The Woodworker’s Dream
			______________________

			a drama for Christmas worship

			by

			Jeff Barker

Copyright  1990						321 Albany NE
by Jeff Barker							Orange City, IA  51041
								(712) 737-8090
								barker@nwciowa.edu

Royalty and Rights
				
To obtain rights to produce this play and for a royalty quote, send a request to one of the following addresses: 

Mail:		Jeff Barker
321 Albany NE
Orange City, IA 51041

E-mail:		barker@nwciowa.edu

			Characters

The following story was originally to be performed by two actor/singers: one male and one female.  The two are indicated by the names "JEFF" and "KAREN".

				Props

	Two music stands
	Two stools
	One guitar

This version of the story is Reader's Theatre.  Consequently, there is little movement.  The actors play to off-stage focus.

This play can be adapted to Story Theatre style (no scripts) and can be played with a cast of several actors instead of just two.  

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   The woodworker's dream.
In a tiny country that was under the rule of Octavius Caesar

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               who called himself "Augustus"

BOTH                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               (turn heads aside and spit)

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   there lived a young woodworker named Joseph.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Joseph was engaged to be married to a young maiden by the name of Mary.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Joseph would always say, "She is the most kind, and peaceful, and pure woman in the whole nation.  In the whole Empire!"

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
And Mary would always say, "He's prejudiced."

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
They were both followers of Jehovah God. 

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
And walked in the ways of Abraham, the patriarch.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
They had no money, but Joseph worked very hard.  The excellence of his work became so well known that his furniture could be found in many homes throughout the region.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
One day, a traveling singer came to Joseph with a broken instrument.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
This is no natural crack.  Do you see where it crosses the grain here?

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
I see it.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Was someone careless?

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Someone, yes.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
(kind smile)  
You're angry.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
It was a soldier.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Ah . . .

BOTH                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Of the Caesar, Augustus.  
(turn heads aside and spit)

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Did you provoke him?

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
I certainly did.  I dared to be walking on the same road that he was riding on.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
(picking up the guitar)  
Joseph promised to the repair the instrument.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
And in return, the singer wrote him a love song.

	(Perhaps she starts accapella as he seems to be testing the instrument.  After a bit, 
he plays along.)

				KAREN (continued)
"Where is a love with warmth for a cold night?

 Where is a love with peace for a home?

 Where is a love that lends us its pure light?

 Oh where is a love that's sent from the heaven?"

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Joseph decided right then to sing this very song for Mary as a surprise on their wedding day.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
(continuing with the second verse, as Jeff plays guitar)

"Here is a love with warmth for a cold night.

 Here is a love with peace for a home.

 Here is a love that lends us its pure light.

 Oh here is a love that's sent from the heaven."

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Besides the gift of the song, Joseph was preparing another surprise for Mary.  He was making a beautiful bed for their first home.  It had intricate carvings on the headboard which told the story of the creation of the world.  As the wedding day drew closer and closer, Joseph worked many late nights, trying to get the bed completed.  So it was, that one night, during his evening prayers, he was so tired that he fell asleep.  And he had a dream.

	(He picks on the guitar throughout the dream sequence.)

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
It was a dream about Mary.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
In the dream, a priest came knocking at the door.

	(She knocks on the wooden part of her stool.  Five knocks.)

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
What?!  What is it?

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
(fiercely angry)  
Joseph!

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Who is it?

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
The priest!

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
By all means come in.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Joseph, are you planning a wedding?

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Yes, teacher.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Act quickly, Joseph.  Do not bring shame upon your house.  

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
(stunned, but knowing)  
Do not bring shame!?

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Do not bring shame-

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
(interrupting)  
In his dream, Joseph stumbled backward, and his gaze fell upon the bed that he was carving for Mary.  As he looked, a huge crack split the head board in two.  And suddenly, as if it were the wind, he heard a voice that sounded like Mary's voice.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
It is true, my Joseph.  The Spirit of God has put a child within me.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Joseph's face went cold.  His jaw felt as if it were suddenly made of iron.  Without turning around, Joseph made his reply.  He felt as if he actually spoke the words out loud.  But it was only in his dream that he said:  "Meet me this very hour at the house of law.  We will dissolve our wedding vows."

