Nifty Nativity
Advent into Christmas: Mary and Eve: The Difference
THIS DRAMA IS ON 'DRAMA' LINK AS WELL AS 'ASSEMBLIES' LINK.
First the children sing a song called ‘The Crafty Serpent’ all about a lady who once said ‘No’ to God, because she liked having her own way, and because she was tempted to do wrong, and she was weak. Her name was Eve. Later we are going to hear of a quite different lady, one who was obedient, who simply said ‘Yes’ to God’s will for her life. Her name was Mary.
See link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33GapienszM
Talk (first part):
I love the Nativity Story: it’s the best story ever, it has lasted over 2000 years
Here I present to you the Shortest Nativity play on record, because we simply don’t have time in one assembly, to tell the full story:-
(at this point, the play is acted out by volunteers, (even teachers), who must act as if they are in reception class doing their first Nativity play ever! They do not interact with each other, but shout out one at a time, rising from a chair to say their lines)
Nifty Nativity (dress up each character with the correct headgear)
MARY white cloak
JOSEPH: brown cloak with head strap or belt
ANGEL: tinsel crown
INNKEEPER: tea towel plus head strap or belt
SHEPHERD: (yet another tea towel with head strap or belt
WISE MAN: crown
HEROD: bigger crown
Narrator; I am the Narrator: and here are the characters in our play:
THE NIFTY NATIVITY: the shortest Nativity play on record
MARY: I am Mary
JOSEPH: And I am Joseph
ANGEL: I am an angel from God
INNKEEPER: I am an innkeeper
SHEPHERD: I am a shepherd
WISE MAN: And I am a wise man
HEROD: I am the bad guy, King Herod
Narrator: Scene 1 : Nazareth: Inside Mary’s house
ANGEL: Greetings
MARY: (Screams)
ANGEL: Don’t be afraid!
MARY; What do you want from me?
ANGEL: You will give birth to a son, God’s son.
MARY: That’s not possible!
ANGEL: Oh yes it is. You will call him Jesus!
MARY: All right!
Narrator: Scene 2: Mary tells Joseph the good news to Joseph
MARY; I am with child!
JOSEPH: (Screams) Aagh! A baby! That’s impossible!
ANGEL: Nothing is impossible with God!
JOSEPH: All right!
Narrator: Scene 3: Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem
MARY: Why did we come here?
JOSEPH: For the Census!
MARY: All right!
JOSEPH: How are you feeling?
MARY: The baby is coming!
JOSEPH: (Screams) Aaaaagh! Oh NO!
Mary: Oh Yes!
INNKEEPER: Do you need a room?
JOSEPH: Yes please
INNKEEPER: Here is a stable
JOSEPH: Gross!
INNKEEPER: TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT!
Narrator: Scene 4: A lonely hillside near Bethlehem
ANGEL: Go and see the Saviour of the World
SHEPHERD: (Jumps up and screams) Aaaagh! Where will we find him?
ANGEL: In an animal feeding trough in Bethlehem
SHEPHERD: All right.
Narrator: scene 5: Herod’s palace:
WISE MAN; We’re looking for a baby king
HEROD: (Screams) Aaaagh! You’re looking for a what?
WISE MAN: a baby king
HEROD: Not here!
WISE MAN: All right!
HEROD: Come back when you’ve found him
Wise Man; All right!
Narrator: Scene 6: The Stable:
WISE MAN: Take these gifts for the baby king!
MARY; All right!
WISE MAN: We will go home a different way!
Narrator: Scene 7: Back at the palace
HEROD; I have been tricked! (Screams) Aaaaagh!
Go find that baby and kill it!
NARRATOR: The BEGINNING!
Talk; (Part Two)
At the end of a play we usually say, ‘The End’ . . .don’t we?
What did this NARRATOR JUST SAY?
Yes ~the Beginning!
Here at the birth of Jesus, it was indeed the beginning.
The beginning of what?
Let me explain.
Right at the start of the bible we read about a woman called Eve, was wanted to do what SHE wanted to do. She took absolutely no notice of what God had asked her NOT to do! And when God said ‘ No, don’t do that!’ he really meant it.
But she took fruit from the tree God told her not to eat from, and she ate it and gave some to her husband Adam.
She, and Adam who also ate the fruit, were thrown out of God’s beautiful garden.
It was the END of the good life they enjoyed with God as their friend. Sin came into the world, and it became ugly. So near the beginning of the Bible, we have the ‘end’.
But near the end of the Bible we have the Beginning!
In the story of the Christmas Nativity story we find a quite different woman, the opposite really. She was obedient, and he was called Mary. When God asked HER to do something, she said a simple ‘Yes’ and because of her ‘Yes’ we found that all of us in the world were able to come close to God again, through the baby she gave birth to.
The birth of her son Jesus, was the BEGINNING :
· of love joy and peace returning to earth
· of God’s words and actions being heard and seen
· of light returning to rid the world of the ugliness of sin and death and trouble.
Eve’s “No” brought sin and death into the world.
Mary’s ‘Yes’ brought life for all humankind.
And each time we say our ‘Yes’ to God; we do the same for our world as Mary did.
The season of Advent invites us to do just that, to say ‘Yes’ like Mary did to living the kind of life God wants us to live, just as Jesus showed us how.
Sing the song again to end.
Below find an alternative beginning to introducing the Nifty Nativity play.
In our family we have this tradition of sometimes hiding presents for our children to find, by leaving coded messages around the house, such :-
“Go to the cupboard and there you will find
Your very first clue, if you’re not blind!”
And then they’ll go to the cupboard, and there’ll be a different message,
‘Go up the stairs, and you’ll know what to do,
Go look in the bath, right next to the loo!’
And there our children would find another clue, and another until they found their presents.
The Nativity story is full of little clues for people, and all these clues fit together like a jigsaw falling into place, until everyone seems to discover that perfect gift;
the baby in the manger: Jesus Emmanuel, God with us.
clues such as
To Mary:-
Go to Elizabeth your cousin and tell,
And you will find she waits for a baby as well!
To Joseph;-
Do not fear Joseph, for Mary speaks true
You must marry her, and remember God trusts you too
To the shepherds:-
‘Go to Bethlehem, there you will find
a feeding trough with a baby inside!
To the wise men:-
Follow the star on this cold wintry night
Stop where it stops and look for the Light’
and so on.