Description

The birth of Jesus the Messiah, born in very ordinary circumstance, not in a palace nor castle but in an ordinary stable, a barn. The birth witnessed not by the upper crust of society but by shepherds, the lowest of the low in that society. But after the angelic announcement the “ordinary” is taken over by extraordinary, as in heaven’s own angels, and later the very impressive Kings of the Orient! This monologue talks of the birth of Jesus, that “ordinary child” born in humble circumstance in ordinary Bethlehem.

Sound: (optionally) at the end of the monologue the song: “More Than a Child”
Words and Music by Lawrence Keith Holder. © 1997 Lawrence Keith Holder (Larry Holder Music, ASCAP) http://songsofpraise.org/song.php?songid=343

Time: 10 minutes (with a song)

Sample of script:

the actor comes on stage

Of all people in human history, past and present, none, famous or infamous, have had a more profound impact on history than one raised in obscurity in the remote, irrelevant village of Nazareth, in Galilee.
The birth of Jesus looms large in historical and theological legend, yet the story receives less than two chapters in the account written by Luke, the practical and precise doctor. Matthew set aside little more than a page to recount the birth of Jesus, while Mark, and even John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, make no mention of the birth whatsoever.
How then could this birth, this extraordinary happening, have taken place with such amazing events and circumstance, yet seemingly slipped by with the attention of only a few menial shepherds, a handful of Oriental scholars, and a man and a girl-child from Nazareth? . . From all accounts, this happening drew a crowd only from residents of heaven, the angels.
What might it have been like to be a neighbor of Joseph in the town of Nazareth? And what if that neighbor had been, like Joseph, a descendant of David, and so would have been required, forced actually, by the Romans, to attend the census in Bethlehem?
Come with me as I explore those happenings of a time more than two thousand years ago. Before we start let me remind you that my story, although I try very hard to follow truthful accounts, is uneducated and uninspired speculation, for the only true and reliable account of the birth of Jesus is in the Bible, and in the heart of God. Yet perhaps by speculation, we might be forced to more closely, and carefully, illuminate and expand our understanding of God’s truly amazing gift of his own son, Jesus Christ.
If anything I say does not sit well or seems wrong, please chalk that up to my profound humanness. If there may be something in what I say which brings you more close to God or serves to make you seek to know God more intimately and to follow him more closely, it will be the spirit of God that creates this stirring in your soul.
May I introduce you to Aaron ben Simon, of Nazareth?
pause, look down for a second, then look up, a flash of recognition, smile
Good day to you! . . Yes, I am Aaron ben Simon. . . These last near sixty years I have spent as a laborer in Nazareth.
frowns as though listening to a question
Do I recall Jesus, son of Joseph the carpenter, you ask? . . Yes, of course, I recall him . . Most visitors to Nazareth ask about him. . . Some in a scornful tone, others . . more kindly.
pauses frowns as though listening to a question
The birth . . do I remember the details? . . . (chuckles) . . . Well I must admit, as the years go by my memory for detail does fail me at times . . . but, yes, yes I do recall the details. See I grew up across the street from Joseph, the carpenter. . . Fact is, as a young boy, I often visited with Joseph in his workshop. . .What an incredible talent, what he could do with a limb of an old twisted tree!
smiles
A fine, nobleman that Joseph! . . . Fair and kind to all . . even when the . . . talk started.