THE PARABLE TRAIN James H. Johnson SCENE 1 (PB puppet Bob; PA Anna; Jerome; PG Grandma) (S parts are speakers) PB (wearing conductor hat) getting on the train. Tickets, tickets, I need your tickets if you re Are YOU driving this train? Are you sure you know how? PB Why, of course. I was the engineer on the little train that could I think I can, I think I can. PA Actually, he was the assistant for opening and closing windows on the little train that couldn t. He thought he could, he thought he could but he couldn t even open the windows! PG Don t be too hard on engineer Bob, I think we re about to begin a very interesting journey. S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 Where are we going? What s this train ride about anyway? This is called the Parable Train. But what does that mean? A parable is a story and we re going to learn about the stories of Jesus. We re going to travel to places where Jesus parables take place. We will visit the road to Jericho, which can be a dangerous place. We go to see the Talent Show and learn how God would have us use our gifts. We ll ride the train to the pasture where all the sheep are grazing. Text and music copyright 2009 by James H. Johnson. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to current members of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians to reproduce this piece for use in worship & study provided that no part of the reproduction is for sale and copies are for one-time local use. 1
S8 S9 love. S10 We ll learn how important every sheep is to the shepherd. Our last stop will be at a family farm. We ll learn about a father s forgiving Why did Jesus decide to use parables to teach his disciples? S11 He told parables so that all of his followers could learn about God s love in real life situations. S12 S13 S14 S15 S16 PB PA PG S17 He told parables about all kinds of things like a hidden treasure. He told parables about working in the vineyards and the mustard seed. Also the marriage of the king s son and the sheep and the goats. Most of the lessons that we need to live a good life are in Jesus parables. I think I understand now. I m ready to buy my ticket. I m firing up the engine. It s time to board the train. I guess I ll go. But remember, I ve got a top notch lawyer if you mess up. Now that I know why we re going, I can t wait for this train ride. Children, this may be the most important train ride we will ever take. Don t leave without me, I m buying my ticket now. (train whistles blow and opening song begins) THEME SONG THE PARABLE TRAIN SCENE 2 THE ROAD TO JERICHO S18 I m really enjoying the train ride. Where will our first stop be? S19 We re stopping first on the road to Jericho. I understand it is kind of a high crime area, so be careful. PG Why don t we read Jesus story about this place from the Bible before we arrive. It might give us a better understanding of what we are about to see. S20 The parable of the Good Samaritan is written in the book of Luke, beginning with the 10 th chapter, verse 25. 2
S21 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. Teacher, he said, what must I do to inherit eternal life? He said to them, What is written in the law? What do you read there? S22 He answered, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. S23 And he said to him, you have given the right answer; do this, and you will live. But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, And who is my neighbor? S24 Jesus replied, A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers who stripped him, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. S25 Now by chance a priest was coming down the road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. S26 But a Samaritan, while traveling, came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. S27 Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. S28 He said, take care of him and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend. Jesus said, which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robber? S29 He said, the one who showed him mercy. Jesus said to him, go and do likewise. Samaritans were people who were despised and disliked. Yet it was a Samaritan who helped the man who was hurt. PB That s a great lesson. I wonder what we re going to see on our trip to the road to Jericho? PA I m not sure, but get ready because we re almost there. SONG ALONG THE ROAD TO JERICHO PG Look, over there, children, it looks like someone who is seriously injured. 3
