The Cheltenham
Passion Play
Good Friday 2000
Act 2:
Remembrance / Conflict
In the light of experiences on the
streets of Cheltenham we renamed this Act Conflict for the Jesus for Today DVD
The route takes us through the Gates
of Sandford Park
across the Road and round into Bath
Street Cambray Baptist Church Cambray Place
Scene 1: The Cleansing of the Temple
Jesus and the core cast go through
the Gate on to the Old Bath Road Cambray
Church Old
Bath Road Bath Street
The Band has taken up its place outside
Cambray Church
Tables with Hot Cross Buns on have
been arranged just at the bottom of the steps outside Cambray and cages of
Homing Pigeons have been placed in the courtyard too, ready to be released at
the moment when Christ turns the Tables over.
As the procession arrives at Cambray
people are accosted by Hot Cross Bun sellers.
There are Buns for sale on the tables outside the church and Sellers
have Ice Cream Trays loaned by the Everyman Theatre as they mingle with the
crowd selling the buns. This scene is staged by Cambray with support from other
churches with one of their leaders encouraging people to buy. Maybe the Treasurer of Churches Together
too!! - They are very money conscious!.
The Buns are on sale in individual ‘sandwich’ bags. Each Bag is sealed with a label - this
includes a quotation ‘I am the Bread of Life’ and an instruction - please do
not Ministers should be dressed as Religious Leaders in the Play.
Minister(s) This
is where you buy your hot cross buns.
We
had some hot cross buns left over. It’s
a shame to waste them.
We
do have costs to meet for today - any extra we are going to give to
charity. Please buy your hot cross buns
- hang on to them - don’t eat them now.
You can eat them later. The
‘Minister’ keeps up the explanations and
continues selling his or her wares around the courtyard outside Cambray as the
crowd settles. There is a hubbub of
excitement and lots of fun.
Bun Sellers shouting
their wares like market traders.
One for 10p, two for 10p hot
cross buns
If
you haven’t got 10 p then 5 p will do
One
for 10p, two for 10p hot cross buns
As the crowd settles the Minister gathers all the Hot Cross Bun sellers
to the front so that when Jesus bursts out of the church and down the steps
their trays are sent flying.
Minister We
need all the Hot Cross Bun sellers to the front - all the hot cross bun sellers
to the front ... we do need as much money as we can today - if you haven’t
bought - please give as much as you can.
We have decided to set stalls in all the churches on Sunday - it’s a
pity it has to be on Easter Sunday - but we do need to raise as much money as
we can to cover our costs.
At this point Jesus bursts through
the doors of Cambray and down the steps, sending the tables with Hot Cross Buns
etc flying. The homing pigeons are
released. He is apoplectic with rage. The disciples follow him on to the steps and
into the courtyard ... the church leaders emerge more slowly looking on with
disdain.
Christ Enough! I have had enough.
My
house was designated a house of prayer for all the nations!
You’ve
turned it into a den of thieves.
Get
your things out of here! Stop turning my
Father’s house into a supermarket![1]
Joseph What
are your credentials? Who are you to
tell us what to do in the Temple
Christ Tear
down this Temple
Joseph It
took forty-six years to build this Temple
Christ I
am the resurrection and the life - those who believe in me, though they die,
yet shall they live. And whoever lives
and believes in me shall never die.
Come
to me all you that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest
people who are blind and lame come
forward - Jesus places his hands on people in healing prayer. A child comes forward
Child Hosanna
to the Son of David
Blessed
is the King!
Annas Do
you hear what these children are saying?
Christ Yes,
I hear them. What’s that old
saying? ... out of the mouths of babes and sucklings ...
Caiaphas Teacher,
we know you have integrity. You teach
the way of God accurately. You are
indifferent to popular opinion. You
don’t pander to your students. So tell us honestly: Is it right to pay taxes to the Government or
not?”
Christ Why
are you playing games with me? Why are
you trying to trap me? Do you have a
coin? Let me see it.
