Summary: This drama portrays an imagining of the apostle Paul’s last moments before he is executed in Rome. He has a vision that he is speaking with Jesus again and Jesus helps him recall the many defining moments of his life. In the end he goes from fear and to peace and confidence because he knows he has eternal life through Christ. The last scene, after Paul’s execution, is a foreshadowing of how his evangelism and his martyrdom will help many people become Christians in the years ahead.
Style: One act play with 6 or more characters
Duration: 45 mins
Scripture: Acts 1-28, many of Paul’s epistles
Setting: A cell in a Roman prison where the apostle Paul is awaiting execution. As this is not a historical play in the pure sense, both costumes and set need not have any historical authenticity. Costumes may be historically neutral or may be contemporary versions of the character’s role in the play (e.g. Claudia/Claudius can be played by a man or a woman wearing a contemporary judge’s robe). The set should have a minimal amount of details and props so as not to distract the audience with a naturalistic set design. The voices and the crowd should, ideally, be a balanced mixture of men and women. Instrumental music is very important for scene transitions. Original music was composed for the first run of the play. Lighting is crucial for establishing the mood, context, and focus of the scenes.
Characters:
- Paul, also known as “Saul” and “Paulus, Apostle of Christ
- Jesus, also known as “Y’shua”, the resurrected Lord
- Claudia/Claudius, a prominent Roman magistrate and aristocrat
- Stephen, an apostle of Christ and the first Christian martyr
- The Executioner
- The voices of Saul’s companions
-
The people in a Damascus synagogue
- The Gaoler
Note: At the beginning of scene 1, the wooden cross is no longer around Paul’s neck. The cross reappears later, when Jesus begins carving it out of a piece of wood. At the end of Scene 2, Jesus places it around Paul’s neck, and it is present again at the beginning of Scene 3.
Scene 1
As the lights come up on the execution chamber, the Gaoler violently drags Paul behind him and removes the chains, muttering angrily. Paul is wearing a large wooden cross around his neck and his hands are bound behind his back with rope. Following close behind is Claudia, who is carrying a briefcase filled with judicial documents. As Paul, who appears to have been beaten and starved, is forced to his knees by the Gaoler, Claudia approaches and removes some documents from her briefcase, the Gaoler steps back behind Paul to stand guard.
Claudia: (flipping through pages) Where is it? Oh…here! Uhh…(sighing impatiently) by the command of the most holy ruler of the Roman empire, Nero Caesar, Lord of this world and sole proprietor of the sun, moon, and stars, I, Claudia, servant of Caesar and chief magistrate of the judiciary, do hereby condemn you to everlasting death for your crimes against the state, hereinafter itemized in this document, sealed with the royal seal…
Paul: (dazed) why are we in this dark place?
Claudia: Shut up or I’ll have you beaten again. Did I say you may speak yet…?
Paul: But why here?
Claudia: (enraged) silence! You’re to be executed in this chamber for the sake of the public peace. So your friends won’t have an opportunity to provoke a riot. Or try to rescue you. (beat) Paulus, citizen of the Roman empire, born Saul of tarsus, you are hereby condemned to die for the following crimes: (she turns the pages) preaching that Y’shua of Nazareth, known also as Jesus the Christ, is Lord and Saviour of all peoples; inciting riots and political upheaval amongst the Jews of his majesty Nero’s city of Jerusalem; disobeying and ignoring the edicts of Caesar by proselytizing his subjects in Ephesus, Macedonia, Athens, Corinth, Antioch, Cilicia, Thessalonica, Phillipi, Jerusalem, Lystra, Iconium, Galatia, Derbe, Damascus…(annoyed) by the gods, this list goes on and on! Is there anywhere in the world you haven’t been preaching your seditious lies? (to herself) Caesar himself hasn’t seen this much of his empire…
(The Gaoler, overhearing her last remark, forgets himself and chuckles loudly. Claudia glares at him angrily and he quickly loses his smile.)
(continuing)…Berea, Lydda, Phoenicia, Rome…(pauses, outraged) Rome? You’ve even had the audacity to preach under Caesar’s royal nose? All right, you know the charges against you, Paulus. We can dispense with the formalities. Roman justice has finally caught up with you, hasn’t it? Now you’re going to feel the awful wrath of Caesar. (she kicks him onto his side and stands over him) We’ve met before, you filthy tentmaker. Didn’t I give you the grace of a warning to stop! Ah, but people like you never stop do they? You pursue your own death like a swine pursues its swill. Listen to me, Paulus. I know all about your “Jesus the God” fantasies. Oh yes! There’s no mystery about it. My good friend, Pilate, told me the whole story just before he took his own…before he died. We were sitting in his garden one evening and I asked him how this new movement got started. He said a bedraggled Jewish prophet named Y’shua had been brought before him. This Y’shua was a troublemaker, causing divisions among the Jews, so Pilate had him crucified. Then he heard that Y’shua’s friends were secretly planning on “resurrecting” him from death, so he had guards posted at the entrance of the tomb. But the guards were bribed, and the body stolen. Pilate said…(recalling the moment) laughing…too much…his mind was (she taps her head). Pilate told me that Y’shua’s followers were going around Jerusalem saying that their master had come back from death and was alive and ready to take over the world. Ha! That’s the oldest trick in the book if you know anything about politics. A charismatic leader dies but his followers cover it up and say that he’s still alive so the revolution won’t lose momentum…
Paul: Christ Jesus lives!
Claudia: (sharply, without missing a beat) Guard! (Claudia gestures with her hand and the Gaoler rushes at Paul, striking him several times until Paul is prostate.) All right! Enough!
