IN THE BEGINNING, Pt. I

SPEAKER:
In the beginning was the Word.
God spoke into the darkness: “Let there be light,” and there was light.

JOSEPH:
The world was our canvas—packed with possibilities, boundless
Joy, peace, vision, passion, lasting satisfaction in the presence of our God.

MARY:
He walked with us, talked with us, led us and loved us!
Everything we did was with and for
Our Creator, Provider, Friend, and Father—

JOSEPH:
And we, His kids, lived without sin within the single greatest place on earth—
Eden.

SPEAKER:
But even in this land of life,
This country of light and trust and truth and peace the beast was there—
JOSEPH:
There, talking with our parents in the garden—
MARY:
There, tempting Eve to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil—
JOSEPH:
The one fruit forbidden by God to Adam and Eve—
SPEAKER:
Deceived by Satan in the form of a serpent, they disobeyed.

MARY:
Sin—Man’s greatest achievement apart from God.
SPEAKER:
Yes, sin—Man’s natural inclination apart from God.
JOSEPH:
Yes, sin—Our insistence on living apart from God—
But living apart from God is death ‘cause God is life and love and light—
Alright. So what happens next?

SPEAKER:
Redemption.

MARY:
He set apart one nation, the people of Israel, to carry His plan
for man’s salvation throughout their generations.
He promised them a Savior, the Messiah, foreseen
through centuries of prophecies to deliver Israel from their enemies.

JOSEPH:
Then one day, in the midst of human history, His story of redemption,
millennia in the making,
Peeled back the curtain to reveal the Great Hero,
the God-Man who would save humanity from their sins.

SPEAKER:
His entry into our world is earth-shaking in hindsight.
But it started with a young Jewish couple, just beginning to build a life together…
It started in northern Israel, in a backwater region known as Galilee…

ONCE UPON A TIME IN GALILEE

JOSEPH:
Once upon a time in Galilee,
There lived a young woman foretold by prophecy,
She was meant to be the mother of God incarnate,
Birthing light into the darkness—
Oh did I mention she was just a teen when all this started?

A virgin, chosen by God to bear the burden of the burden lifting Savior—
Jesus is the name He gave her to give to Him.
It meant salvation, eternal life for every nation
Every tribe and tongue and member of creation.

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to Nazareth,
A small city, insignificant, and powerless,
To a woman engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David,
The line that was prophesied to produce the Man who would rise up and save
Israel, the chosen nation of the One True God,
The children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
the ones who followed to Canaan and beyond.
Through thick and thin God’s faithfulness remained,
And now He meant to send His Son so all men could be saved.

The girl’s name was Mary… You may have heard of her.
The angel appeared to her in her home, and then he spoke to her, saying,
“Greetings, favored one of God; the Lord is with you!
Do not be afraid, daughter of God: the Lord has picked you
To conceive, and bear a son—you’ll call His name Jesus.
He’ll be great, the Son of the Most High, and He’ll be seated on the throne of David,
Forever reigning as supreme.”
The woman answered Gabriel, “How then will this be?
You see, I’m a virgin, betrothed but not yet wed.
I haven’t flirted with a man much less taken one to bed.”
He said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
The power of the Most High will overshadow you;
That is why the Child will be called… holy, the very Son of God—
And behold, your aunt Elizabeth in her old age has conceived a son!
For nothing—do you hear me? Nothing!—nothing, will be impossible with God.”

MARY:
Wait. Just, wait a second. Did that just really happen?
And what did I say? “Behold, I am the servant of God.
May it be to me, according to all you’ve said.”—What else could I have said?
And what did he say?
He said “The Lord is with you; do not be afraid, for you’ve found favor with God.”—
Favor. What does that mean?
I have a feeling we have different ideas of the word.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to know my prayers are heard
But I just want to be assured that He won’t let me go through anything I can’t endure.
(SPEAKER: I won’t let you go through anything you can’t endure.)

And there again I think we’re thinking different things.
I doubt my own ability to stand up under what I think God has for me.
As for me, He’s asking me to stand my husband asking me ‘How can this be?
You were my spotless bride and now you’re my catastrophe!’
Do you think that he’ll believe me? Or will he turn around and leave me?
I want to know that You’ll be with me. I know You said that You’ll/’d be with me.

Joseph… Joseph. He and I are betrothed. Now where will I go?
He will not have me any more. He will send me away.
I don’t want to go away. Don’t send me away!

When I think of life alone, on my own without a husband or a home
I know the world will close its doors to me, leave me out in the cold.
A single mother sent away, accused of adultery will find her way
Blocked at every turn, Impossible to earn a living, unforgiving

But I trust. I obey. I listen, I hear You say…
SPEAKER:
Trust in Me.
MARY:
Will he turn around and leave me?
SPEAKER:
Trust in Me.
MARY:
I want to know that You’ll be with me.
SPEAKER:
Just trust in Me.
MARY:
I’ll trust in You.
I do.
I know that You are with me.

NARRATOR:
Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, had planned to send her away secretly. But an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” And Joseph awoke and obeyed.

THE NEWS, Pt. I

TOWN MAN:
Have you heard the news?
(BAND: What?)
Caesar Augustus decreed a census.
(ALL: Bad luck, bad luck, bad luck, bad luck, bad luck) (Ugh)
Now there’s one family in particular
That I feel particularly sympathetic for
And that’s Mary and Joseph and their firstborn baby-to-be
(AWWW)
See, Joseph’s from the line of David, right?
And that means he’s gotta go to Bethlehem
(The city of David!)
(Ten points to Captain Obvious!)
Settle down, settle down.

Now the journey before our young couple
Is a short jaunt of ninety miles through the forests by the Jordan and the Judean desert
In the rain and the wind and the cold.
(oh)
To make it more int’resting factor in the bandits and robbers
Who frequent the trade routes they’ll travel.
And last but not least there’s the beasts to beware
Like the lions and the boars and the bears— (OH MY!)

Oh my is right! I can only hope they manage to stay warm at night
And keep the end in sight
through biting chill and waning light, it’s quite a plight
(And Mary so close to giving birth!) That’s right!

They gotta pray they get their first
Or they’ll be stoppin’ and droppin’
And Mary’s poppin’ right there on the side of the road
(Will it come to that?) Who knows? I suppose we’ll find out soon.

JOSEPH:
How’s that for a honeymoon?
(Ooh!)
JOSEPH:
I put my wife on a donkey loaded up with all we own
MARY:
It’s not a lot—
JOSEPH:
No it’s not, but it’s the most we have to show for our work.
MARY:
Considering the circumstances, maybe that’s a good thing.
JOSEPH:
You always see the silver lining.
MARY:
Oh, and one more thing—
JOSEPH:
What’s that?
MARY:
Joseph, wherever we end up I know that we’ll end up alright in the end—
JOSEPH:
Amen—Honestly I don’t deserve such a faithful and faith-filled best friend; you deserve more than I can afford to provide for you—
MARY:
Joseph don’t say that, you know that God called us to follow whatever the cost to our comfort and safety but I believe He is our comforter now and we’re safest when we are with Him.

JOSEPH:
Seriously… How did I get to be so lucky?
MARY:
Luck had nothing to do with it.

TOWN MAN:
Awww, now isn’t that just the sweetest?
It kinda makes you hate elitist Rome all the more
For uprooting poor folk to move all we own across miles of dangerous wilderness.
This census incenses us sensible simpletons spending the cents and expending the sweat of our struggles in ceaseless insistence on settling in to live simple existences—isn’t that so?
JOSEPH:
Yo! Could you keep it down? We’ve trying to pray before we up and leave town.
TOWN MAN:
My bad, my bad, you had me at“pray”
Have a nice trip and a nice stay in the city of David
JOSEPH:
Okay! Mary—let’s be on our way.
TOWN MAN:
May God guide you along the way.

THE FIRST JOURNEY

NARRATOR:
And she gave birth to a firstborn son; and wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

JOSEPH:
They deserve better, but what can I do? I trust in You.

NARRATOR:
In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

NARRATOR:
But the angel said to them,
“Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you; you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

ALL:
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased.”

NARRATOR:
So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger, and they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at what had taken place.

NARRATOR:
But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God.

IN THE BEGINNING, Pt. II

SPEAKER:
In the beginning was the Word.
God spoke into the darkness, “Let there be light,” and there was Light.
MARY:
Light, in the form of an infant.
Eternal light, wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.
JOSEPH:
That’s right. God sent His own Son into the world—
MARY:
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us—
JOSEPH:
And among us, the most powerful Being in the universe now, by His own will, lay sleeping…
MARY:
In a feeding trough, of all places— A powerful statement,
For His humble work on Earth would end the spiritual starvation of the masses!

SPEAKER:
But even in this hour of hope, in this time of life and love and joy and peace, the beast was there.
JOSEPH:
There, whispering murder in the itching ears of half-mad Herod, the raging Roman client-king of Galilee.
MARY:
There, hardening the hearts of the religious leaders of the Jews, the ones who should have of all people been most ready to receive the promised Messiah!

SPEAKER:
You didn’t expect this to be easy, did you?
You didn’t expect the devil to take this great invasion of his kingdom lying down?
His crown, hard won through murder and deceit, his seat of power over enslaved humanity—these were his highest priorities, and he would stop at nothing to stop the entry of God into his story!—

JOSEPH:
—History…will never be the same.

THE NEWS, Pt. II

Have you heard the news?
(What?)
Herod slaughtered the infants of Bethlehem.
(What a shock, what a shock, what a shock, what a shock, what a shock) (No)
Now is it true,
That he ordered every boy under two
Be put to death by the sword?
(Good Lord)

Now we all know Herod’s insane, atrocities committed every day in his name,
But you have to wonder: who’s the lightning to Herod’s thunder?
It just makes sense: an informer’s gotta be the catalyst to events
Now look to the sky, I spy with my eye, the receding silhouettes of the magi!

Apparently they wandered into town asking around to learn the location of “the King of the Jews”
(OH!—NO!)
Yep. You couldn’t have asked for a more tactless pass at the tyrant known as Herod
A fast-tracking of mass-murder incurred by the words of three guys with eyes fixed on a distant star
They came from afar with arms loaded with gifts significant as tokens fit for a king
But not Herod. And therein, lies the rub, cuz now Herod felt snubbed
Not just snubbed, he felt threatened! Threatened by a baby no less! And guess what he did?
He hid his true intentions under a veneer of humble interest, and requested
That the magi would discover where the child lived and give the information
To this ruler of the nation so he too could go and worship the Child—
(LIAR!)
Sure, they went home a different way, out of Herod’s way, but by then it was too late.
The damage had been done. The blood had been spilt. King Herod had won—or so he thought.

ON THE RUN

NARRATOR:
Now when the magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”

So Joseph got up and took the Child and his mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod.

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.”

So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, and came and lived in a city called Nazareth.

DREAMS

MARY: Joseph, come back to bed.
JOSEPH: I thought I heard something—
MARY: Please come back to bed—
JOSEPH: Do you need something?
MARY: Joseph…
JOSEPH: Anything?
MARY: It’s in your head. Nobody’s chasing us. No one is hunting us. We’re safe. Come back to bed.
JOSEPH: But it’s in my head.

JOSEPH:
Dreams—that’s how He communicates with me I mean GOD,
That’s how He shows me what will be an angel comes to me,
In the dead of night, tells me, “Get up; flee to Egypt.”
… “Alright.”

