SIDE 1

(During the following, the story is acted out in an imaginative theatrical way with different actors, playing the roles.)

A man was on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell in among robbers who beat him, stripped him, and left, leaving him half-dead. It so happened that a priest came upon him, but when he saw him he went past on the other side. So, too, a judge came to the place and saw him and went past on the other side. But, a Samaritan who was making the journey came upon him, and when he saw him, was moved to pity. He went up and bandaged his wounds, bathing them in oil and wine. Then he put him onto his own beast, brought him to an inn, and looked after him there. The next day he produced two pieces of silver and gave them to the innkeeper and said,  Look after him, and if you spend any more, I will repay you on my way back.

(Those who acted out the story bow.)

Now  you have learned that they were told,  Love your neighbor, hate your enemy. But what I tell you is this...

(During the above, two CAST MEMBERS have begun fighting over a prop from  The Good Samaritan Show. Their argument becomes intrusive enough to interrupt JESUS. The others start to take sides so that soon all are fighting. JESUS has to shout to be heard above the noise.)

Love, love, love, love your enemies.

(All freeze in place.)

And pray for your persecutors.

(indicating the person he or she has been fighting with)
You don t mean...?

I do! Only so can you be called Children of your Heavenly Father.

(The CAST begins  making up with their enemies in a general love-fest that gradually gets noisier in an ostentatious display of how much they  love one another. As this is occurring, JESUS tries to continue his lesson.)

If you greet only those who greet you, what reward can you expect? And if you love only those who love you, what is there extraordinary in that? No, your goodness must know no bounds, just as your Heavenly Father s goodness knows no limit.

(By now, the  love-fest has become so noisy, JESUS must get their attention by making a large noise with a prop or set piece. All fall silent and turn to look at him.)

SIDE 2

(the following story is enacted by the others)
Once upon a time there was a man who had two sons, and the younger said to his father:  Father, give me my share of the property. So, he divided his estate between them. A few days later, the younger son turned the whole of his share into cash and left home for a distant country, where he squandered it in reckless living. He had spent it all, when a severe famine fell upon the country, and he began to feel the pinch. (Ouch!) So he decided to attach himself to one of the local landowners...

(The SON attaches himself with a sucking sound to the LANDOWNER.)

...Who sent him on the farm to mind the swine.

(ordering the SON)
Swine!

Swine?

Pigs!

He would have been glad to have filled his belly with the pods that the pigs were eating...

(The SON gets down to try to eat with the PIGS, but they shoo him off.)

Oink, oink, buster!

...But no one gave him anything. Then he came to his senses (BOING!) and said:  How many of my father s paid servants have more food than they can eat, and here I am starving to death? I will set off and I will go to my father and I will say to him:  Father, I have sinned against God and against you; I am no longer fit to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.  So he set out for his father s house, but while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and his heart went out to him. (Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub) The son ran to meet his father, threw his arms around him, and kissed him, saying:  Father, I have sinned against God and against you; I am no longer fit to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants. But the father called to one of his servants:  Quick, fetch me my robe, my best one. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet and bring the fatted calf and kill it. And let us have a feast to celebrate the day, for this son of mine was lost and is found. And the festivities began!

(All begin enacting festivities. The ELDER SON joins the action as a SECOND NARRATOR takes over the dialogue.)

Now, the elder son was out on the farm, working. (Whew!) And on his way back, as he approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called to one of the servants and asked him what it meant. The servant said:  Uh, uh, uh, your nephew  nope, nope, nope, your cousin  nope, nope, your brother, yup, your brother s come back home again and your father s killed the fatted calf  cause he has him back safe and sound, yup, yup, yup! But the brother was...

(The ELDER SON enacts being boiling mad. The SECOND NARRATOR watches him, searching for the right word to describe what he sees.)

...irritated.

Oh, c mon!

He was pretty darned mad! And refused to go in the house. The father came out and pleaded with him but he retorted, saying:

(The ELDER SON elaborately acts out the speech, illustrating virtually every word.)
 You know how I ve worked for you all these years and I never once disobeyed your orders and you never gave me so much as a kid for a feast with my friends. But! Once this son of yours turns up, after running through your money with his women, you kill the fatted calf for him!

(After the ELDER SON s excitement, he strides away grandly, hopefully accompanied by audience applause. The FATHER, acts out the next section.)

 My boy, said the father,  You are always with me and everything I have is yours. Now, how could we help but celebrate this happy day, for your brother here was dead and has come back to life - metaphorically speaking -  was lost and is found.

(As pantomime continues, the FATHER attempts to reconcile the two SONS. The ELDER BROTHER is extremely unwilling. Twice he is brought to his BROTHER, and twice he can t help but visit some sort of comic pantomime violence upon him. Finally JESUS steps in to urge the reconciliation also.)

No, I don t wanna. Please don t make me, Jesus... Oh, all right!

(And the SONS make up and embrace as all cheer. JESUS begins a high energy transition, chanting in rhythm. The beat is that of  Light of the World, and eventually the music will enter in the same tempo in which JESUS starts it.)