(The Gaoler returns to his post.)
Oh, now you’re silent. Perhaps we should have given you a kick in your windy lungs a long time ago. Anyway, Paulus, I don’t care to waste any more of my official time with you. You’re unimportant. You haven’t changed anything in the slightest. Listen to me Paulus! Are you going to try to convert me now, like you tried to convert Herod Agrippa? Oh, yes, I heard about that. What a joke! The little pharisee, the grimy tentmaker attempting to sway the heart of Caesar’s appointed king. (laughing) you never quit. (with mock tenderness) Tell me the truth, Paulus, just between you…and me. What was in it for you? Couldn’t have been money - you’re more destitute than a beggar. Was it honour? Glory? No. Everywhere you’ve traveled you’ve been jeered at, starved, chased, beaten, stoned, imprisoned. People laugh at you, revile you, spit on you…
Paul: (still recovering from the beating) I’m a slave of Jesus Christ…
Claudia: (putting her foot on his head) Don’t speak unless you answer my questions! You can’t be a slave to a dead man. I’m asking you - what have you gained from all this? Your only reward is death!
Paul: (struggling to speak) My reward is life! Death is gain because it brings me into life!
Claudia: (removing her foot) That’s the kind of madness you preach? That death brings life? Then I promise you that your followers in the empire will soon be the liveliest bunch of fools who ever died. (disgusted) You religious fanatics! You and your weak, pathetic Christianity. A religion for losers and failures. No, don’t you say a word! I’ve heard enough of your preaching, Paulus! Convoluted nonsense, all of it. “Jesus was a man, but he was also a God. Jesus died yet he didn’t die. Jesus took away the evils of the world yet the world remains evil. Jesus wants us to die for him, but if we believe in Jesus, we won’t die.” What sane person can make sense of it? Riddles…to baffle the minds of childish, ignorant people, and I’m sick of it. When you’re dead, Paulus, when you’re finally deceased, the whole thing will be over with. And you’ll be taking the rest of your people down to the grave with you. How do you like that thought? You, Paulus, are responsible for unspeakable death and suffering that would never have come to pass if you had kept your mouth shut…(she seizes him) it all dies with you.
(There is a knock at the door. The Gaoler goes to the door and admits a hooded man who is carrying an ax. Paul sees him and is fascinated. The executioner stares at Paul silently)
Paul: Who is that man? Why is his face concealed?
Claudia: (Joyfully) That man? That man is the mighty arm of the holy justice of Rome. He is your executioner. Do you see now? Do you see what a doom you’ve brought upon yourself and your people? (pause) Actually, you’re more fortunate than some others have been. At least we’re not having you crucified as your Saviour was. Or as your friend Peter was.
Paul: (shocked) Peter? You…crucified Peter?
Claudia: (gleefully) yes! You mean you hadn’t heard? Oh, of course not. That was only a few days ago. Your friend, Peter, the fisherman preacher, was crucified…(pauses for effect) upside down! We nailed him upside down! By the gods, we should have brought you there to witness it. It never occurred to me at the time. His death would have brought you almost as much joy as your own seems to bring you. But don’t worry, Paulus. At least you won’t have to suffer on a cross for two days as he did. Your death will be just a brief…sting!
Paul: Please…I have a final request.
Claudia: A request! Wonderful! Well, the Roman empire is civilized enough to grant even a living abortion like yourself a final request. What is it? Do you wish to have a message delivered to your people? By the way, who are your people, Paulus? Are they the Jews? They’re the ones who turned you in! The gentiles? They have no use for you either. Or what about the fools of the world? Didn’t you say something once about, uh, being a “fool for Christ”?
Paul: God has made the wisdom of the world seem foolish…
Claudia: …which are foolish words from a man who’s about to be decapitated. All right! What is your request? And make it quick. We have others who require the service of Caesar’s axe today. Speak!
Paul: (gazing at the executioner) Will you…will you allow me to see the face of the man who is going to destroy my body?
Claudia: (surprised) why? So you can…try to hypnotize him as you did with the other guards? No…this man’s identity is concealed because he has no identity. He’s merely a mechanism of Caesar’s justice. It is forbidden for the condemned to see his countenance.
(Paul begins muttering the 23rd psalm to himself and Claudia claps her hands over her ears.)
No more of your magic!
(She raises her arm against him as if to strike him, but then gestures to the Gaoler and executioner instead.)
Get on with it!
(Claudia stands back as the Gaoler seizes Paul and places his head into the curve of the chopping block. The executioner moves into position beside Paul and raises his axe above Paul’s neck, waiting for the command from Claudia. All of a sudden the lights go out completely.)
Scene 2
Darkness, and the sound of wind blowing across the desert. After a few seconds the lights come up revealing Paul, who is now alone on a bare stage. His eyes are shut tightly and he is on his knees, flailing his arms as if he is trying to grasp something solid. The voices of his travelling companions call out to him from offstage.
Voices:
1. Saul!
2. Saul, what’s wrong?
3. What’s the matter?
4. Are you ill?
5. Saul, what’s happened to you?
Paul: Where am i? Am I dead? God - help me! I’m blinded!
(A spotlight illuminates Jesus, walking downstage towards Paul.)
Jesus: (sadly, but compassionately) Oh, Saul…Saul…
Paul: (desperately) Lord…I can’t see you. I can’t see anything. Are you my God? Is it really you? If I’m dead now, let me see your face.
Jesus: You’re not dead, Saul. Not yet. You were traveling on the road to Damascus with your companions…remember?
Paul: The white light…blinding me…
Jesus: You were on your way to Damascus to attack the children of God.
