Based on Luke 1:26-38
Characters:
Gabriel
Mary
(Gabriel stands in the background. Mary stands toward the front, sweeping with a broom, as though doing house chores. She does not see Gabriel, but speaks out toward the audience.)
GABRIEL: Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you!
MARY: Who said that? (Looks around, searching for someone.)
GABRIEL: Gabriel.
MARY: Gabriel? I don’t know any Gabriel. (Keeps searching for speaker.) Joseph, is that you? I told you to stop sneaking up on me and scaring me!
GABRIEL: I’m not Joseph. I’m Gabriel—a messenger from God.
MARY: Sure, and I’m the tooth fairy. Come on, Joseph, where are you hiding? Stop teasing me.
GABRIEL: I’m not Joseph. Do you see anyone here?
MARY: No.
GABRIEL: That’s because only I am here with you. I am a messenger from God and I have a message for you.
MARY: (Putting down the broom.) Are you . . . an angel?
GABRIEL: Yes. And you are favored. The Lord is with you!
MARY: What do you mean, I’m “favored”? And what do you mean, the Lord is with me? This is spooky.
GABRIEL: Don’t be afraid. It means God has a special plan for you. You are going to have a baby boy.
MARY: Oh, this is wonderful! Joseph and I have been praying that after we’re married we would be able to have children. Thank you for this wonderful news!
GABRIEL: I don’t think you quite understand, Mary. You are going to become pregnant now.
MARY: Now?? What do mean, now?
GABRIEL: I mean now, or at least quite soon--any moment now.
MARY: Ummm, wait a minute. I’m missing something here. I’m not married yet. I’m still a virgin. I can assure you I can’t get pregnant now. This is not going to work.
GABRIEL: Yes it will.
MARY: No, it won’t.
GABRIEL: Yes it will.
MARY: Gabriel, I don’t think you understand about the birds and the bees. I guess they don’t have sex education in heaven. You see, a virgin can’t get pregnant. It’s impossible.
GABRIEL: Mary, nothing is impossible for God. You have been touched by God’s creative Spirit. The Spirit that creates all things is now about to create in you.
MARY: Now??
GABRIEL: Yes, any moment now.
MARY: This is terrible! Stop! Cancel the order!
GABRIEL: Don’t be afraid, Mary.
MARY: Don’t be afraid?? Are you crazy?? This will ruin my life! How will I be able to tell people I’m pregnant? How will I tell Joseph? He’ll be humiliated. I’ll be humiliated. The people in town will shun me. Joseph will have to break his engagement with me. I will be talked about behind my back for the rest of my life!
GABRIEL: Don’t be afraid, Mary.
MARY: Don’t be afraid? What do you know about rejection and humiliation? Do you know how that feels?
GABRIEL: (Pause.) No.
MARY: Then don’t tell me not to be afraid. I’m terrified!
GABRIEL: Would it help if I told you this baby will be called the Son of God?
MARY: (Pause.) The Son of God?
GABRIEL: Yes. This baby will be holy. This baby is the most special baby in all of human history. This is the one all of Israel has been waiting for. The Lord God will give him David’s throne. He will be the king of Israel forever, and his kingdom will never end.
MARY: You mean . . . this baby is going to be the Messiah?
GABRIEL: Yes.
MARY: I will be the mother of the Messiah?
GABRIEL: You are the favored one.
MARY: Why me?
GABRIEL: Why not you?
MARY: Because there’s nothing special about me. I’m just a girl. I’m poor. I’m ordinary.
GABRIEL: God likes ordinary. The more ordinary, the better.
MARY: But I’ve never even been a mother before. I wouldn’t know what I was doing!
GABRIEL: Just love the boy. Teach him right and wrong. Teach him to trust in God. God will do the rest.
MARY: I don’t think I can do this.
GABRIEL: God knows you can.
MARY: Will it be hard being his mother?
GABRIEL: (Pause.) To tell you the truth: yes. Being his mother will be the hardest thing you will ever do. Not so much while he’s a child growing up, but when he’s a man. That’s when he will do things you don’t understand. That’s when he will make choices that will distress you. You will see him in grave danger but you will not be able to protect him. When you see him suffer, your heart will be broken.
MARY: He will suffer? The Messiah will suffer?
GABRIEL: Yes. But he will give his life for others, and save their lives.
MARY: I don’t understand.
GABRIEL: Your son will be born to die. He will be the love of God that goes all the way to death.
MARY: The Messiah will die?
GABRIEL: Yes.
MARY: That can’t be. The Messiah is the Messiah because he’s going to triumph over all our enemies. He can’t suffer. He can’t die.
GABRIEL: Yes, he will. But even then, the Messiah will triumph.
MARY: This is just all too confusing.
GABRIEL: You don’t have to understand, Mary. Just trust in God and love your son. Name him Jesus—“God saves.”
MARY: (Angry.) You’ve already picked out his name?? Don’t I get any choice at all?? Don’t I get to decide whether I even want to become pregnant??
GABRIEL: (Pause.) Yes, Mary. It’s your choice. All of it is your choice. God will not compel you to do what you do not want to do. You are free to choose, just as all of humanity is free to choose. God forces no one. That’s why saving humanity is so hard and takes so long. It’s your choice, Mary.
MARY: (Begins pacing.) Let me think. . . . When he’s born, will everyone know he’s the Messiah?
GABRIEL: No. People will have to discover that on their own.
MARY: Won’t there be anything special about him?
GABRIEL: Like I said, God likes to use the ordinary. All of the greatest miracles are found in the ordinary. Sometimes in a little town, maybe in a barn.
MARY: (Long pause.) Gabriel?
GABRIEL: Yes?
MARY: Are you sure God chose me for this? Are you sure you’re at the right house? You weren’t blown off course or something?
GABRIEL: You are the favored one, Mary. The Lord is with you.
MARY: (Takes a deep breath.) Then tell God I say yes.
GABRIEL: With joy.