This
engraving - who does it look like? And
whose name is on it?
Joseph The
head of state
Christ Give
to the state what is theirs. And give to
God what is his.[2]
Christ You’re
not impressed by the sheer size of this Temple
Watch
out for doomsday deceivers. They are
going to throw you to the wolves and kill you, everyone hating you because you
carry my name. And then, going from bad
to worse, it will be dog-eat-dog, everyone at each other’s throat, everyone
hating each other.
Stay
with me. Stay with me to the end.. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be saved.
I
am the world’s light. No one who follows
me stumbles around in the dark. I
provide plenty of light to live by. So
come, follow me.[3]
the procession sets off down Cambray
place, around the corner into the High Street and on to the space outside the
Regent’s Arcade . Between the two lines of kerb stones.
Scene 2 - The Last Supper
The Band has already walked ahead and
taken up their place at the far end of the acting area. As the crowd arrives outside Burger King the
Band are playing Holy Week music. The
crowd gathers outside the Regent Arcade in front of Burger King - an
appropriate place for the Last Supper.
Are we in the middle of a Passion Play set 2000 years ago, or here on
Good Friday in the Year 2000. There’s a
space - stage blocks. The Narrator
begins echoing the opening of the play.
This is important as this is a place where shoppers will be passing
by. It establishes once more what we are
doing and who the main characters are.
The stage blocks are arranged in two sets. One at the Boots Corner end of the acting
area is for the Religious Leaders. The
other set of blocks is arranged as for the Last Supper. It is where Christ stands, where the Parable
is performed and where the Last Supper takes place.
Narrator The
High Street. A Bank Holiday
Week-end. Easter Week-end. And today is Good Friday. Churches Together. Friends Together. It’s good to be together. And we are on a journey. A journey that’s 2000 years old already, a
journey that’s still going on. A journey
for today. And leading the way ...
Jesus.
Jesus comes into the centre - four groups of three disciples come one at
a time and gather round Jesus
James We
could see he was a Teacher.[4]
John We
thought he was the Son of God.
Peter We
knew he was the Messiah ... the One everyone had been waiting for.
Judas We
called him our King.
Christ James,
and everyone else ... there’s trouble ahead if you think you have it made. What you have is all you’ll ever get.[5]
John,
and everyone else ... there’s trouble ahead if you’re satisfied with
yourself. Your self will not satisfy you for long.
Peter,
and all of you there’s trouble ahead if you think life’s all fun and
games. There’s suffering to be met, and
you’re going to meet it.
Judas,
there’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying
what flatters them, doing what indulges them.. Truth counts: not popularity. Your task is to be true, not popular.
I
want you to believe God’s message. Now
is the time. God’s kingdom is here. God’s rule is in your hearts. Change your life and believe the Message![6]
Listen
closely!
The
following story needs to be acted out - street-theatre fashion - it could be
fun ... but it has a really sinister note of fore-boding ...[7]
There
was once a man, a wealthy farmer, who planted a vineyard. He fenced it, dug a winepress, put up a
watchtower, then turned it over to the farmhands and went off on a
journey. When it was time to harvest the
grapes, he sent his servants back to collect his profits.
The
farmhands grabbed the first servant and beat him up. The next one they murdered. They threw stones at the third but he got
away. The owner tried again, sending
more servants. They got the same
treatment. The owner was at the end of
his tether. He decided to send his son. “Surely,” he thought, “they will respect his
son.”
But
when the farmhands saw the son arrive, they rubbed their hands in greed. “This is the heir! Let’s kill him and have it all for
ourselves.” They grabbed him, threw him
out, and killed him.
Christ Murderer
of prophets![8] Killer of the ones who brought you God’s
news! How often I’ve ached to embrace
your children,[9]
the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you wouldn’t let me. What
is there left to say? Only this: you are
not going to see me much longer.
Peter When
is all this going to happen? What day?
What hour?