Paul: No, Lord! I would never do that! I was just going to Damascus to stop those Christians from spreading their lies and blasphemy. Let me see you, Lord! I’ve waited so long to see what you look like. Are you my God, the God of Abraham and Jacob and Moses?
Jesus: I am who I am. The living word of God. (humbly) Jesus of Nazareth.
Paul: (shocked) No…no! You can’t be him. (Paul falls to the ground and covers his head) You can’t be Jesus. I don’t believe it!
Jesus: Saul, you know who I am. You’ve heard my voice before. I’m Jesus, the person you’ve hated and persecuted. Here…let me help you, Saul.
(Jesus carefully spits into the palms of his hands and then touches Paul’s eyes. At first, Paul resists his touch. But then calms down as if he can feel the healing power of Jesus. When Jesus is finished, Paul opens his eyes and sees Jesus’ nail-scarred hands.)
Paul: It’s you, my Lord and my God! Have mercy on me. I didn’t…know, I…
Jesus: It’s all right, Saul. The kingdom of God is still advancing, you haven’t even slowed it down.
Paul: I’m sorry…so very sorry…I’ve sinned against God…forgive me…
Jesus: I know what you’ve done, Saul. But I’m not here to take your life. I’m here to ask you to give me your life.
Paul: (recovering from his tears) How? How can I give you my worthless life? Are you…are you going to show me your kingdom?
Jesus: I’m going to show you how much you’ll have to endure for my sake. You’re still blind, Saul, but I’m going to help you to see the kingdom of God as it unfolds. I have a plan for your life. I want you to go to all the unbelievers and all the leaders of the earth and tell them about me. Tell them about how to become a part of this new kingdom of heaven.
Paul: (zealously) I’ll do that, Jesus! I can do it. Nothing will stop me now. I’ll die for you!
Jesus: (contemplating this gravely) Yes. Yes, I know your spirit is willing. But, Saul, you don’t even know yet how much I’m going to ask of you. It won’t be easy.
Paul: Oh, I don’t care, Lord. I’m a passionate man. I carry out what I believe in - no matter what the cost.
Jesus: I know you do, Saul. Even at the cost of your soul. Stephen told me about you.
Paul: (jarred) Stephen…?
Jesus: Have you forgotten Stephen already? You know who he is…who he was. Look!
(A spotlight appears upstage, illuminating the figure of Stephen, whose face and clothes are torn and bloody. The voices of an angry crowd begin screaming at him.
Crowd:
1. Stone him!
2. Kill him!
3. Blasphemer!
4. Kill the liar who insults God’s people!
5. Stone him to death!
6. Stephen the liar!
Jesus: Do you hear the crowd, Saul? They’re your followers. They’re waiting for your word of approval so they can execute Stephen. Answer them!
Crowd:
1. Saul!
2. Give the word, Saul!
3. Justice!
4. Let us kill him!
5. An eye for an eye!
6. We’re the witnesses!
7. I’ll throw the first stone!
8. I’ll throw another stone!
9. Saul!
10. Say the word, Saul!
11. Let’s kill him now!
Jesus: Why the delay, Saul? You organized this mob. Go ahead. Give them your approval to murder Stephen. Is it the will of God that Stephen should die? Or is it the will of Saul? Make up your mind! Hurry!
Paul: No! Wait! (to Jesus) Stephen was saying that you were the word of God in the flesh. I thought it was insane! How could our perfect God take on human form? Stephen accused all of us of murdering you as we had murdered all our prophets of God. I was only doing what I thought was right!
Jesus: Isn’t mercy “right”? Where was your mercy? You were afraid of Stephen, afraid that he might be telling you the truth about who I am, Saul -- you never listened to him before. Did you ever really try to open your ears to what he was saying? Did you?
(Fearfully, Paul leaves Jesus’ side and goes over to Stephen. He touches Stephen gently, compassionately. Stephen’s eyes have been closed by the blows that were inflicted upon him.)
Paul: Stephen?
Stephen: Saul…is that you, Saul?
Paul: (going closer to Stephen, as if to plead with him) You don’t know how I felt. I only wanted to do what was right. Wasn’t I right, Stephen? Tell me. The truth. Wasn’t it the will of God for you to die…as a martyr?
Stephen: (pausing) It was the will of God that I should die for Christ…
Paul: (to Jesus) Did you hear that?
Stephen: (sadly)…but it was the will of Saul the pharisee that I should be murdered.
Paul: (to Stephen, horrified) what? What do you mean? How can you say that - that God destined you to die, but that I’m to blame for your death? How could my actions and God’s actions have the same results and yet be opposed? I don’t understand! (imploring) Stephen, Stephen, explain this to me. This paradox. I’m not a mystic…
Jesus: People used to say that when Stephen was praying to me, his face shone as if a light were coming from it.
Paul: (to Stephen) Stephen, I’m just an ordinary man who tried to follow the laws of God that were handed down by the prophets to our mothers and fathers. Was I destined to do what I did? To be responsible for your death? Was that what God wanted me to do?
Stephen: You made your choice, Saul.
Paul: Why are you calling me Saul? Don’t you know my name is Paul now?
Stephen: I remember you as Saul when you urged the mob to stone me to death.
Paul: Then why didn’t God stop me from committing that…crime?