PA PB you!! This is too scary, I don t think I want to go. Don t worry, Anna, I ll be right behind you! (nervously) WAAAAY behind S30 (injured person) Help, please help me! I ve been robbed and beaten. I m sure I have some broken bones. I ve been alone for hours. Somebody, please help me! Look, maybe help has arrived. I see what looks like a Jericho city official coming now. S31 (injured person) Ma am, please help me. I know you are a very busy person but I hurt so bad! S32 (Jericho Mayor) Oh, ah, hi there, ah, I tried not to notice, I mean I almost didn t see you. Just trying to keep my eyes on the road you know. S33 (injured person) Please help me. S34 (Mayor) Look, I m sorry you are injured, but I m on my way to a city council meeting and we re going to have a major budget fight. I ll file a report on you with the crime commission in the morning. S35 (injured person) But I need help now! S36 (Mayor) I m sorry, I really can t get involved. These kinds of situations really need to be handled by the private sector. Have you tried the Salvation Army? (Mayor leaves) PA I thought sure the Mayor would help. Is anyone going to help this poor person? PG S37 I think I see a pastor coming. Surely help is on the way. (injured person) Pastor, I m so glad you ve come. I know you ll help me! S38 (pastor) Oh, Hi, I ll be happy to put you on the prayer chain after I come back from my conference next week. S39 (injured person) Please, I m badly injured and no one will help me. S40 (pastor) I m sorry, I provide no direct assistance. Everything is through the appropriate service agencies. And besides, I m on my way to confirmation class and that is about all the stress I can handle in one day! (pastor leaves) 4
PB I can t believe it. He s not getting any help. And he s running out of time. He won t make it much longer. (sounds of motor cycles and loud conversation enter the scene) S41 (injured man) O, no! It s a Hell s Angels motorcycle gang. I know I m dead now. They re going to finish me off!! PA I m closing my eyes. I can t bear to watch. S42 (injured man) Please, mister, I ve been so badly hurt. Please don t hurt me anymore. I don t have any money. S43 (Hell s Angels biker) Chill, dude! Me and the boys are gonna give you a hand. Let me help you up on my bike and we ll take you to the hospital. (helps man onto his bike) Jericho General Hospital is only a few miles from here. S44 (hospital receptionist answering phone) Jericho General Emergency, may I.. Hold please. Security alert, we need all security at the front desk. There s a Hell s Angels gang on the way in. This looks like trouble. (biker and injured man enter) Sir, this is a hospital and we don t need any trouble. Please leave before security has to remove you. S45 (Biker) Relax, princess! We re just trying to get some help for our friend here. He got beat up pretty bad. S46 (receptionist) (surprised expression) Why, thank you, that certainly is very kind. We ll help him right away. S47 (Biker) and if you find out the brother don t have no insurance, just let me and the boys know and we ll raise some money to cover the bill. S48 (injured man) Thank you so very much. You ve really been a neighbor and a friend to me!! SONG: WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR (Piano plays opening chorus patterns and train whistles blow as scene 3 title sign is brought across the stage area) SCENE 3 THE TALENT SHOW PB We ve arrived at our next stop. Welcome to the land of the talent show. I love talent shows. You get to see all kinds of neat acts. 5
PB My favorite talent show appearance was when I sang Try to Remember from the musical, The Fantastics. PA You, sing in a talent show. Not a chance. PB I certainly did. Let me sing it for you now. Maestro, a little help please. (Piano plays intro and Bob sings) Try to remember, (forgets words) O try to remember, O try to remember O try.. PA (interrupts) How long must we put up with this? (sarcastically) Thank you SO much for that un forget table performance! PG This talent show is not about a show on a stage but rather about the talents that God gives each of us and how we use them. S49 Jesus told a story about a master who entrusted his property to his servants. S50 He gave one servant 5 talents, another 2 talents, and another 1 talent, each according to his ability. S51 He expected that his servants would use the talents wisely and give him a good return when he arrived home from his long journey. S52 When he arrived home the servant who received 5 talents said, master, see you gave me five talents and I have made five more talents. S53 The master said, well done good and trustworthy servant. You have been trustworthy in a few things and I will put you in charge of many things. S54 The servant who had been given 2 talents brought back to the master 4 talents and he was equally pleased with this servant. S55 But the servant who received only one talent said that he was afraid to invest his talent and buried it in the ground. S56 The master was very angry with the servant who did not use the talent to the best of his ability. S57 The parable helps us understand that God gives each of us talents and abilities and wants us to use them to our very best ability. S58 Whether we re talking about our ability in school work, or how we use our money, or simply how treat ourselves and other people, our God given talents make us who we are. 6