Christ The
exact day and hour? No one knows. Not even the Son. Only the Father. So keep a sharp lookout, for you don’t know
the timetable. The Father has given me
all these things to do and say. Are you
tired? Worn out? Come to me.
Come, follow me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I
do it. Love one another.[10]
the Religious leaders have again been
at the back of the crowd - they are at the Boots end of the crowd. For a moment the attention turns to them.
Annas We
have heard enough of this blasphemy.
Caiaphas We
must put an end to it.
Joseph Not
now. Not in the open. He
is playing for time.
Caiaphas After
the Passover Meal - in the dark. Where
no one can see.
Annas We
need help.
Jesus again stands in the middle of a
circle of Disciples. The Women who have
been key players so far are in the circle.
One more pushes in ... she has a large jar of very pungent perfume She anoints Jesus with it.
One of the disciples pushes her aside ... it is Judas Iscariot. The other disciples share his anger.
Judas Iscariot That’s
criminal! This could have been sold for
a lot and the money handed out to the poor.
Christ Why
are you giving this woman a hard time?
She has just done something wonderfully significant for me. You will have the poor with you every day for
the rest of your lives, but not me. When
she poured this perfume on my body what she really did was anoint me for
burial. You can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is
preached, what she has just done is going to be remembered and admired.
Judas breaks out of the circle -
pushes through the crowd - and catches the Religious leaders who are just
turning away ..[11].
Judas Iscariot What
will you give me if I hand him over to you?
Annas 15,
20, 25
Judas Iscariot 30
pieces of silver.
They shake hands on it ...
Judas Iscariot The
one I kiss, that’s the one - seize him.
Judas makes as if he will break
through and betray Jesus at that moment.
Caiaphas Not
now. Now is not the time. there is real menace in his voice
Joseph Wait.
Again playing for time - he really wants it never to happen
Caiaphas Wait
for the moment to hand him over. Even more menace
Judas is restrained ... and then
returns, calming himself to the circle of Disciples and to Jesus. As the
previous conversation has been taking place the disciples have queued up to
pass in front of Jesus. He kneels and
washes their feet one by one. The bucket
he uses for water to wash their feet has been brough from the Well by the Woman
of Samaria
Peter Master,
you wash my feet?[12]
Christ You
don’t understand now what I am doing, but it will be clear enough to you later.
Peter You’re
not going to wash my feet - ever!
Christ If
I don’t wash you, you can’t be part of what I’m doing.
Peter Master! Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!
Christ If
you’ve had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you’re
clean from head to toe. My concern, you
understand is holiness, not hygiene. So
now you’re clean. [He
has now finished washing Peter’s feet ... Judas is the only disciple left. As he approaches, Jesus looks at Judas] But not every one of you.
[He washes Judas’s feet. Judas is embarrassed. After he finishes washing their feet, he
takes his robe, puts it back on, and takes his place at the centre of the
blocks arranged as a table. It is
necessary for Christ to stand on the Blocks so that he may be heard by the
crowd.
Christ Do
you understand what I have done to you?
You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master’, and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your
feet, you must now wash each other’s feet.
I’ve laid down a pattern for you.
What I’ve done, you must do. I’m
only pointing out the obvious. A servant
is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the
employer. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like
it - and live a blessed life.
After saying these things, Jesus
becomes visibly upset ... he tells them why.
John is closest to him - he wipes his tears.
John Why?
Jesus, Why do you weep.
Christ I
have something hard but important to say to you.
John Tell
us what, Jesus. Tell us what it is.
Christ One
of you is going to hand me over to the authorities.
John It
isn’t me, is it, master?
James It
isn’t me, is it?
Peter It
isn’t me.
Christ The
one who hands me over is someone I eat with daily, one who passes me food at
the table.
Judas Iscariot It
isn’t me, is it, Master?
Christ Don’t
play games with me, Judas.[13]
As the disciples say these words over
each other - Peter beckons John across
Peter Ask
him who it is ...
John Master,
who?