Stephen: (pausing) I remember when the crowds were striking me with their fists. Their blows sealed my eyes shut. The blood was swelling in my face. Last thing I saw before blindness was the face of Saul the accuser, full of fear and rage…
Paul: (ashamed) No…
Stephen: Then, in the secret eye of my mind, I saw Saul’s countenance begin to change into a look of bitterness and helplessness. Jesus came to me and lifted me up into the future, over a desert road near Damascus, where I saw Saul falling down in the sand, struck blind, as I had been struck blind. Strange how I…felt pity for him. Saul seemed to be imprisoned in a burning body, while I was freefalling through paradise. Jesus asked me what I thought he should do about Saul, so I told him that Saul needs mercy. (to Paul) I asked him to save you.
Paul: Why? I don’t understand how you could have mercy on me…
Jesus: Too late now to change your mind, Saul. You gave that command a long time ago. The execution of Stephen is now permanently recorded in the book of time.
Paul: No! Erase it! I want to change it all! Stop them! Please!
Jesus: You can’t change anything except your future. Look -- he’s dying! (The crowd stops stoning Stephen as he groans and cries out)
(Paul starts towards Stephen, as if to try and rescue him. But Jesus holds him back. Paul begins to weep.)
Paul: (tearing his shirt in grief) What have I done?
Stephen: (to Jesus) Forgive him, Lord…don’t hold this sin against him…(Stephen dies)
Paul: What happens now? (looking at Stephen’s body) What can anyone do now?
Jesus: (kneeling over Stephen’s body) Stephen? Stephen, your body is no longer a tomb. Come out of your tomb.
(A follow spot grows and intensifies on the figure of Stephen as he opens his eyes and begins to rise up towards Jesus. He embraces Jesus and then walks toward Paul, who is still too overcome with grief to notice what has been happening. When Stephen touches him, Paul looks at Stephen in amazement.)
Stephen: Paul? Brother Paul. I give you my place as an apostle of Christ.
Paul: (moved) I don’t deserve it, Stephen. I’m weak…
Stephen: The Lord is our strength. Peace be with you always.
(Stephen embraces Paul warmly and then walks backward, slowly, into the darkness. When Stephen is gone, Jesus comes up to Paul.
Paul: He died for me…because he loved me?
Jesus: To die for someone you love - no one has a greater love than that.
Paul: I remember that, I heard you speaking those words, teaching people, when you were alive in this world. Instead of choosing learned, religious men like myself, pharisees who had studied and followed the laws of God all our lives, you chose…fisherman…tax collectors for the Romans…prostitutes…ignorant, ungodly people who knew nothing about how to live a spiritual life. Why did you befriend those people?
Jesus: There once was a man named Saul, who loved God very much. He studied the holy scriptures, followed the commandments of God, and went to the temple to worship and pray. One day, when he was in the temple, he saw a man he recognized. It was Matthew, a greedy businessman who cheated his own people when he was collecting taxes from them for the Romans. So when Saul was praying, he said, “Lord, I’m so glad I’m not like that man.” But meanwhile, unknown to Saul, Matthew was also praying to God. He was weeping, and wringing his hands, and saying, “Lord, have mercy on me. I’m a sinful man…”
Paul: (interjecting) Isn’t…one of your apostles named Matthew?
Jesus: And you were the pharisee.
Paul: (stung) We pharisees were leaders of the people of God. We needed your guidance. Why didn’t you spend more time with us?
Jesus: I offered myself to you, but you rejected me! The church on earth closed its doors in my face. I had no time left for the religious elite. There were people everywhere who needed me much more. The people you condemned weren’t as educated as you, they couldn’t quote chapter and verse, but their hearts and minds were open. They were like…little children who were hearing an old story as if it were something new.
Paul: But why didn’t you also find a place for us in your life?
Jesus: it was you who never found a place for me. There’s no place for me in a church that treats troubled people as if they’re unclean and undesirable. I came to bring mercy for those who have been condemned.
Paul: (suddenly remembering) I was there when they crucified you. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Your family and your friends seemed so defeated, so devastated. (ironically) they were hurting so much, I almost felt sorry for them. They thought you were finished. They gave up on you.
Jesus: Not all of them lost faith.
Paul: Who? Did Peter keep the faith?
Jesus: No. Not even Peter. The women kept the faith.
Paul: What women?
Jesus: Joanna -- the wife of King Herod’s chief steward. Mary, my mother. And the other Mary, the Magdalene. They told everyone they were going to the tomb to wash and bless my body, but actually they were going there to wait for me to return to life, as I promised them I would. Those women were the first persons I saw when I awoke from my long sleep.
Paul: Long sleep! You were dead, Jesus! I saw you die! (perplexed) I saw you…die. This…all this is a mystery to me. If your death was a sacrifice in exchange for God’s forgiveness of us, then doesn’t your coming back to life nullify that sacrifice? I mean, how can a sacrifice be a sacrifice if nothing is given up and nothing is lost?
Jesus: I gave up my body. I lost my life as Y’shua the teacher so that God would give me life as Jesus the Christ. Whatever we give to the world will be taken back by the world, but whatever we give to God will be given back to us by God.
Paul: I understand that in my mind, but I don’t know if I understand that in my spirit.
Jesus: Why do you concern yourself that you don’t have the wisdom of the Lord God almighty? Don’t waste your time in useless contemplation, Paul. Live your faith, meet your faith in everything you do and God will meet you halfway. Keep a constant conversation with God and then you’ll know everything you need to know.
Paul: I need to know the mystery of your crucifixion, otherwise I’ll never know the glory of your resurrection. Tell me, Jesus -- what happened to you on the cross?
Jesus: What do the scriptures tell us about how evil entered the world?
Paul: The first human beings, the mother and father of all humanity, invited evil into the world because they wanted to know what it was. They wanted to be like gods on earth.
Jesus: (quoting scripture) “Hear, oh Israel, the Lord our God is one.”
