Summary: Mary is called and she wonders why she is so special..
Style: Monologue with 2 players. Duration: Approx 5 min.
Actors: 1V, 1M/V
Note: Mary is sitting on a chair on stage and reads the text as if she talks to the audience. The red / underlined text is said by the angel. The angel is not positioned on stage, but you just hear his/her voice (e.g. via the PA system).
*) See footnote in script: These names were actual names of people sitting in the congregation. They can be changed for names in your congregation.
Script
Oh, hi, thank you for being there, just when I needed someone to talk to… I’m a bit puzzled… I feel lonely... What should I do?
You know, I was soon going to be married. My dad had chosen Joseph. Do you know Joseph? He is alright. He is a carpenter - very handy to have around in case I need a wardrobe... or two..., I thought. Strong arms too….
Mmmm… (Mary pauses to think about Joseph)
Anyway, so I was going through life like any young girl, doing the chores in the house and dreaming about what might be ahead of me. Only nice things of course.
And then.. FLASH! BANG! there he was.
”Hello Mary,” he said.
I can’t tell you what went through my head. Who is he?, Why that light? How does he know me? I couldn’t speak for a moment.
“You are very special,” he continued.
What me? I am just a little girl from a small country village. Look at my hands: so dirty. And the broken nails! And my hair! Oh, I wish people would announce themselves first so at least I could comb my hair a bit.
You know, I’m not usually stuck for something to say. But now I was totally gobsmacked. I had no idea where this was leading.
Anyway, he must have been as surprised to see me lost for words as I was, so he said: “Don’t be scared, Mary.”
Scared? I guess he could hear my heart beating as if it were trying to get out of my body. Ka-doom, Ka-doom.
“God wants me to tell you that you are very special, Mary.”
What?? Me?? Special?
But at least I could breathe again… a bit..
“You will have a baby, Mary, and when he’s born you will call him Jesus.”
You can’t imagine how puzzled I was. Baby? But I wasn’t married yet! And why Jesus? Why not Colin or Vic or Merlin? *)
But the more he said, the quieter I was. There was something special in his voice…
“He will be great and people will call him Son of God. He will sit on the throne of David “
What? A king? Yeah, David I know. He’s my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, - where am I, again? Didn’t you count for me? - Well you know what I mean, my very much many greats grandfather.
But a son, me? And then ‘a king’????
Mmmm… I wonder if he has had a look outside that door… There are some soldiers walking there… Roman soldiers… And you know what the problem is with these ROMAN soldiers? They get rather upset quickly… especially if you start talking about another king…
So yes, I had been quiet for long enough, I guessed. I hadn’t been quiet for so long in my whole life! You know, my mother always says that I jabber on even in my sleep. So I’d better get it out. First, problem one:
“Uhm, how is that happening? I haven’t slept with anyone and I am not married..yet..”
“The Holy Spirit will come over you and the power of the Most High will put his shadow over you. You know the child you will carry will be holy; he will be the Son of God.”
Ah, now I have at least 25 more questions! "Eh…"
“Now, no more questions, Mary. Go to your aunt Elizabeth. She is also expecting a baby. She is already 6 months pregnant. And that while everybody thought that she couldn’t have any babies at all! You see, nothing will be impossible with God.”
So what could I say? Comes walking into my house, obviously knows me and my rabbitting, knows my aunty to whom I always was the daughter she didn’t have, and above all, while I am ordinary and feeling a real plain Jane, he tells me that I am very special to God!
So all I could say was, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it happen to me as you say’
And whoops! He was gone!
So here I am…
What do I do next? Shall I go to Elizabeth? A king…. But what would Joseph say. If I am pregnant, he will think that I have slept with someone… And you know, here in Nazareth, people really don’t like that. They will punish me. But what about the Son of God bit? Yes, I know, we all expect the king to come. The rabbi has told me so, but me? Am I really that special?
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© Copyright Kathryn & Heribert Westerveld 2016, 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.
This play may be performed free of charge, on the condition that copies are not sold for profit in any medium, nor any entrance fee charged. In exchange for free performance, the author would appreciate being notified of when and for what purpose the play is performed. She may be contacted at