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
And suddenly, Joseph awoke from his dream. 

(Guitar music stops.)

				KAREN (continued)
He found himself on his knees on the floor.  He realized that he had fallen asleep while he was praying.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
He felt his face and it was red hot.  All at once, he remembered his dream.  He also remembered that he had not seen Mary very much lately. "It's only a dream," he tried to tell himself.  But he didn't really believe that.  He had learned of the dreams of the prophets from his youth.  Tears sprang to his eyes.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
Since it was now deepest night, Joseph crawled into his bed and fell asleep.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
And immediately, he dreamed again. 

	(Guitar music begins again.)

				JEFF (continued)
In his dream, he saw an angel of the Lord.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Joseph.  You have been faithful to God and have followed in the ways of Abram, the herdsman, who was blessed by God and became Abraham, the Father.  Listen to the remainder of your dream, for the first part was true.  Mary will have a son.  You must not take her to the house of law, but you must marry her.  You shall raise her son in the Godly ways of Abraham.  This child is the Savior and shall restore peace and purity to all people.

	(The guitar music stops.)

				KAREN (continued)
Then the angel left Joseph, and he slept until morning.
	(She knocks five times on her stool.)
Joseph.  Joseph!  
(five more knocks)  
Wake up!

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
(very sleepy)  
Teacher?  Is it you?

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
May I enter?

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
By all means, teacher.  Why do you rise so early?

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
(laughingly)  
Why do you sleep so late?

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
I have been working too many hours.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Joseph, are you planning a wedding?

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Yes, teacher.  You know that I am.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Act quickly, Joseph.  Do not bring shame upon your house.  And with these words, the priest turned to leave.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Teacher, wait!  Can you tell me where dreams come from?

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Can you tell me where the wind comes from?

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Can a dream be a true dream?

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
What have the prophets written?

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
How can you know if a dream is a true dream?

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Will the dream come to pass?

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
How can you know whether a dream will come to pass?

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
How much patience do you have?

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
How much patience do I have to have?

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
How much patience did Abraham have?

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Joseph was silent.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
The priest touched Joseph on the shoulder.  "Think on these things," he said, and he went out the door.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Joseph vowed to think long and hard.  But he also called his apprentice and sent him with a message for Mary.  That very hour, the apprentice returned with Mary's reply.

BOTH                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
It is true, my Joseph.  The Spirit of God has put a child within me.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Joseph felt as if a cold wind had struck him in the face. His jaw set up like ice.  But he did not go to the house of law.  That very day, he sent for the priest and took Mary as his wife.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
But he did it only to avoid a scandal.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
He had no joy, and no one sang the love song he had prepared as a surprise for Mary.  He stopped working on the bed.  It lay unfinished in the back of his shop, under a pile of lumber.

Shortly after the wedding,

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
and before the child was born,

BOTH                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
messengers from the emperor came to every city and town in Israel.

Hear ye all peoples.  The Emperor among emperors, Caesar Augustus, has decreed that all peoples of the earth shall be enrolled with the empire.  Each male must therefore return to the city of his fathers, there to be verified among his people.  Every male of age must be present in the city of his fathers according to the time schedule posted with the town councilors.  Let it be accomplished!  In the name of Almighty Augustus, let it be done!!

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
I must go to Bethlehem.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Joseph.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
I'm sorry, Mary.  But what can I do?

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
You can take me with you.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Now if the truth be known, Joseph was almost glad to be leaving Mary for a while.  He needed time to think.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
But his journey would take him away during the time of Mary's delivery.  

Joseph.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
I heard you.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
I don't want to be alone now, Joseph.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Mary, there is no way you can walk all the way to Bethlehem.  I have no donkey.  You'll get your cousin to stay with you so you won't be alone.  Stay home!