Paul: They brought death upon themselves and their children. Evil became a real and terrible presence in the world. People became selfish and greedy. They stole from each other, they hurt and raped and murdered each other, they lied and believed in lies and used whatever power they had to humiliate and destroy each other. All because they wanted to be gods, instead of worshiping the true God of the universe.
Jesus: Why didn’t the people turn away from sin?
Paul: (struggling) Some tried to. But no one, not even the prophets had the strength to overcome the disease that was in us. Evil was in the world to stay. There was so much evil, and it just kept on growing and growing.
Jesus: Evil grows where there is no resistance to it.
Paul: No one could endure the pain of resistance. No human being was capable of absorbing the blows. Those who weren’t destroyed by evil became traffickers of evil. They handed it down...
Jesus: …to their sons and daughters, to their friends and enemies. From generation to generation, the evil of this world was passed on like burning hot coals. No one was willing to be burnt alive by those hot embers, so they gave them to someone else. They gave their pain to someone else: murder…incest…war… alcoholism… homelessness… starvation…injustice…
Paul: Who could ever bear all that evil? Who could ever be willing to endure hell?
Jesus: Only someone who was willing to die, so that others would live.
Paul: (understanding) the Lamb of God, the living sacrifice. You, Lord. You took all those burning coals that we had passed on to each other from generation to generation? You kept them, instead of passing them on? You allowed them to consume you with fire so that we would never have to be scorched again? A normal human being could never endure such suffering and torment, only God…(Paul stops short as he realizes the significance of what he has said)
Jesus: And God gave me a resurrected body and a new life, which is yours too, if you believe who I am and what I have accomplished for your sake. I’m starting a new generation of descendants, Paul, and those who love me will be members of this new generation, this new kingdom of God.
Look - over there, Paul. There are some people who need to hear this good news.
(A crowd of men and women, representing the congregations of Damascus, begin to gather as if they are waiting for someone to speak. Paul is perplexed by this and grabs Jesus’ arm as if to lead him away.
Paul: We should go somewhere else, Jesus, where we can be alone together. There are too many people here now. I have more things to ask you.
Jesus: Not now, Paul. You’ll have to learn the mysteries of God by carrying your own cross. Those are your people. Now is your opportunity to speak to them about all you have learned from me, about how to find a new life in God.
Paul: (anxious) Well…yes…I’ll do that, Lord, but i…I have so many more things to ask you. I…I don’t know enough about you yet. I don’t know exactly what I should say to them about you.
Jesus: The right words will come to you, Paul. Just speak to them. Show your love to them.
Paul: Please…not yet! I…I wasn’t with your followers, Jesus. I never had the opportunity to hear everything you said to them. They’ve had the benefit of your teachings.
Jesus: You know enough about me now. When you visit Peter and the others in Jerusalem, they’ll tell you more. Right now, just open your mouth and the holy spirit will speak for you. Don’t worry, Paul. I’m always with you, beside you, wherever you are.
Paul: (with Jesus following, Paul starts towards the crowd, but hesitates) They’ll never believe me. They know who I am - Saul, the man who had Stephen murdered.
Jesus: Who you were then is not who you are now. Saul was crucified on my cross. Paul is a new creation.
(Paul walks into the midst of the crowd with Jesus beside him, who is invisible to the people. Paul is nervous, but collects his courage and begins to speak)
Paul: Grace! (with great fervour) grace and peace to all of you…(the crowd begins to listen)…all of you…from God our father…and the Lord Jesus Christ! (there is a confused and angry response from the crowd) My name is Paul and I’m a servant of Jesus Christ, the man whom God almighty raised from the dead after he was nailed to a cross (the crowd is buzzing) I’m here to tell you the good news! (With this, some people step forward to address Paul. The others fall silent and listen)
Persons:
1. Uh, there must be some mistake here…
- Yes, we heard that Saul of tarsus was coming here from Jerusalem to speak to us today.
3. You can’t be Saul. Who are you?
Paul: I used to be called Saul, but now I call myself Paul because I’m a new person through the mercy of Jesus Christ. (The crowd responds with shock and displeasure) wait! Listen -- the Christians in Jerusalem didn’t send me to speak to you. It was Jesus himself who told me to speak to you about the glory of God. If you believe that Jesus was and is the first anointed son of God, you’ll have peace and everlasting life in his kingdom. Yes! Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross to free us from this evil world we live in! That’s the glory of God, that’s what God wants us to know! (other persons step forward to speak to Paul)
Persons:
1. You’re not the Saul we’ve heard about.
2. Why should we accept you as you are now?
3. Yes, why should we accept anything you say to us now?
Paul: Do you think I’m trying to make myself acceptable to you? (smiling) if I were, do you think I’d be saying these things? No! I’d tell you what you expected to hear rather than what you never expected me to say. (again, a rumbling of hostility from the crowd) I’m sorry. I’m sorry I haven’t made myself clearer. I’m not trying to gain your acceptance of me. I’m trying to gain your acceptance of Jesus, the living Saviour. If I were trying to please you, I certainly wouldn’t do it by preaching the gospel of Christ. (this observation defuses the situation a bit, and relaxes some of the persons in the crowd) as it is, I want to tell you the truth about myself and about how I came to know Jesus. (one person cannot stand any more of it and exits noisily) brothers and sisters…brothers and sisters…the story I’m going to tell you isn’t something that was made up by human beings and isn’t something human beings taught me. (pause) It was shown to me by the Lord God. (muttering from the crowd) I know you’ve heard a lot about me, about how I was a very religious man who always persecuted the followers of Jesus. I was becoming a leader of my people because I worked harder than anyone else to follow the laws of Moses. But God had a special plan for my life, a plan that was prepared for me even before I was born. I was to be called through his grace to spread the good news about Jesus of Nazareth, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!