Christ to
John privately The one to whom I give this crust of
bread. Then Jesus stands - the
little boy who had offered Jesus a hot cross bun for the Feeding of the 500
comes forward and offers Jesus a hot cross bun once more. Then he prays ...[14]
Christ Praise
the Lord, everyone here
Praise
the Lord, all the nations
For
great is God’s love towards us all
Making
us friends together.
Father
God, make us one heart and mind
and give the world evidence of your wonderful love. Amen.
We
are friends together aren’t we? Take
it. Break it. Share it.
There
is a pause as people share their hot cross buns. There’s no need for any
instructions. People quickly realise
what they need to do. This is where it
is important that there is a core to the crowd in costume who are aware of what
they need to do - others quickly follow.
It is a sharing very much like the Feeding of the 5000 and full of
meaning for all who take part. Jesus
shares his hot cross bun with Judas and as he does so he says
Christ Take,
eat.
This
is my body.
After a pause he speaks to Judas
Christ Do
what you must do. Do it and get it over
with.
Judas, with the piece of bread
leaves. He pushes through the crowd to
the Religious leaders who are on the Boots end of the crowd - and together they
walk up to Boots Corner and around towards the Promenade - beyond the first set
of trees outside Cavendish House.
Jesus
then takes a bottle of the Cheltenham
Millennium wine which had figured large in the telling of the Parable, and
pours it into a cup. As he says these words he looks after the figure of Judas
who is rushing away ...
Christ This
is my blood, God’s new covenant poured out for many people for the forgiveness
of sins. I’ll not be drinking wine from
this cup again until that new day when I’ll drink with you in the kingdom of my
Father.[15]
Jesus stands - the disciples stand
with him ... the cup is passed round the disciples only.
Christ This
is the moment. The moment of God’s
glory. Children, I am with you only a
short time longer. You are going to look
high and low for me. But just as I told
all those religious people, I’m telling you:
“Where I go, you are not able to come.[16]
Let
me give you a new command: Love one
another. In the same way I loved you,
you love one another. This is how
everyone will recognise that you are my disciples - when they see the love you
have for each other.[17]
Peter Master,
just where are you going?
Jesus You
can’t now follow me where I’m going. You
will follow later.
Peter Master,
why can’t I follow now? I’ll lay down my
life for you.
Jesus Really? You’ll lay down your life for me? The truth is that before the cockerel crows,
you’ll deny me three times.[18]
Jesus sets off - the women follow a
little way behind ... and then Peter,
James and John, the remaining eight disciples, and then the crowd. This is a procession in pairs, or maybe
fours. It needs careful stewarding. After about 20 paces the first of the women
stop and stand to the side - she recites words of Jesus from John 14-16 - these
are the words Jesus wants to share with those who have gathered around the
table. They are words which present to
onlookers the heart of the message of Christ.
Each pair of women stand read the words as Peter, James and John pass,
and the pair of women stay in that spot - repeating the words as the remaining
disciples pass, and as the crowd pass.
She simply repeats the words, so that everyone in the procession hears
them. Meanwhile twenty paces on the second of the women breaks off on the other
side and does exactly the same. In this
way - there will be a woman every twenty paces or so, reciting words of Jesus
as the disciples and crowd pass. As the
last of the crowd pass, each of the women finish and then join the procession -
they become the final twelve people in the procession. They continue to stand at a distance. The whole procession follows Jesus and the
Disciples past Boots and around the
corner, up the Promenade towards the first lot of trees outside Cavendish House
.
Woman1 Go
in peace and hear the words of Jesus.
You trust God, don’t you? Trust
me.
Woman 2 There
is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home.
If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a
room ready for you.
Woman 3 And
if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can
live where I live.
Woman 4 I
am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life.
No one gets to the Father apart from me.
Woman 5 Believe
me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me.
If you can’t believe that, believe what you see - the things that I do,
the things that are happening.
Woman 6 If
you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you.
