BACK COUNCIL2 6'1m*f RT: Simon Peter at the Jerusalem council, pope (RT == Readers' Theater: requires little or no memorization, little or no rehearsal. An indefinite number of reporters are salted throughout the audience.) PETER -- (enters wearing tunic and sandals, crosses to podium) Good Morning. My name is Simon Son of Jonah. To those in the church of Jesus Christ I am also known as Peter. I am an apostle of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The reason I called this press conference is to announce the decisions of the first Jerusalem council. I will now read the letter that will be sent to some outlying churches regarding the requirements of the church. (unfurls scroll) REPORTER -- Before you read the letter, Simon. Could you tell us why you called this the FIRST Jerusalem council? PETER -- Yes. It's because I think this will be just the first of many church councils. I think you'll see for yourself in just a few minutes why I think this meeting of church leaders will happen again and again. (reads) The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul-- men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell. (rolls up scroll) REPORTER -- Simon, was this letter a group effort, or did you dictate these requirements "ex cathedra". PETER -- "Ex Cathedra"? REPORTER -- "Ex Cathedra" is a Latin term meaning "from the chair". Did you exert your authority over the other church leaders regarding the wording of this letter? PETER -- My authority? REPORTER -- Yes. The authority given you by Jesus when he changed your name from Simon to Peter. PETER -- I'm sorry. I don't understand. What authority did Jesus give me when he changed my name? REPORTER -- Jesus of Nazareth was quoted as saying to you, (reads) "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." Doesn't that make you the dictator over the church? PETER -- If it does, I've been disobedient. The requirements of this letter are word-for-word what JAMES, the brother of Jesus suggested in the first Jerusalem council. And James wasn't even one of the original apostles. I didn't dictate a word of it. REPORTER -- Then what did Jesus mean when he said that "you are the rock on which he would build his church"? PETER -- Actually, that's not what he said. He said "On THIS rock I will build my church." REPORTER -- But the word "Peter" in the Greek language means "rock". If you're not the rock on which Jesus built his church, which rock is it? PETER -- Well, it can't be me. Remember, I was the one who denied Jesus three times. And just recently, Apostle Paul openly admonished me for hypocrisy in my dealings with the gentiles. Is that the kind of dictator the church wants dictating the requirements of the church? REPORTER -- Aren't you shirking your duty by wiggling out from under your God-given authority? PETER -- I'm telling you, when Jesus talked about building his church on THIS rock, he was not talking about me. And it can't be Apostle Paul either. Because in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote, "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." It's pretty clear to me that THIS rock -- THIS foundation -- is Jesus himself. I think Jesus gave ME the name ROCK as a constant reminder to me that the Christian church is not about me, it's about the rock, Jesus Christ himself. REPORTER -- So, when Jesus was referring to THIS rock, he was pointing at himself? PETER -- King David refer to THE ROCK 30 times in his book of Psalms. And all 30 times THE ROCK was God alone. Who else could Jesus be pointing at?! REPORTER -- Simon, I'm reviewing at the text of your letter to the churches and it looks like you only included four requirements: (reads) "to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality." PETER -- That's right. REPORTER -- Aren't you omitting some important requirements from the list? PETER -- Like what? REPORTER -- Like mandatory confessions. REPORTER -- And what about mandatory communion? REPORTER -- What about mandatory church attendance? PETER -- (smiles to first reporter) See what I mean? This is why I called this the FIRST Jerusalem council. As soon as people read this letter they'll want to call another council and try to pile on a bunch of new requirements. But I hope the church leaders who preside over the NEXT Jerusalem council reject any additional requirements, just as we did. REPORTER -- Are you saying that you're NOT going to include any of these other requirements? PETER -- Nope. Just these four. REPORTER -- Then, why include ANY requirements at all? PETER -- The eating of blood and strangled animals and meat sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality are common practices among idol worshippers. The Christians we wrote this letter to are living among idol worshippers. We want Christians to be set apart from idol worshippers. BUT, whenever you add another requirement on top of these, you take the focus off of the ROCK which is Jesus Christ. REPORTER -- So, when will you call your next church council? PETER -- As soon as Christians forget that the church is about Jesus and not a bunch of requirements. (exits) ©2013 Bob Snook. Conditions for use: Do not sell any part of this script, even if you rewrite it. Pay no royalties, even if you make money from performances. You may reproduce and distribute this script freely, but all copies must contain this copyright statement. http://www.bobsnook.org email: [email protected] BACK |