Christmas Play, 2012 The Angel Gabriel
Narrator: Throughout the Bible, angels appear, both in the Old and the New Testaments. They frequently appear as a countless multitude of beings who form the heavenly court and sing praises of God, and they perform God’s commands on behalf of nations and individuals as messengers for God.
The angel Gabriel is one of the seven archangels, the messenger of Divine Comfort. We meet Gabriel for the first time in the Old Testament, when Daniel, a Jewish exile in Babylon, has a vision that he cannot understand. The angel Gabriel appears to Daniel, and explains the meaning of the vision.
Now, in the New Testament, God has the Angel Gabriel working overtime.
Scene 1 The Angel Gabriel and Zechariah (Luke 1:5-23)
(Altar is set with gold box with angel candlesticks on top of the box)
(Zechariah comes up to the altar carrying incense. As he stands there praying, Gabriel appears, coming from the sacristy door. )
Narrator: Zechariah, a priest in the temple at Jerusalem, was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him.
Gabriel: Do not fear, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Zechariah: How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.
Gabriel: I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.
Narrator: Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak.
(Zechariah motions to the congregation, indicating that he cannot speak as he goes back to his seat and Gabriel goes out through the sacristy door.)
(Stagehand removes the gold box and angels and incense from the altar.)
Scene 2 The Angel Gabriel and Mary (Luke 1:26-37)
(Nancy Long sings verse one of The Angel Gabriel H 265)
Narrator: In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. Mary has just been to the village, and on her way home, she meets Gabriel.
(Mary comes down the aisle carrying a basket. When she reaches the front of the church, Gabriel appears from the sacristy door, comes to the front of the altar, and speaks to her. Mary drops the bucket because she is so frightened.)
Gabriel: Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
Narrator: Mary was much perplexed by the angel’s words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Gabriel: Do not be afraid, Mary! You have found favor with God! And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end!
Mary: How can this be, since I am a virgin?
Gabriel: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth, Zechariah’s wife, in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.
For nothing will be impossible with God!
Mary: Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.
Mary goes back down the aisle to her seat. Stagehand retrieves the basket.)
Scene 3 Mary goes to visit Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-56)
(Stagehand places piles of laundry on the altar.)
The angel Gabriel stands behind the altar—stage right.
Elizabeth comes to the front of the church, goes to the altar, and begins to fold the laundry. Mary comes down the aisle as the narrator begins.
Narrator: In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
Mary: Elizabeth, hello, are you home? It’s Mary.
(As Mary reaches the side of the altar, Elizabeth goes to greet her.)
Narrator: When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting she was filled with the Holy Spirit.
(Elizabeth gives Mary a big hug.)
Elizabeth: Mary! Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you are carrying! And why has this happened to me that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy! And blessed are you for believing that the message that the angel Gabriel brought to you will be fulfilled!
Mary: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed, for the mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
His mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.
Elizabeth and Mary go to the altar and continue folding the clothes.
(After the clothes are folded, Elizabeth and Mary return to their seats. Stagehands remove the laundry.)
Scene 4—Joseph and the Angel (Matthew 1:18-25)
(Joseph comes down to the front of the church, and paces back and forth, looking very disturbed.)
Narrator: Mary and Joseph were engaged, but they had not yet lived together, and Mary had been found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, was planning to dismiss her quietly. But just as he resolved to do this, the angel appeared to him in a dream.
(Joseph leans against the altar rail and goes to sleep. Gabriel comes to Joseph from stage right.
Gabriel: Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
Narrator: All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
Look, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until after the baby came.
(Joseph goes back to his seat. Gabriel goes back to back, stage right.)
Scene 5—The angels announce the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:8-15)
While shepherds watched their flocks by night H 94)
(Shepherds come out of their seats and go to the center aisle. They sit along the edges of the altar rail, tending their sheep.)
Narrator: And there were shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. (Choir members take spotlights and make them flash all over the ceiling, on the shepherds, etc.)
Gabriel: Fear not! For, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people! For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord! And this shall be a sign unto you, You will find a child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
Narrator: And suddenly there was with the shepherds a multitude of the heavenly host praising God.
Choir: Glory to God in the Highest! Peace on earth! Good will to those he favors!
(Angels come out from their pews and stand around the shepherds. )
Angels: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will to those he favors!
Narrator: The angels went away from the shepherds into heaven.
(Cheyenne goes into the sacristy, gets the star and goes around the church to the back, angels go with her and return to their seats.
Scene 6—The shepherds go to Bethlehem (Luke 2:15-20)
(Stage hands place the manger on the altar.)
Scene begins with the shepherds talking together.
Shepherd 1: Let’s go to Bethlehem, and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.
(Shepherds go down the right aisle and out the back door.)
(Mary and Joseph up with the baby and go to the altar. Mary places the baby in the manger, and she and Joseph watch over the baby.)
(Shepherds come in the stage right door and head down the aisle, and come up to the altar to pay their respects to Mary and Joseph and the baby.)
(Away in a manger H 101)
Narrator: The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as the angel had told them. And Mary kept all of these things, and pondered them in her heart.
(Shepherds go back to their seats.)
Hymn—The First Nowell H 109)
Scene 7—The Wisemen come to Jerusalem (Mathew 2:1-8)
(Mary and Joseph stay in place. Stagehand places one of the big chairs at the front of the church, and King Herod takes his seat.)
Narrator: In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem.
(Wisemen come in from the left door and go down to the front and stand beside Herod.)
Wiseman 1: Where is this child who has been born king of the Jews? For we have observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.
Narrator: When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
(Chief priest comes from stage right side of church)
Chief priest and scribe: In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet: And you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.
Narrator: Herod learned from the wisemen the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem.
Herod: Go, and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.
(Wisemen go out the back door stage left, Herod returns to his seat, and stagehands remove the chair.)
Scene 8—The Wisemen go to Bethlehem (Matthew 2:9-12)
Narrator: So the wisemen set out, and there ahead of them went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped at the place where the child was.
(We Three Kings of Orient Are H 128)
(Star leads the wisemen down the aisle, comes and stands stage right and holds star over the manger.)
(Wisemen follow the star, and they go across the center aisle, and go to altar stage left.)
They present their gifts.
Wisemen leave the altar area. Gabriel meets them in the center aisle.
Gabriel: Do not return to Herod, or to Jerusalem, but go back to your home by another way.
Narrator: And so, the wisemen left for their own country by another road. Wisemen go and stand by the lectern on stage right.
Holy family stays in place.
Gabriel comes to the front of the altar.
Gabriel: For behold, I bring all of you good news of great joy. For unto YOU is born this day in the City of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord.
Angels and shepherds return to the front of the church.
Narrator: Let us pray.
Purify our consciences, Almighty God, and bring us your divine comfort by visiting us every day, so that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
(Hymn—Angels from the Realms of Glory H 92)