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Mary loved Joseph very much.  And she knew in her heart that if he were not present at the birth of her child, he might never love the child as his own son.  

To say nothing of loving Mary.

So she begged him continually to let her go.

And she gave him no rest.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Finally one day, when she had pressed him to the breaking point, he almost cried out,

"Get the child's father to stay with you!"

This very thought so frightened Joseph, that he went into his workshop and dug under the lumber for the wedding bed.  He sold it as it was, unfinished, and with the money, he bought an ox.  Then he built a small cart for the ox to pull to Bethlehem.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
And so together, Joseph and Mary journeyed to the town of Joseph's ancestors.

The days were hot.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
And the night's were cold.  As he walked, Joseph spoke very little.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
But his thoughts were ablaze with dialogue from the two sides of his heart.  He wondered if his dream were true.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
If the baby turned out to be girl, well then at least he would know.  But what if it were a boy baby?  What then?

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
He wondered if this boy would go down in history as a great ruler

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Or merely as an illegitimate child.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
He wondered

BOTH                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
if he would ever love Mary again.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
As they finally came into the city, it was late at night, and unseasonably cold.  They were very tired.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Joseph would gladly have crept into a farmer's barn and fallen asleep.  But he had Mary to think about.  He thought, almost out loud,

"Why did I let her come?!"

It was then that another fear struck him.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
(mockingly) 
You're a bad husband, Joseph.  Mary would have been safe at home.  If the baby dies out here, it'll be all your fault. 

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Joseph felt anger and guilt at the same time. 

	(The pace quickens.)

				JEFF (continued)
Just inside the city, he spotted a stable.  He inquired about a place for the ox.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Soon, Joseph, soon!

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Joseph left Mary and the ox while he ran to search for lodgings.  Wherever he went, the answer was always the same.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
The whole town's jammed mister.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                    
Nothin' here.  Full up.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Not a night to be out.  Sorry.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
You don't understand.  My wife, she's . . . going to have a child . . . !

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
You shoulda left her home!

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Hunh!  Some husband!

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Takes all kinds.  

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
(cynical)  
We all got trouble fella.  Hunh.  And they call this "the city of the Savior".

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Those scoffing words of a fellow traveler went like a lightening out of season straight to Joseph's heart.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
. . . the city of the Savior.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Joseph had been brought up on the words of Abraham and all the prophets.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
And now, from Joseph's youth, came rushing back the prophecy concerning his own Bethlehem.

	(Guitar)

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Out of you, O Bethlehem, shall come the Ancient One.  You have known of him from the first.  He shall rule to the ends of the earth with purity and peace.

	(Guitar stops)

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
In that instant, Joseph chose.  He ran all the way back to Mary, and the night air felt warm on his face.  When he arrived at the stable

BOTH                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Mary's time had come.

	(Perhaps the guitar music starts here.)

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
Someday, you must hear about the other miraculous events surrounding that night.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
The shepherds and the angels, the eastern men and the star.

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
But for now, be content to know that Joseph had found what he had lost.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
And when the baby . . . boy . . . arrived, Joseph sang a new version of the wedding song, as a gift for Mary, but also for himself.

	(JEFF plays the guitar and sings the first verse.  KAREN joins him on the second 
time through, in harmony.)

"This little child was born on a cold night.

 This little child brings peace to our home.

 This little child has lent us his pure light,

 For this little child was sent from the heaven."

 	(repeat)

 	(KAREN sings)

 Hush little baby, don't you cry.

 Hush little one and go to sleep.

 Hush little Savior, don't you cry.

 Mornin's a comin' soon.

(KAREN hums through the melody again during this spoken section.)

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
In the end, Joseph was glad that he did not have to wait as long as Abraham waited to find out that his dream was a true dream.  But in the eyes of God, they waited about the same length of time.  Which is to say, they waited for the fullness of time, as the prophets say.

KAREN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
(singing)

 Mornin's a comin' soon

JEFF                                                                                                                                                                   
(singing)

 This little child.

The End