"Sparks Around the Fire: Compassion and the Cross" Lenten Series or Standalone, Good News Drama  - LIMITED EDITION - FIVE ACT PLAY (4 actors needed)

by David Weiss

Message from the Playwright:

Sparks Around the Fire is one big fiction—with hints of truth throughout. So, just to be clear: I made it up; all of it.

Yes, Jesus did make a final journey to Jerusalem in the weeks before Holy Week, most likely traveling in the company of his twelve disciples and other followers. The highways would have been busy with fellow travelers also making their way to Jerusalem for Passover. So the setting is historical enough.

And, yes, there are plenty of references to biblical material; each Act reflects on one particular biblical text. But I invented all the dialogue in my imagination. I did draw on my scholarly study of the Bible, including both historical and theological insights. But the actual words said and deciding who says it—that’s all me.

Some of the characters in this play appear in the gospels; some don’t. But they all appear here at my invitation. Whether based on a biblical figure or purely imagined, in these plays they speak at my whim. I hope the conversation has a measure of realism to it, but my priority was to have them say things to each other that I wanted you (the congregation) to hear.

Why “Compassion and the Cross?” For some thirty years now, I’ve been convinced that compassion was at the very heart of Jesus’ message ... and that his proclamation and practice of compassion is what led to the cross. So I brought together biblical texts that I believe help us see that path, inviting us to reflect on this central connection during the season of Lent. In fact, the hardest part was to limit myself to just five central texts because I see this as a thread woven throughout the gospel narratives.

THEMES: Compassion, Wholeness, Theology of the Cross, 

(For samples click on the images to the left.)