Drama - Harvest Thanksgiving B

DRAMA—HARVEST THANKSGIVING, YEAR B

Bible reference: Matthew 6: 25-33

A GIFT FROM GOD WITH LOVE

CHARACTERS: Two clowns, a narrator (narrator could be the pastor), person in box.

PROPS: A large box with a flip-top lid (eg a fridge box) decorated as a huge gift. Label the gift with a large tag, To My People, With Love From God. Place inside the gift a loaf of bread, a watering can (with a little water in it), clothes outfit (clown outfit will add humour), tools of trade (eg hammer), musical instrument (again select something with comic value like a miniature violin or kazoo), a person, a crucifix/cross. You will also need a sack truck/trolley suitable for carrying the gift with all its contents and a light step-ladder.

If this drama is not performed in the worship setting the gifts could be displayed on a table. At the end, the crucifix/cross could be placed in a stand to stand upright in the centre of the table to simulate an altar. In previous experience the narrator’s dialogue has been fairly ad lib.

(The narrator enters importantly and begins to talk about thanksgiving as the clowns enter puffing and panting as they wheel their huge gift in)

NARRATOR:

Hey! What’s going on here? I can’t ever remember being interrupted in the middle of a talk/sermon before...Wait on, maybe this deserves some further examination. That looks heavy. Is it heavy? Can I give you a hand? What an amazing thing! It’s a huge gift.

(The clowns rush about excitedly, emphasising the size of the gift, occasionally pausing to reassure the narrator. The gift is placed prominently before the audience)

This is incredible! This is fantastic! I’ve never seen such a huge gift before. What does it say? (Reads gift tag) To...My...People...(Clowns point to audience) With...Love...From...God. (Clowns point upwards) To my people with love from God! It’s a huge gift from God! (Excitedly) Well, are we going to open it? I can’t wait!

(Clowns enthusiastically agree, as they begin to wonder how to open to gift. They rush around the gift marvelling at its dimensions. Clown 1 has an idea and rushes off...)

Hey! Where are you going? We need you to help us open the gift... (Clown 1 appears triumphantly with a ladder) Ahhh! A ladder! That’s great, it’s just what we need.

(Clowns manoeuvre ladder, trying various wrong ways of using it before getting it right)

OK. Well, be careful now. Let’s open the gift. (Clown 1 climbs up ladder and with the help of the others lifts the lid) It’s open! What’s inside? (Clown 1 peers into box and recoils with amazement at the contents)

What’s in there? We can’t see! Are there any good things? (Clown 1 nods enthusiastically and begins counting off fingers) Oh, there are lots of things! Well, can we see what’s in there?

(Clown 1 leans into box, clown 2 may help by holding his/ her legs. Person inside of box hands things to clown unbeknown to the people outside. (The illusion is the clown reaching in to pick up items from a raised floor of the box) Clown 1 raises up a loaf of bread)

Bread! That’s great! Bread is something that’s basic to all our needs. People need food...(Clown 1 hands bread to clown 2 who mimes beginning to take a big bite into loaf, narrator shakes head) Uh-uh-uh! (Clown 2 moves to place bread on altar) Yes, people need bread and we’ll place it on the altar to show that we’re thankful to God for the gift of bread. Now what else is in our gift?

(Clown 1 again climbs ladder—clown can sometimes clumsily climb ladder, stumble, slip, go one step too high to add humour and interest. Clown 1 leans into box and raises up the watering can)

A watering can! (Surprised) God gives us watering cans? (Clown 1 passes watering can to clown 2 who goes to narrator and sprinkles some water on his/her outstretched hand) Oh, water. Yes, God gives us water. God’s made over half the world to be covered by water. Water’s important, we need it. We need water to drink, we’ll die without it...(Looks at hand) And I’ve got a wet hand. (Clown 2 waters any plants nearby and places watering can on altar next to loaf)

Hey, they are two great gifts, bread and water. (Clown 1 then races back up ladder miming to the narrator that there is more...and lifts out a complete clown outfit)

Clothing! Yes, a wonderful gift from God. (Clown 1 hands outfit to clown 2 who admires it and then mimes to narrator that they should put it on)

No! No! I don’t think this particular outfit is my style. (Sees hopeful face of clown 2) Oh, well, I could see what it looks like. (Narrator takes outfit and holds it up to him/herself to create the illusion of wearing it) Well, maybe it’s not too bad...(Clowns nod encouragingly. Clown 2 then places outfit with other gifts as clown 1 again climbs ladder, a little slower than previously. Clown 1 raises up a musical instrument out of the box)

A musical instrument! This instrument reminds us that God has gifted us with music. (Clown 1 hands instrument to clown 2, who tries to play it) He has given us so much joy with singing in playing musical instruments, and of course we are gifted by having talented musicians and singers to help in our worship. (To clown 2) I think you’d better put that gift with the others! (Clown 2 places instrument with other gifts) Well, that’s a really great gift. (Clown 1 tiredly climbs the ladder)

There’s more? (Clown 1 nods) God is so good to us! (Clown 1 leans in and raises up hammer) A hammer! Ah, tools of trade! All the things we need to do our daily work...(Both clowns mime daily work activities) We need tools for making and building things, books for teaching and learning, computers and other electronic gadgets. God has given us so many inventive things. (Clown 2 places hammer with other gifts)

Well, that must be it then...(Clown 1 climbs ladder indicating there is still more, peers into box, then climbs down and moves ladder to the side) What’s happening now? There’s still something more...(Clown 1 mimes to others that the gift box must be tipped over) So you want us to help you tip the box over. (Clown 1 nods) OK then, let’s tip it over. (Narrator and clowns carefully tip box over on its side and to everyone’s surprise the clowns help the person emerge from the box. Clowns, narrator and person all smile and show great excitement)

Oh, wow! I get it! People are a gift from God. We are gifts to each other. We have so much opportunity to minister to each other, and to encourage and support each other in ministry. It’s great! That’s the greatest gift God could have given us...(Clowns shake head indicating that this last gift isn’t the greatest and last. Clown 1 then dives into the box to retrieve the last gift and emerges with the crucifix/cross, which is lovingly displayed to the congregation)

Oh, how could I have forgotten that the greatest gift is Jesus who suffered and died on the cross for us because he loves us so much. That is wonderful! We have so much to be thankful to God for. Do you think we should thank God...(Clowns and narrator lead audience in applauding God as a sign of thankfulness. Crucifix/cross is placed on the altar and clowns and narrator exit)

Permission is given for the owner of this disk to make sufficient copies of this script for their group or congregation, for rehearsal and performance purposes only.