AN ADVENT DIALOGUE:

J.B. VS S.C.

Written by Lynne Hutchison

NOTES:  J.B. (John the Baptist) is dressed in modern clothing, but definitely not fashionably dressed.  He looks like he has spent a lot of time outdoors, and is dressed as if he lives on the street.  He enters from the back of the church and walks down the aisle, preaching.  He is intensely serious, and is passionate about his message.

S.C. (Santa Claus) would be best dressed in a "Santa suit."  An alternative might be a business suit with a "Santa hat."  He should be sitting as inconspicuously as possible (meaning with hat off) in the congregation when the drama begins.  He is smooth, somewhat obnoxious, and sounds like he's used to public speaking.

 J.B. (walking down the aisle, preaching):  Prepare the way of the Lord!  Make room for God to enter here.  The Lord is coming to visit his people.  Make sure that the road is plowed, that the sidewalk has been shovelled, that the doors are open, that the heat is turned on.  Make sure that there are people ready to greet him, that there is a place for him among you, that the Lord will be welcomed here.  He will open the door of your hearts, for he is the Lamb of God, who has come and who will come, baptizing with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  Repent, purify your minds and your hearts, for the Lord will use you as his hands and feet in the world!  Now is the time to get ready for the coming of the Lord.  Now is the time to prepare the way!

S.C. (stands up from where he has been sitting in the congregation, speaking in true parliamentary style):  Now just a minute here, J.B., I resent the implications of what you're saying here.  This is not the time for people to be repenting and purifying their hearts.  As I'm sure you'd notice if you had spent some time with any of these good people, they have quite enough other things to think about at this time of year.  For one thing, they're getting ready for me to come!

J.B.:  (Indignantly) For you to come!  Now there's a good joke.  Didn't I see you just the other day in a shopping mall?  It seems to me that you're already here!

S.C.:  (Smugly) Well so I am.  But I'm not the real Santa Claus, of course.  I'm just one of his representatives.  I'm here to help people to get ready for Christmas.  Everybody knows that the real Santa Claus won't come until then.

J.B.:  Okay, real--representative--whatever, regardless of who you really are, you're a distraction!  You're taking everybody's attention away from what they really should be doing this time of year.  You're preventing people from preparing for the coming of Christ.

S.C.:  Oh don't sound so serious!  You'll miss out on all the fun!  This is the time for parties and "Ho! Ho! Ho!" and all that.  You know.  The spirit of Christmas and giving to others and peace on earth and all that.

J.B.:  You know, you make it really hard to dislike you when you throw in things like that that sound almost...well...Christian.

S.C.:  Well I used to be a saint once, too, you know.

J.B.:  True enough.  No wonder people are so confused.  They don't know whether to call you St. Nick, or Santa Claus, or a pain in the shopping mall!

S.C.:  (Sounding hurt) You really don't like me, do you?...How can you not like me?  Everybody likes Santa Claus.

J.B.:  It's not a matter of not liking you.  It's more a matter of...priorities.

S.C.:  Priorities?

J.B.:  Yes, priorities.  You see, I have a very important message to deliver that people need to hear.  Jesus has already come once, and suffered and died for us, giving hope and salvation to all the world.  Jesus comes to us now, opening our hearts and moving us to be able to see Christ in others.  Jesus will come again, and I have been charged with urging people to prepare for his coming, both now and at the end of time.  But because of all the shopping and the parties and the gift-giving and the Christmas carols, my message gets drowned out.  Everybody just skips right over me and jumps right into the Christmas season.

S.C.:  (Skeptically) And this is a problem?

J.B.:  Yes, this is a problem!  Jesus could come this very night, and nobody here would be prepared.  He could come and knock on the door of your house, and you might be so busy with preparations for your Christmas parties and dinners that you wouldn't pause even to give him the time of day.  This is the Messiah that we're talking about here, God's anointed one, the Saviour of the world.  Isn't that a lot more important than your parties and "Ho! Ho! Ho!" and all that?

S.C.:  Obviously it is to you and to other religious fanatics, but people like you really put a damper on the Christmas spirit.

J.B.:  On whose Christmas spirit?  On yours or on God's?

S.C.:  (Sarcastically) Well I don't recall ever claiming to speak for God.  (Wistfully, staring off into space) I speak for all of the children around the world who have come to look forward to this special time of year, when they can gaze with wonder into the sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of a shining star or of Rudolph and his nose flying across the sky.

J.B.:  (Disgusted) You're all the same, you "representatives" of Santa!  Bringing children into it to make everything seem okay.  Don't you think that there is a lot more wonder there at God being born as a human baby than there is at some flying reindeer with an electric nose?  (Pause)  Here we go again, getting right into Christmas.  Christmas isn't even close yet, but Christ could come at any time.

S.C.:  (Exasperated) Oh, what are you on to now?  Another of those "the world is going to end soon" kicks?

J.B.:  Did I say anything about the world ending?  You're not just jumping ahead to Christmas, now, but straight ahead to the end of time!  No, I'm talking about the coming of Christ at any time.

S.C.:  (Condescending) Okay, J.B.  Talk to us about the coming of Christ.

J.B.:  I was talking about the coming of Christ when you so rudely interrupted me the first time! (Pauses to gather his thoughts)  Watch, all of you!  For you do not know the day or the hour when Christ will appear.  He may come to you through another person.  He may come to you begging for help, or he may come with gifts of wisdom, love or peace.  He may come and ask to be let out of your heart and into the world, in order to be of service to others through your life.  So watch, and prepare the way!  Repent, and purify your minds and your hearts.  For the one who is here and is still to come baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire!

S.C.:  Are you quite finished yet?

J.B.:  No.  In fact, I'm not finished.  My task is one of those never-ending ones that gets repeated, year after year.

S.C.:  Well, why not give it a break for a year or two and enjoy the spirit of Christmas for a change?

J.B.:  Haven't you been listening to a word that I've said?  Christ is coming, now, or at any time, and people need to be prepared to respond!  There is also this matter of the end of the world, which you jumped to so abruptly, which will also come at an unnamed day and hour.  It is only then that my task will be finished, for only then will Christ have come for the final time.

S.C.:  (Knowingly) Ah!  So you were talking about the end of the world!

J.B.:  (Totally exasperated)  It is because of people like you who have such a profound listening deficit that my task is never finished!  You hear the words, but they go in one ear and out the other. --Selective listening--That's what your problem is called!  I hope it's not contagious, or nobody here will be prepared for the coming of Christ!

S.C.:  (Reassuringly) I'm sure they'll come around, if you talk at them long enough!  In the meantime, I'm heading for the mall.  (Confidently) Things aren't quite so serious there, and there my spirit of giving and fun-filled frame are much more appreciated.

(Starts down the aisle, pausing long enough to hear the beginning of J.B.'s speech, then decides to ignore him and walks out.)

J.B.:  (With re-doubled effort)  Prepare the way of the Lord!  For God is coming to visit his people.  (Begins to walk down the aisle, exiting when his message is finished) Purify your minds and your hearts, that you may become Christ's hands and feet in the world.  The Lord has come to save all people.  Do not reject him or shut him out.  He will open the door of your heart, for he is the Lamb of God who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  Repent, for the Lord is near.  He came to bring light into the darkness of your hearts, in order that you could see Christ in others.  The Lord has come to save his people!  Prepare the way of the Lord!

© 2023 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved