Summary: We seldom hear from Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, but she had a significant part to play in God's plan of redemption for mankind. In this monologue, she tells her story.
Style: Dramatic. Duration: 7min
Actors: 1F
Characters
Elizabeth
Script
My name is Eli-sheba, you know me better as Elizabeth. My name means God’s promise.
Growing up among my friends in the village, we all looked forward to marriage and growing families.
I am a direct descendant of Aaron, the first high priest and so is my husband Zechariah. His name means “God remembers”. We tried to live a godly life and expected to be blessed as an example to everyone of how God blesses obedient people.
But the years went by and we had no children. The families of all my girlfiends grew year by year. At first they encouraged me, then they pitied me, then they despised me. One by one they started avoiding me. They thought I must be a hypocrite, living a life of secret sin to be cursed by childlessness. Every month I faced my own disappointment and that of my husband. I felt I was letting him down. I know he felt it, too. So much for “God remembers”! My arms ached to hold a child but every month my womb wept. Eventually, I was past the age of having children so my womb stopped weeping - but I didn’t.
It was so hard to hold my head up year after year, serving God faithfully with no result. My name – God’s promise - was a mockery. I felt abandoned by the God we served.
When Zechariah went down to Jerusalem to serve at the temple worse was to befall him. An angel visited him and because the news that finally we were to have a son was too hard to believe – he was stuck dumb. Imagine my terror on his return home! I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry! I did both! I laughed at the idea of pregnancy at my age and cried for the situation with Zechariah! I didn’t believe I ould have a baby so Zechariah would be dumb for the rest of his life! It seemed we were being punished further. But when I started feeling sick every morning, all that turned to JOY! God vindicated us in the eyes of the people. Everyone knew that God had wrought a miracle in our lives.
I was 6months gone when I had a surprise visit from my young cousin Mary. As she called my name, it felt as though my baby was doing somersaults in my womb, he was leaping for joy in the presence of the Messiah that Mary was carrying in her womb. The Spirit of God showed me that she was carrying the promised Saviour. Then the lights went on – I understood. We were in this together. If she were to carry the Messiah I must be carrying the promised messenger, just as Isaiah had prophesied. The angel said that my son would be like Elijah bringing people to repentence.
And my name – God’s promise – was not just for me but for everyone. There are plenty of children to take their place in the temple when they grow up, but my child, MY child is to announce that God’s promise to the world has arrived. What an honour! Forever after people will talk of Mary and how she was chosen, but so was I, so was I! All those years of tears and anguish – to be part of God’s Salvation - they were worth it! Tears may fall in the night, but Joy comes in the morning.
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© Copyright Helen McNeil 2016, all rights reserved. The script may not be reproduced, translated or copied in any medium, including books, CDs and on the Internet, without written permission of the author.
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