Never in my life have I had to work so hard to sleep
I’m used to working so hard, I can hardly keep
My eyes open—not to say I’m not exhausted
But to say I don’t feel lost and afraid would be absurd.

MARY:
You heard, what the angel said.
JOSEPH:
I know—
MARY:
You know, that these thoughts in your head are not strong enough
To overpower the power of God in your life, He’s guarding your life…
JOSEPH:
Gracious wife, I hear your words, but I’m not sure I can believe them deep enough to sleep enough to keep my mind at ease enough to keep you safe.
I need you safe… I need a minute alone…

God, I know You hear me… So here it goes… Look,
I’d be fine if You said to me “Joe, I’m sorry but you gotta go,
For the sake of the Child and Mary and you’ll always know
That I’m with you to guide and provide and protect you can bet
That I’ll be right there in your corner every second
Never wreck you on the rocks,
Never let you down so long as I’m around,
But even if I see fit to let you suffer, know you’re suffering, for the King,
The Lord of everything and if you die in His service
You’ll find that you go on to live with Me

But see, that’s not, how it happened not at all in fact, You backed,
Me into a corner and ordered me to take my wife and Child with me and
That’s the thing that worries me discourages me, cuz now

I’m fearing for them,
My helpless baby and my innocent bride in hiding for their lives
Just biding their time while I’m losing my mind just trying to find
The courage to protect and provide

I’d be fine on my own, if I knew that they were safe,
If I knew the Messiah would survive to redeem the human race
But how can I face, this dangerous place, this restless race
Against those, who want to see Your Son erased?

I need grace, a change of pace, a place, where I can lay down my wife and Child without fearing their fate—
Until that-day, I’m afraid I have to stay awake to make certain of their safety…
‘Cause if I don’t do it, who will?

WHERE WERE YOU?

SPEAKER:
Where were you, when I spoke these ancient stars into existence?
Where were you, when I formed the earth beneath your feet?
Where were you, when sin broke my heart and left you all alone?
Were you there, when I wept for you upon my throne?

Can you discern the hearts of men,
To know which way their wills will bend,
Or know their minds even better than they do?
I am the one who does no wrong.
I am the one who sings this song for
You can always trust I will be true.

Where were you, when I laid my plan for man’s redemption?
Where were you, when I chose to save you from your sins?
Where were you, when my Son agreed to set you free?
Were you there, when He chose to pay your penalty?

Have you given your voice to the thunder?
Have you made the oceans part?
Can you calm a storm at sea?
You can’t even calm the storm in your own heart.
Have you led the constellations forth?
Have you set the sun upon its course?
Have you given your strength to the mountains?
And you doubt my strength to save!

I am the one who does no wrong.
I am the one who sings this song for
You can always trust I will be true.
I’ll never turn around and leave you.
I’ve always said I will be with you.
I only ask that you believe me.
I only ask that you receive me.

And one more thing.
Can you sleep, when you’re fearing for your life?
When you’re staying awake trying to do My job?
Have you made it this far on your own ingenuity? Or wisdom?

JOSEPH:
No.

GOD:
No. What did you say a moment ago?
Dreams—that’s how I communicate with you.
Now, think, Joseph. What do I require of you, to lead this family, to keep my Son safe?

JOSEPH:
I—
GOD:
Joseph, think. What do I require?

JOSEPH:
Sleep.

GOD:
Yes. Rest. Test my goodness with your faith, not your fear, and go to sleep,
And see if I won’t perfectly guide you every step of the way, every hour of every day,
If you’ll only, trust in Me.
JOSEPH:
I want to know that you’ll be with me.
GOD:
Just trust in Me.
JOSEPH:
I do. I know that You are with me.

NARRATOR:
And Mary and Joseph settled with the Child in Nazareth. And the Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

IN THE BEGINNING, Pt. III

SPEAKER:
In the beginning was the Word.
God spoke into the darkness, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

MARY:
Light, in the form of a Man.
Eternal light, clothed in robes and sandals, walking from town to town proclaiming the arrival of the kingdom of God.

