I am proud to present a Christmas Program written entirely by the talented students of SMCA! Over the past three weeks they have studied the birth of Christ and tried to imagine what it would have been like to be one of these characters that they read about. Next they wrote monologues from the prespectives of their chosen characters. This past Friday all of their hard work paid off in a wonderful performance!
We ended the show by rocking out to "Joy to the World (Unspeakable Joy)" by Chris Tomlin.
Sofia – Angel Speaking to Mary
I told Mary, “You are gonna have a baby and you are gonna name it Jesus.”
Mary was surprised and Mary said “Thank you”.
Corinna- Mary
I was laying on my straw mat when suddenly there was a bright light and a man in white and wings appeared. The man in white said, “Behold, I am God’s angel, Gabriel. God has sent you a message: You will give birth to God’s son. And you will name him Jesus.”
Then the light faded and he was gone! I sat there, for I don’t know how long, but just sat there astonished! Soon I fell asleep, dreaming about giving birth to God’s son. Me, giving birth to God’s son… Jesus… I couldn’t believe it!
The next day I rushed to Joseph’s house and told him every detail I remembered. I know by his face that he didn’t truly believe me.
Soon I know I was getting closer and closer to delivering! When all was well, Caesar Agustus had a cencus. Since I was about to deliver I had to ride on a donkey.
A week later we got into the city of Bethlehem. It was so crowded that God’s Son was born in a stable manger! I was in pain for a long time… now Jesus Christ was born!
Luke- The Donkey
I woke up and felt a cool breeze. Then I heard Joseph yell, “Donkey!” I scurried to Joseph and laid down so Mary could get on me. We started walking toward Bethlehem. After a long day, we laid down to rest and my back was killing me! I was glad to finally rest. If you have walked from Nazareth to Bethlehem you will know how long it takes to walk there.
The next day we came upon the Jordan River. It was freezing cold when we crossed. I had to run through it. I tried to lay in the sun to dry off my fur. After that we kept on walking. Once we found a shady place, we stopped to rest. The next day we were walking and walking, then we got there and they walked to the town’s inn and said, “Can we stay here?”
The inn was full, but the innkeeper said we could stay in the stable. So we went there and Mary gave birth. I was thinking I came all this way for this, until I figured out that the baby was the Son of God. I was so excited to be able to see the Son of God!
Jake – The Inn Keeper
One day, when I got a drink of water, I heard a thump on the door. I went to see who it was. A man said “Hi My name is Joseph. Do you have any rooms for me and my wife, Mary, to stay in. She is going to have a baby?” I said, “Sorry! I have no more rooms. Hmmmm…I got it! You can sleep in the stable. But you must sleep on hay. I know that it is not much but it will have to do. Here is the key to the stable.”
I walked out with them.
“Ooops.. I forgot to tell you the stable stinks.”
Here is a lantern. Here is some food and there is the hay. Here is a manger for the baby. “
I went back to the inn and slept a little. Then I heard something cry. I said, “I wonder what that noise is.”
I went back to the stable and I saw the baby…
“Awww, he’s so cute”, I said.
I asked Mary what the baby’s name was. She said “his name is Jesus.”
I said, “That is a nice name for the baby.”
Sofia- Angel to Shepherds
Later at 9, I went to the fields and I saw shepherds taking care of their sheep. I told them that there was gonna be a baby born in Bethlehem. All the other angels came and we sang, “Glory to God in the Highest”.
Chloe- A Shepherd
One cold and dark night, I was taking care of my flocks, but also gazing at the stars. Out of nowhere I thought a star had fallen for the sky was all lit up!
I could barely catch a glimpse of the floating white object. But for with my ears I heard a voice saying, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger.”
I thought the heavens were falling. The closer heaven was coming, the brighter it was getting. For with my ears I heard again, but with more than one speaking, said, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
The darker it got I thought that the heavens were leaving me here to finish my life on earth. Then the darkness filled the air and I could see once again. When that was finally over, one of the other shepherds said, “Come, let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that the Lord has told us about.”
When we started off walking, a smile was shining on my face. I was thinking, would I really be in the presence of Christ the Lord? It was a miracle, all a great miracle.
A couple of hours later we finally got there. It was all real! I was in the presence of Christ the Lord. It tickled me to think. He is Christ the Lord! He should be in a bed made from gold and silver, he should be wearing robes of gold and blue.