Persons:
1. More blasphemy!
2. We don’t have to listen to this!
Paul: (over the crowd) Jesus was anointed by John the Baptist and overcame all temptations! Jesus taught and illuminated and personified the word of God that was passed down to us by Abraham and Jacob and Moses!
(crowd begins to listen to Paul)
But the world didn’t recognize that Jesus was the Messiah, so they tried him by the Roman authorities and put him to death on a cross between two criminals. But after three days in the tomb, Jesus came back from the dead, as he predicted he would, and now is the living Christ, the visible likeness of the invisible God! He appeared to me when I was travelling to Damascus and saved me from myself. Jesus…lives!
(several persons in the crowd step forward to protest loudly)
Persons:
1. We’ve heard this story before!
2. It’s a lie!
3. If Jesus is alive, why can’t we see him?
4. Yes! Where is he!
5. We haven’t seen him anywhere!
Paul: Jesus is alive! He’s right here with us! Can’t you see him?
(A person steps forward and kneels before Paul)
Person: Where is he? I want to see him.
Paul: Just open your eyes and you’ll see! Don’t be blind like I was. Jesus is right here beside me, the risen Christ! Look at him! Please - open your hearts and your minds so you can see him. Look! Jesus is with me, and with you, and he’s offering his love to us, to all of us! He’s offering a new life!
(Many people dismiss his words with an angry wave of the hand and leave, but some seem reluctant to go, and some come up to Paul as if seeking his blessing)
May the grace of our Lord Jesus strengthen you and keep you in the faith…
(After all the people have left, Paul wearily begins to remember all his missionary travels as if he is reviewing his life)
Athens…Galatia…Corinth…Thessalonica…Rome…Phillipi…
(He pauses, as if considering a future journey) Spain…?
(Jesus appears to Paul again. He is now carrying a wineskin and a small shoulder bag. Jesus begins carving a small wooden cross.)
Jesus: many years have passed since we last spoke to each other in person, Paul. Many decades, in fact. You’ve taught thousands and thousands of people all over the Roman empire. You’ve been a good and faithful worker, planting the seeds of the kingdom. You’ve shown the world how to find hope and strength through God.
Paul: (exhausted) Strength. I wish I had that. I get so very tired sometimes, Lord. Everyone seems to rely on me to give them courage, even though I tell them their faith is their courage. They want me to be their shepherd, but the truth is…I’m just another one of your sheep.
Jesus: is the cross too heavy for you to bear?
Paul: No. I’ve learned from you how to be satisfied with whatever I have and whatever situation I’m in - whether I’m rich or poor, healthy or sick, tired or strong, in safety or in danger. Even when I was sick and starving. Even when Silas and I were flogged and imprisoned. Even when I was shipwrecked, or when the people in Lystra stoned Barnabas and me and nearly killed us. I’ve learned that, through you, I can do anything.
Jesus: Then what is your burden? Let me help you…
Paul: (in frustration) everyone thinks that I must be flawless! Everyone wants to believe I am strong in every way. That’s the burden. I’m not any better than they are! I’m a sinful person who needs the mercy of God just to…just to stay alive a moment longer. I’m an example of your mercy, not an example of perfection. I can’t be any more than what I am!
Jesus: (contemplating this for a moment) Do the churches know of this dark desert within you?
Paul: No. They’re not responsible. They’ve given me so much love in return for my work - welcoming me into their homes as if I were their beloved uncle, feeding me at their tables, offering me shelter and rest, trying to lighten my load in every way possible…
Jesus: (interjecting) Then why are you troubled, Paul? Why are you so downcast?
Paul: (choking out the word) Shame!
Jesus: What are you ashamed of?
Paul: I’m not ashamed of your gospel, Lord. I’m ashamed of…my lack of faith, my depression, my…weakness.
Jesus: Do you know anyone in this world who is perfect in their faith?
Paul: No! We all fall short of your glory, Lord, but it seems that the more I try to imitate your life, the more I realize how much less of a man I am than the man you were. I can’t replace you and I don’t want to replace you. Some people have accused me of rewriting the gospel to suit myself, but whatever I’ve taught about you, about your life, your promises, came from the manuscripts, documents, and records that your scribes gave me when I first visited them in Jerusalem.
Jesus: So why be ashamed to lose faith sometimes? Your people know you share their struggles. Tell them how you feel. Bring yourself into the light for every one to see.
Paul: I cannot.
Jesus: Why?
Paul: They expect more of me than I can give them. They don’t come right out and say it, but I know they expect me to be…you.
Jesus: Or is that what you expect of yourself?
Paul: (thinking) After that day you came to me on the road to Damascus, you took me up to paradise, up to the third level of heaven. You told me wonderful things about God, things that I could never explain in human words even if I tried -- the mystery of your crucifixion, the paradoxes of faith that are so baffling, the prophecies of the future of our world and your second coming. I don’t know whether I was still in my body when you showed me these magnificent visions or whether you had…borrowed my soul and took it on a journey, but the effect on me was…transforming. When I returned to my world, I began to feel like an angel, like a person who had died and been reborn, the way Lazarus was reborn. In your name, through your power, I began to perform miracles -- healing people, speaking in tongues, predicting the future. I felt bodiless, ethereal…so much so that when people threw rocks at me, the rocks felt as gentle as drops of water upon my flesh. I would go without sleep for several nights in a row, and yet my prayers made me feel as if I had slept more than any of my companions. I thought, “this is no hardship, to live in the power of the holy spirit - this is joy and pleasure.” But then…everything changed. After many years, the power seemed to escape from me slowly, seeping out of my soul drop by drop…until one day I became acutely aware that none of the power of faith was left inside me anymore.
