - But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his
own clothes and tore them in two pieces. (pause,
as VB moves to where VA had been standing)
WL - From chariots and horses of fire ascending to heaven
amid a whirlwind, we turn to a mountaintop vision obscured by a
cloud, centered by a voice. Listen: (pause)
WL - Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James
and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became
dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And
there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with
Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus,
VB - "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make
three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for
Elijah."
WL - He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.
Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a
voice,
VA - (spoken from back of sanctuary, out
of sight) "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to
him!"
WL - Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with
them any more, but only Jesus. As they were coming down the
mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen,
until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. (pause)
WL - Turn now to #232
in your hymnal and let’s sing a hymn written especially for
this second scripture. Listen, first, as the organ plays through
it once, for it is not as familiar to us.
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