But looking at him like that made me feel like a stable animal watching him while I was eating hay, no knowing what so ever what was going on, that this child would do great things someday. That he would save the world! The smile on my face slowly turned into a praise, a praise of joy and thankfulness to God for the marvelous gift he has given me, the best one that I could ever have. The gift of seeing Jesus.
Mark – A Sheep in the Stable
Baaaa...
One night I saw two people come in my stable. I said, “You are taking over my stable..” I went to a different spot of the sweet, soft hay. Then I saw that there was a baby. The baby couldn’t stop crying so I couldn’t go to sleep. I wanted to eat but the baby was in the manger and I didn’t want to eat the baby by accident. There was a bright star in the sky. They had food that looked so good. Lots of people stared at the baby. I looked at the baby and he was cute. I looked out the window and saw glowing men. The glowing men sang. Shepherds ran in the stable. Some of my friend sheep followed the shepherds to see the baby. I baaaahhhed at my friend sheep. They baaaahhhed back at me. It was kind of crowded in the stable. I heard that the baby’s name was Jesus. I also heard that Jesus was a king. Later that night, three men came in. They worshipped Jesus. The three men gave Jesus gold. I thought that they were probably rich. Their camels were waiting outside. Later the three men left and the baby finally went to sleep. I went to sleep, too. I was very tired from all those people and animals.
Ben- King Herod
I was eating my supper when the first report came in, “Sir, there is a star in the sky that is brighter than any I have ever seen! Surely ‘tis a sign of some sort!”
What could it mean? I gathered my Magi (Wise Men as you Americans would call them) and asked them what this star could mean. They referred to the teachings of Isaiah, a prophet of the Jewish God:
“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people, Israel.”
The words rang through my head, “for out of you will come a ruler.” A ruler! A ruler indeed! No one shall rule but me!
Trying vigorously to suppress my anger, I called a group of ten or twelve magi and told them, “Search for this young king. When you find him report back to me so I can go and worship him too.”
The Magi were so gullible! They set out to find him. Did they really think I would worship the one who threatens my rule?
They went out on camels to Bethlehem. I expected them to return in a month or two. I waited. A weak passed. Two weeks. Three! Four! Time seemed endless! I tried to keep myself occupied but to no avail. Finally the end of the first month came. I went to bed, but I could not sleep. I spent the night in restlessness.
The second month passed even slower. Still, the magi did not come! I decided to give them one more month, since I am a graceful king. The third month trickled by. The magi still did not come!
I sent out a battalion of soldiers. I instructed them to kill any child under 2 years old! I am not above murder. This young ruler would soon no longer pose a threat, and my rule will be safe.
Cami – Wise man
One day I was with my friends. We saw a star. It was not like any other star so we followed it. We got packed up and we put our packs on our camels’ shoulders and got on our camels and rode and followed the star. It took us to a stable in Bethlehem. We got off our camels and went inside. We saw a baby, a man, and a woman. I asked them why they are here. The woman answered, “Because there is no room in the inn.” I said, “What are your names?” He said, “My name is Joseph and my wife’s name is Mary. And this is our newborn baby Jesus.” He asked me why I was there. I said, “I came because I saw a star that was not like any other star and it means a new King is born.”
I gave them myrrh and my friend gave them gold and another gave them frankensence. I said,’ I bless your baby with happiness and kindness. I hope you have a safe life. May I carry him? “
Mary said, “Of course”.
So I held the baby for a little while until it was time to go.
Ben- Joseph
I, Joseph, son of Jacob am most likely the luckiest man in all of Judah. I have the opportunity to have the privilege to take on the enormous responsibility of being the earthly father of God’s son. I… I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning.
One night, one of our sons was born. He was an interesting little boy and my life was never the same. After his birth, some weird things started happening. Like those two elderly people at the temple. They were promised that they would see the Messiah before they died. You should have seen their faces when they saw him! It was incredible!
The worst part is that I have to teach him how to be perfect. I’m not perfect!!! I prayed for hours that God would help me with this boy, Jesus. We didn’t even get to name him! An angel told us to name his Jesus.
I planned to teach him carpentry. We never had to punish him. He was perfect. We didn’t have to teach him how to be good. It will be interesting to watch him grow up!
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM SMCA!