JOSEPH:
He healed the sick, cleansed lepers, gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf; He preached good news to the poor and cast out demons, setting captives free! How can it be

SPEAKER:
that even in these joyful days, these times of freedom, relief and release the beast was there…

MARY:
There, stirring the religious leaders to spurn the Messiah and seek His demise.

JOSEPH:
There, waylaying the wayward heart of Judas, one of Jesus’ own disciples, to betray the very Son of God for thirty pieces of silver.

TOWN MAN:
There, inciting the Jews to discontentment, exciting their minds until they cried out, Crucify Him!
(ALL: CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM!)

(UNDER THE FOLLOWING, ALL whisper together: Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Etc.)
JOSEPH:
I lift my Child in my arms, feeling pride and humble joy.
SPEAKER:
They lift my Son on the cross, I cry for my suffering boy.
MARY:
I look up into his face, wondering what His life will be.
SPEAKER:
She looks upon his mangled body, wondering, “God, how can this be?”
TOWN MAN:
We welcome Him into our city, shouting praises to His name!

SPEAKER:
They spit upon him, mock Him, beat Him, clothing Him with hate and shame.

MARY:
The one Man able to save us from our sins, who Himself had no sin…
Was falsely tried and crucified. He died at our hands.

SPEAKER:
The Light of the world was extinguished, His body taken down and sealed up in the darkness of a tomb. The beast had won…or so he thought.

JOSEPH:
Three days go by, Mary cries till her eyes run dry—three days go by…

TOWN MAN:
Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

SPEAKER:
Light, in the form of an empty tomb.
Eternal light, founded in creation, resounded in the incarnation; redounded to the crucifixion, and rebounded in the resurrection!

JOSEPH:
Stop a minute.
Breathe the air and let it sit a minute.
In a minute God had rocked the earth and rolled the rock that sealed His Son within the earth, and with it too he rocked the curse that held us bound within the earth, imprisoned in a tomb of sin and death, and when He did away with this He left His Son alive and standing in the sun to breathe the air and let it sit a minute.

Let it sit, how in a minute sin had lost its grip on lost humanity, insanity and vanity had given way to sanity and satisfaction deeper than the poisoned wells of vanity and sin.

In the span of a moment God threw open the gates to heaven, inviting everyone to come and drink of everlasting life exclusively upon the merit of His perfect resurrected Son, not by our own good works or good intentions, not at all by man’s invention but by the intervention of amazing grace. How sweet the sound, that reached into our darkness and offered us the Light, if only we would trust in Him again, as once we’d done… in Eden.

TOWN MAN:
So.
Have you heard the news?
Jesus died to save you from your sins.
(ALL: Praise God—Praise God—Praise God—Praise God—Praise God!) (Yes!)
It’s tried and true:
He gives new life to all who believe and confess that the best they can do still falls short of the glory of God, and that they need a Savior.

MARY:
He’s calling you. He wants to share His goodness and glory if you’ll only receive Him as lord of your life. He’s offering the best gift you can ever receive—
(ALL: New life!)
JOSEPH:
So what should you do? It seems pretty obvious from where we’re standing but in the end the choice is yours to make…

TOWN MAN:
Now take this meditation home with you.
MARY:
See Him there in the manger—it’s all for you
JOSEPH:
Consider all that He went through, all that He’s been through
All that He fought for and overthrew
(ALL: FOR YOU!)

SPEAKER:
We call Him Jesus, it means salvation, but there’s another name our Father gave Him:
Immanuel, it means God with us. Cuz God is with us, in the dirt and the dust, yes God is with us in the rain and the rust, God is with us in the hard times we must push through—

ALL:
Immanuel! God with us!

JOSEPH:
How’s that for a merry Christmas?