Woman 7 I
will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you with another Friend so that you
will always have someone with you. This
Friend is the Spirit of Truth.
Woman 8 I
will not leave without someone to look after you. I’m coming back.
Woman 9 In
just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me
because I am alive and you’re about to come alive.
Woman 10 The
person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by
my Father, and I will love him.
Woman 11 In
this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.
Woman 12 I’m
leaving you well and whole. That’s my
parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to
being left - feeling abandoned, bereft.
So don’t be upset. Don’t be
distraught.[19]
[1] This brings together Matthew 21, Mark 11, and Luke 19 and also John
2. It weaves together various quotations
in order to bring out the sense of drama and of mounting conflict. What are your credentials alludes to the
debate over authority. The quotation
from Matthew 11 ... Come to me is included to fill out Matthew’s description in
21 of people coming to Jesus to be healed.
[2] This quick fire debate between religious leaders and Jesus is based
on the sequence of controversies the religious leaders enter into with
Jesus. At this point Christ turns more
to the disciples and we turn to Mark 13 and parallel passages.
[3] The scene finishes with another of the I am sayings, this time from
John 8 which is set by John in the Temple
[4] This is a deliberate echo of the opening of the play. As in John 1 Christ is identified in a number
of different ways. This serves the dual
purpose of giving a sense of coherence to the Play for those who have followed
it from the beginning and also of introducing those who are only just now
joining in to the theme of the play and the identity of Christ.
[5] At the beginning of the play Christ called the disciples and then
moved into the Sermon on the Mount. The
Beatitudes were taken from Luke’s Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6, though in the
more traditional wording. As the play
‘begins again’ on the High Street, Christ uses the ‘woes’ that appear in Luke
6. This time the wording is taken from
the Message. Once more, Christ addresses
each disciple individually and through that disciple the whole gathering. There is a significance in the choice of
disciples he addresses, not least in the words he says to Peter and also to
Judas.
[6] This is the summary of Christ’s message from Mark 1.
[7] The parable is a sinister one full of foreboding for what is to
come. It comes from Matthew 21 and the
last week of Christ’s life. And yet it
can be acted out in a fun way. One
possibility might be to present it as a Punch and Judy Show. A Punch and Judy man could have been
entertaining the shoppers seemingly as part of an ordinary entertainment before
the arrival of the Passion Play. Christ
turns to the Punch and Judy Show which proceeds to tell the story of the Parable
in the style of a Punch and Judy show.
In the event we told the story of a Cheltenham Millennium Wine grown in
vineyards on the outskirts of Cheltenham which
had been developed because of global warming.
It was a fun presentation of the parable which ended with the son
standing, arms outstretched, head drooped in a crucified position. The actors were dressed in black contrasting
with the white of the Parable of the Sower.
[8] This comes from the end of Matthew 23, following Matthew’s account
of the Woes. It is also an appropriate
comment on the Parable.
[9] The son from the Parable has until this point been standing as if
crucified. At this point Christ puts his
arm around him. And the son comes back
to life and moves away ... suggestive of the raising of Lazarus.
[10] After the questioning, echoes of the words of comfort from Matthew
11 Christ had shared in the previous scene.
Love one another is a reference to the summary of the Law and the New
Commandment.
[11] The account of the betrayal is woven together with the Last Supper,
the anointing of Jesus’s feet and the Last Supper. A little dramatic licence reintroduces Mary
Magdalene who in our play is the Woman who had been healed at the beginning of
the first Act.
[12] The footwashing and the ensuing dialogue is taken from John 13.
[13] Matthew 26
[14] This is the prayer used at the beginning just before the Feeding of
the 5000: it brings together words from Psalm 117, one of the Hallel Psalms
used at Passover, and words from Jesus’ prayer in John 17.
[15] These words are taken from Matthew, whose emphasis on forgiveness
is important as the Play unfolds through the penitence of Judas and the words
from the cross.
[16] John 12
[17] John 13
[18] John 13
[19] These words are all taken from John 14-16.
