Summary: Two elderly sisters, Mary and Martha, are working in the kitchen, preparing a meal for their guest, the apostle John and their brother, Lazarus, who is expected to arrive later. At first the audience should have no idea of what year this is happening, nor who the women are. In the beginning, they only refer to Lazarus as “our brother” and to one another as “sister”. They also refer to Jesus as “the Teacher” at first, because that is how they originally knew him. They are preparing a meal to celebrate John’s arrival in Bethany.
Style: Dramatic. Duration: 10min
Actors: 2W
Characters:
Mary, a woman in her sixties
Martha, her sister, also in her sixties, a couple of years older than Mary
Setting:
Late afternoon in a “modern”, well-equipped kitchen in Bethany in the AD 70s, several years after the siege of Jerusalem. Bethany is small village on the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives just outside Jerusalem, situated in the West Bank.
Scene:
When the scene opens, we see two Christian sisters, Mary and Martha working in the kitchen, preparing a meal for their guest, the apostle John and their brother, Lazarus, who is expected to arrive later. At first the audience will have no idea of what year this is happening, nor who the women are. They only refer to Lazarus as “our brother” and to one another as “sister” in the beginning. They also refer to Jesus as “the Teacher” at first, because that is how they first knew him. They are preparing a meal to celebrate John’s arrival in Bethany so it might include the following items on the menu:
goat, lamb, fish
nuts, spices, bitter herbs
cheese, yogurt
bean stew, fish sauce,
unleavened bread, dates
aromatized wine
When the scene opens, Mary is working in the kitchen and Martha enters.
Martha
(arriving to the kitchen with a basket of food)
I have the meat, fish, cheese, milk, fruit, nuts, spices. Did I forget anything, sister?
Mary
No, I have everything else we need. The bean stew is simmering. I’m just about to start the bread. Can you grab the skillet for me and put some oil in it?
Martha
(putting her basket down and picking up a big skillet) Do you think they will arrive on time?
Mary
I hope so. Our brother is supposed to meet John in the city and bring him here. All we can do is have everything ready when they arrive. (reflecting) I’m so excited to see him again!
Martha
So am I, sister. When was the last time we saw John? It was long before the war.
Mary
Yes. Twenty years? I’m not sure. I’ve missed him.
Martha
Remember how our Teacher loved him so much?
Mary
Yes, like a brother. In some ways he reminded me of the Teacher.
Martha
That was more than 40 years ago! (shaking her head)
Mary
I never feel old until I calculate how much time has passed.
Martha
Wait till you’re my age! (laughing)
Mary
(laughing) Awww, you’re only two years older than me! Our little brother is the one who has to catch up to us.
Martha
And John, too! (pausing her work to reflect) John is an old man now.
Mary
(shaking her head in disbelief) I always picture him as a young man, a boy, really. It will be so strange to see him now.
Martha
And wonderful! I can hardly wait to hear his stories about all the people who have given their lives to the Lord.
Mary
I heard he’s writing a book about it.
Martha
(surprised) Where did you hear that, sister?
Mary
Our brother told me. Well, he told my friend’s husband’s mother, who told me.
Martha
(laughs) That’s you! Always on the grapevine!
(pointing to the cheese and milk) Remember, don’t let him eat any dairy. You know his stomach! (mimes an explosion) Whoosh!!
Mary
(laughing) We cant have our brother running from the table while John is telling us all his stories.
Martha
(laughing) Exactly! (thinking) You know, other than his stomach problems, our brother’s healthier than we are. I am still amazed.
Mary
Yes. We lost him.
Martha
But only for a couple of days.
Mary
He was gone. Dead. To think of it now, it seems almost impossible.
Martha
Remember what our Teacher said: “With God, all things are possible.”
Mary
Where was my faith, Martha? I ran up to our Teacher and said “Why didn’t you get here sooner? You could have saved his life.”
Martha
(with compassion) You were grieving, Mary. Deeply grieving. I was, too.
Mary
I was angry at our Lord because he didn’t get here quickly enough to save Lazarus before his death.
Martha
And yet he was here in time to bring him back to life again. Right in front of our whole family…and our community. Everyone saw what Jesus did, calling Lazarus out of his tomb.
Mary
My heart was broken. It died along with our brother. Then when Lazarus appeared and (incredulously) WALKED…then I came back to life, too.
Martha
(Nodding) The Lord was showing us an example of how our heavenly Father would resurrect him, too. When Jesus was crucified, I knew. I just knew. Even though I found that hard to believe with my mind, I knew in my heart with faith.
Mary
Whenever I feel that God has forgotten me in my troubles, that He hasn’t appeared in time to save me from them, I think of our brother. No matter what happens to me in the future, I will never feel that God has abandoned me. Jesus will arrive. He will be there to save me.
Martha
I remember how you loved Jesus with all your heart and soul. Remember the meal we had to celebrate our brother’s return to life and to thank Jesus for saving him?
Mary
Yes, the oil. The nard. It was left over from when Lazarus was entombed. We didn’t need it for our brother so I used it for Him.
Martha
You used the oil to soothe our Teacher’s head and feet.
Mary
Not all his disciples were pleased with me for doing that, Martha. Using that expensive oil on Him.
Martha
(surprised) Who wasn’t pleased? I never knew that.
Mary
That’s because you weren’t in the room. It was Judas. And it wasn’t just about the oil. He was angry because I was a woman. He thought I didn’t have the right to be there at our Teacher’s feet, listening to his words along with the men.
(Martha reacts and nods sadly, understanding)
Martha
There were so many people in our house. The food wasn’t ready, the wine wasn’t poured. I was so worried about all of it. We were honouring Him with the feast and giving thanks to God for our brother’s life. I didn’t want to take you away from Him but I also didn’t want to disappoint everyone by ruining everything.
Mary
You did nothing wrong, Martha. Jesus didn’t want you to be anxious about the feast. He was teaching us about the Feast in Heaven, when we would all be there with the angels to celebrate with Him at the throne of God. He knew your heart and He loved you for wanting to serve Him, but he also knew that we would have a lifetime ahead to serve His kingdom.
Martha
(suddenly, pointing at the stove) Mary, don’t let the bread burn!
Mary
(grabbing the skillet from the stove) You see, Martha, what would I do without you?
Martha
(laughing) It’s your kitchen, sister! I’m just here to entertain you while you work! (looking out a window) Look, it’s Lazarus and John! They’re here! Praise God!
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© Copyright Garth von Buchholz, all rights reserved. The script may not be reproduced, translated or copied in any medium, including books, CDs and on the Internet, without written permission of the author.
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