Jesus: You prayed to me many times about that.
Paul: Many times? Lord, I begged you with all my soul to restore my faith, to give me back that power. For weeks and months I’ve been pleading with you to put the power back into me so that I could continue doing your work. I felt hollow, as if I were being eaten away inside. And that was had for me to conceal. Some people began to notice that something was wrong with me. They were concerned.
Jesus: Of course they were concerned. Concerned that you were physically ill. They thought that perhaps God was testing you the way Job had been tested.
Paul: (despairingly) They should have known that it wasn’t my faith being tested. It was my sin. The same sin that caused the archangel lucifer to be thrown down from heaven. The first sin. When I had the power of the Holy Spirit, I began to feel like I was almost like God, like I was no longer an ordinary human being. I didn’t realize that I was thinking that, but I was. I was starting to believe, in the hidden part of my mind, that God had…killed Saul on the road to Damascus and replaced him with an angel. I became too otherworldly, and forgot that I was still Saul, the man, the sinner. The more I wanted to ascend towards God, the more I descended towards Saul, until at last I felt apart from God…and alone with Saul.
Jesus: The dark night of your soul.
Paul: I wish that it had been only one dark night! I could have endured a single dark night. But I’ve been in darkness many, many nights and no matter how hard I’ve prayed, the darkness hasn’t left me. Why have you taken so long to answer me, Jesus? Why did you allow me to suffer for so long?
Jesus: To understand the mystery of the cross, you have to carry your own cross, Paul. Your suffering was necessary for you, so that you could offer yourself as a living sacrifice.
Paul: But what about the church? Why couldn’t you have helped me for the sake of your church? I’ve been ashamed of my weakness. I, Paul, the miracle worker, the great evangelist, cowering in my bed at night, weeping, helpless. What kind of an example of faith is that for people to see? How can I be a leader to my brothers and sisters in Christ if my faith is failing? How can people trust a man who preaches about the joy of a new life in Christ when he himself is faithless and hopeless? This terrible depression is swallowing me up, draining me, killing me, and the worst thing about it is my shame, because I know that I am failing you and God. I am in despair, Jesus! I am sick and tired in my soul and I can’t seem to find any way past it.
Jesus: You found a way. But you changed your mind about it.
Paul: When?
Jesus: The night you stood alone at the shore of the ocean.
Paul: (pause) yes, yes, I remember that. It wasn’t very long ago, was it? I was standing beside the shore, trying to find an answer. A voice came inside my mind and said, “Why don’t you just throw yourself into the water and drown, Paul? If you continue to live, you’ll only destroy the faith of others who believed you. But…if you kill yourself now, quietly, secretly, you’ll save yourself from being a failure in your promise to Jesus. No one would ever suspect that you had committed suicide. They’d just think that someone had assassinated you. Paul, if you live without faith, your life will be a blasphemy against God, but if you kill yourself now, your death will be a…martyrdom.”
Jesus: Why didn’t you do it? What made you change your mind?
Paul: I waited. That night I had a dream in which an angel spoke to me and warned me that the evil one, the father of lies, was putting those thoughts in my mind. And when I woke up, I knew that I had to keep trying to reach you through prayer, that you would come to me eventually if I just kept praying.
Jesus: (stops Paul from continuing, and then begins to offer him the bread and the wine he is carrying) Paul, I have never left you, here…take some of this bread and eat it. The bread will give you strength, and take some of this wine and drink it, the wine will heal you and give you peace. This is my body…and this is my blood. Taste it. It’s as real and as tangible as my body was when I was living on the earth as a human being. Your body, Paul, is a good and precious thing. It’s your temple, the temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The Lord our God gave you not just a soul, but a body to house your soul and make it complete. So take care of your body and give thanks for it. It’s not an impure container -- only your soul can become impure. Paul, God wants you to live in your body as a man, not as some disembodied ghost…
Paul: (interjecting) Jesus, I…
Jesus: No. Listen now. I didn’t speak to this world and the people in it by casting down lightning from a mountaintop. I lived with you and everyone else as a human being. That’s how you should live with your people now. (pause) When you first began your mission, I gave you the full power of the Holy Spirit so that you’d be able to overcome the tremendous obstacles that would lay in your path. But later on, when the kingdom of God on earth grew larger, I took some of the power from you and divided it among the other members of my church so that too much glory wouldn’t be upon one person. That’s why you felt the power leave you. I wanted you to remember who was the source of your strength.
Paul: (confused) When I had so much to do? So much to face?
Jesus: Yet you hadn’t faced yourself. You never knew how weak you could be without the strength of the spirit. You thought you were doing it all yourself, but you have no power apart from the power of God.
Paul: My brothers and sisters in the churches -- what about them? I don’t have enough strength to offer them.
Jesus: My power in your life is enough, because through your weakness, the people are able to see the power of God.
Paul: How could they look at a weak man like myself and grow stronger in their faith? Isn’t an example of strength more convincing than an example of weakness?
Jesus: Think of my cross, Paul. The only strength is that which comes from God. When the people saw your weakness, they said to themselves, “If our beloved Paul, who has performed miracles, suffered extraordinary tortures, and experienced unimaginable communion with God, if that same Paul is really no different than we are, as weak and as human as we are, then the power of Christ must be real, because how else could he have accomplished such great things? And if Paul can do all things through the power of Christ…then so can we.” So you see, Paul, when you are weak, you are really very strong.
