This poem was a reader's theatre presented at Mennonite Church Canada Assembly 2011. If you would like a copy of the divided script with directions, please email me, and I can send it to you.
And God said, Let there be…
And God said, Let there be…
And God said, Let there be…
a Word.
In the beginning was the Word:
the voice of God…over the deep.
And God spoke and created dry land,
God spoke and created light and dark,
God spoke and created evening and morning.
God spoke and created vegetation;
plants yielding seed, fruit trees of every kind.
God spoke and created living creatures;
birds and sea monsters,
cattle and creeping things,
wild animals and…
humankind.
And God saw that it was good!
The voice of God calling the Rocky Mountains—
good!
the arctic tundra, the sun-baked badlands--
good!
the wide flat prairie, the deep high forest—
good!
the streams and rivers—
grand!
the seas and lakes—
great!
All God’s creatures—the moose, the mosquito, the muskrat--
good!
The polar bear, the eagle, the sockeye salmon--
good!
Human beings of every hue,
differently abled, speaking different tongues--
good!
Creation, conjoined, inseparable,
joined together by the voice of God,
the voice of God over the deep.
[sing verses 1 & 3 of hymn “Praise the Lord, sing Hallelujah”, Hymnal #50]
God created the heavens and the earth,
and God said that it was good.
And God said
And God said
And God said to Cain,
“Sin is lurking at the door, its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Sin is lurking at the door; you must master it!
But Cain killed his brother Abel.
He killed his brother!
His brother Abel he killed.
And Sarah beat Hagar.
and Jacob lied to Isaac
and the people of Israel grumbled and turned away
and the people built a golden calf
and the people wanted to return to Egypt
and the people neglected the widow and the sojourner
and the people of Israel went after false gods,
crying all the while,
Peace, peace
where there was no peace.
Our voices creating violence.
Violent words becoming violent actions.
Our words exploding like bombs in living rooms
and church meeting rooms.
Hateful hurtful words in political negotiating rooms.
Words that name people as collateral damage, as casualties, as statistics.
Words in skyscraper boardrooms that translate into people without work,
people without homes,
people without food.
Violence grows and grows, in our hearts and in our world.
The violence against God’s good creation,
the violence against the poor, the marginalized, the helpless;
the violence against those we hate and against those we love.
And a voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
It is Rachel crying for her children.
She is crying,
and she will not be comforted.
Esau lifts up his voice and weeps.
In anger Moses throws the tablets from his hand and breaks them at the foot of the mountain.
And Tamar tears her clothes and goes away, crying aloud.
And the king cries out with a loud voice, “O Absalom, my son, my son.”
And the people lift up their voices and weep.
And the Lord said,
and the Lord said,
and the Lord said,
“What have you done?
Listen!
Listen.
Listen…
your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground.
[sing verses 1 & 3 of hymn “From the depths of sin” Hymnal#136]
And God said,
And God said, Let there be…
And God said, Let there be…
…a rainbow!
…a heavenly visitor!the hope for a son!
…a promise of descendants without number for a slave girl!
…a dream of angels ascending and descending!
Surely God is in this place!
This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!
and there was…a hope for freedom,
a warning to Pharaoh,
frogs without number,
a river of blood,
a way through the wilderness,
a deliverance from evil for Israel’s children.
And there was manna in the desert,
water flowing from the rock.
There was a Promised Land.
And God spoke from the mountain.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over mighty waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
And the voice of God came to Deborah and Gideon
and Samuel heard God calling in the night.
And Samuel said,
“Here I am. Speak for your servant is listening.”
Generation after generation we listen
we listen in our hearts,
we listen at church
we listen to the sound of the whirlwind
we listen for God’s voice.
And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah
and Jonah
and Job
and Jeremiah
and John.
The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
“Prepare the way of the Lord.”
And the Word of the Lord came to Mary,
and Mary said,
“Here am I, the servant of the Lord.
Let it be with me according to your word.”
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
And a voice from heaven said,
‘This is my Son, the Beloved.”
And the people came to Jesus,
the people crowded around Jesus,
the people flocked to Jesus, and asked,
Are you really the Messiah?
What is the most important commandment?
How can a man be born again?
Which of us is the greatest?
How often should I forgive someone?
When will the kingdom of God come?
Why do you eat with tax collectors and sinners?
And Jesus said,
And Jesus said,
And Jesus said,
I am the Bread of Life.
I am the Light of the World.
I am the true Vine.
I am the Gate.
I am the Way, the truth and the life.
I am the good Shepherd, the shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.
I am the resurrection and the life.
The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away.
Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.
[sing “Obey my voice” Hymnal #163]
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us
We beheld his face.
And the voice of the Pharisees said,
and the voice of the Sadducees said,
and the voice of Herod and Pilate said,
and the voice of the people said,
Crucify Him!
Crucify Him!
Crucify Him!
And Jesus said,
Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
Jesus cried with a loud voice
and Jesus gave up his spirit.
And darkness came over the whole land.
They laid him in a tomb.
He had given up his Spirit, but on the third day, he rose again.
He appeared to Mary and the other disciples, who saw his hands and touched his side.
And Jesus said, I will send you a Comforter.
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
The Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth.
The Spirit will declare to you the things that are to come!
Let those who have ears to hear, hear!
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