Paul: They spoke kindly to me and encouraged me. They quoted passages of scripture that they felt would help me. It was as if I became the church of Christ and the church of Christ became the apostle Paul, ministering to me as I once ministered to them. We were one body, sharing the power of your love…the power that restores us, the power that gives us strength in weakness.
Jesus: Now you know that love is the most excellent gift of all. If you can speak in all human and angelic languages, but don’t have love, your words won’t have any melody, like a cymbal or a drum. And if you can tell the future and have knowledge about everything in the universe, but don’t have love, you won’t really know anything at all. Even if your faith can tear down mountains, even if you give away everything you own to the poor, you won’t have done anything if you don’t have love. Love defends all, love believes all, love hopes all, and love endures all; it never gives up. Everything we see will vanish someday, but love will remain forever. When we’re in this world, we see only a part of reality, as if we’re looking through a window of dark glass. But when we finally meet God face to face, we’ll see the whole truth clearly. And the truth is that love is greater than faith and strong than hope -- stronger even than death itself. My gift to you Paul, is the spirit of love. (Jesus places the cross around Paul’s neck and then walks into the shadows) Remember to love…
Paul: No, wait, Jesus! Don’t leave me now! I don’t have much longer to live. I’m an old man now, and old men sometimes need the comfort of the Lord more than young men do. Please…they’re going to end my life. This is my final hour. Lord, my darkest hour. How could I ever be any weaker than the weakness of death? (desperately) They’re going to kill me! They’re going to cut off my head! Please, show me I’m not alone in the hour of my death!
(Stage lights fade to black momentarily)
SCENE 3
Full stage lights come up again, revealing that Paul is still in the execution chamber with Claudia, the Gaoler, and the executioner, awaiting his death. He is whispering prayers under his breath. Claudia signals to the executioner to stand back and then she draws nearer to Paul
Claudia: Go ahead and pray to your invisible God! Where is your God now Paulus? Why doesn’t your Jesus Christ come to save you? Paulus! (she seizes his head and turns it toward her) Ah, in the end we’re all the same, aren’t we? Slaves or emperors, wealthy or poor, fools or philosophers -- even self-appointed prophets of God. We’re all the same in the end. We all tremble at the approach of death.
Paul: (looking at her with sudden surprise and compassion) You’re no different than I used to be. You think you have the power to take away life? I’m…giving my life for my Lord.
Claudia: You have no choice!
Paul: Why do you want me to hate you? I forgive you!
Claudia: Forgive me? You don’t have the power or authority to forgive me for anything. Your life is nothing more than dust now! When Caesar blows his breath on you…(she spits in his face)…your dust will scatter throughout the world.
Paul: I know who you are. I’ve had your power before, but now I have more power in my weakness than you will ever have with the whole strength of the Roman Empire…
Claudia: (defensive) Liar! What good is your “power” when it can’t even save your life?
Paul: I’m free! You’re setting me free! You might as well have opened up the doors and let me walk away.
Claudia: (afraid) Stop it! No more of your sophistry! Look, Paulus! There is the power of Rome -- here to claim your head!
Paul: (triumphantly) I’ve been beheaded before! Years ago, on the road to Damascus, when Saul became Paul. The axe of Christ opened my mouth so I could praise God forever!
Claudia: I will hear no more of this! You’re raving! (she signals to the Gaoler and the Executioner) Finish it quickly!
(The Gaoler seizes Paul and adjusts his neck in the chopping block)
Paul: I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith!
(After the Gaoler is finished, he stands off to the side with Claudia, who is waiting for the executioner to be ready. All of a sudden, the executioner bends down close to Paul under the pretense of adjusting Paul’s neck on the block. Unheard by the others, the executioner addresses Paul in a stage whisper)
Executioner: (glancing at Claudia and the Gaoler to see if they are watching) Brother Paul, brother Paul!
Paul: (surprised) who are you?
Executioner: A Christian…in chains. Like you. Forgive me!
Paul: (quickly) The Lord be with you.
Exec: And also with you, Paul.
(The executioner steps back and raises his axe, indicating his readiness. Claudia raises her arm in the air as a signal)
Claudia: (vengefully) Behold the power of the Roman empire!
(Suddenly, the action is frozen in time; Claudia’s arm remains raised and the executioner’s axe is poised above Paul’s head. Lights dim on the periphery of the stage while a spot comes up in the centre, illuminating the figure of Jesus as he enters the chamber, unseen by anyone except Paul)
Jesus: I’m here, Paul.
Paul: (seeing Jesus and rising off the block, his spirit unseen by the others) My saviour!
(They embrace and leave the stage quietly. As soon as they are off stage, the other characters “unfreeze,” Claudia brings her arm down, and the Executioner swings his axe upon the chopping block where Paul’s head had been. Claudia and the Gaoler recoil involuntarily upon witnessing the decapitation)
Claudia: (suddenly afraid) Get rid of it! Clean it up! (visibly shaken) Do you hear me?
(Claudia and the Gaoler exit hastily, leaving the Executioner alone with the “body.” The executioner pauses, then puts down his axe and removes his hood. He kneels down beside the spot where Paul’s head is supposed to be. He mimes picking up the head of Paul and cradling it in his lap lovingly)
Executioner: Paul…
(The executioner then places the “head” down, and picks up the cross that Paul had been wearing around his neck. He places the cross on his own neck thoughtfully.)
(Lights down)
End
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©G a r t h v o n B u c h h o l z , All rights reserved.
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