S59 Now that we understand what this stop on the Parable Train is all about, let s listen to our version of The Talent Show. (Three mini skits illustrate various talents) S60 How did you do on the test? S61 I got a C. It s no big deal. I didn t even study. Who really cares where the Andes Mountains are? Or if the Colorado River is in Montana or Arizona. I m sure not going to work on stuff like that. S62 (same as S60) I worked real hard and got a B+. My mom and dad tell me to always try to do my best and use the mind that God gave me. (Second Skit) S63 I can hardly wait to get to the mall. I ve got $300.00 and I m gonna buy all kinds of junk. Whenever I get money, I just blow it as fast as I can. S64 I won t be able to join you. I m saving my money. Our youth group is going to the mountains to do a service project. It will cost about $300.00 to go on this trip. (Third Skit) S65 I can t believe what a jerk that Tommy Smith is. And Suzanna, have you ever seen anyone SO ugly? They aren t the worst though, the man I have for fifth period English has to be the biggest idiot I know. S66 It s a shame you can t find anything good to say about other people. God made each of us attractive and talented in many ways. So why don t we accept ourselves and each other and just do the best with what we ve got. SONG: DOING THE BEST WITH WHAT I VE GOT (Train interlude music continues while Baa Baa, Lost Sheep Scene is walked across the stage area) SCENE 4 BAA, BAA, LOST SHEEP S67 Oh, I love this part of the train ride. Gentle hillsides, rolling meadows, it is so much less stressful than the road to Jericho. S68 The next stop on our journey will be at a very large pasture where exactly 100 sheep live. It looks like we re about to arrive. S69 How do they know exactly how many sheep are there? Why is that so important? 7
S70 The person who cares for the sheep is called a shepherd. Every shepherd knows each sheep individually and tries to make sure that all the sheep are safe everyday. S71 Shepherds have a big job. They must protect all of their sheep even if are put in a dangerous situation. S72 They defend their sheep against people who would steal them and wild animals who would harm them. PG In this part of our trip we re going to learn about what a shepherd does when a sheep gets lost. Getting lost is no fun. It can be very scary. PA Tell me about it. When I was only three Bob told me to get lost ----- and I DID! I wandered for two hours and was finally found by a policeman that mom and dad called to help look for me. PG Part of this parable is discovering the joy in finding a sheep that was lost. PA I certainly remember that. Mom and dad were SO happy and I was so glad to get back home. PB The only thing that took away from my joy was the trip to the wood shed I got for telling you to get lost in the first place. S73 Let s listen to the scripture reading in the 15 th Chapter of Luke where Jesus tells the parable of The Lost Sheep. S74 So he told them this parable. Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? S75 When he has found it he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. S76 And when he comes home, he calls his friends and neighbors, saying to them, rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. S77 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentence. S78 God is like a good shepherd in our lives. When even one of us is lost God looks for us to bring us back to the fold. 8
S79 When we stop living life as God intended and live in the sinful ways of the world, God will come looking for us again and again. S80 Each time we repent of our sins and try again to live the ways of God there is great rejoicing in heaven. S81 way? Why does God love us so much, even when we stray from doing things God s S82 In Genesis the bible says that we are created in God s image. God s eternal love is part of us from the very beginning. S83 No matter where we are, or what we do, God s love for us will never end and we can never be separated from that love. SONG: CREATED IN GOD S IMAGE (Train interlude music continues as Guess Who s Coming Home scene is walked across the stage area) SCENE 5 GUESS WHO S COMING HOME PB PA We re about to arrive on the final stop of our train ride, the family farm. This has been a great train ride. I ve enjoyed all the places we ve visited. I love farms. Will we get to see the animals? PG Our trip to the farm won t be to see the animals. We re going to see the farmhands instead. And we re going to learn a great lesson in forgiveness. Let s review this story from the bible before we arrive. S84 Jesus told a story about a man who had two sons. The younger son asked for his share of the inheritance so that he could leave the farm. S85 The father divided the property and gave the younger son his share. S86 The younger son went to a far away country and the older son stayed to work on the farm. S87 The younger son wasted his inheritance and became very much in need when a famine came upon the land. S88 He was very hungry and the only job he could get was feeding pigs. 9
S89 He began to regret his decision to leave the farm and decided to go back to ask his father for forgiveness and for a simple job as a servant. S90 But while he was still a ways from the farm his father saw him, was filled with compassion, and ran and embraced him. S91 The son said, I am not worthy to be called a son, but the father ordered the best robe put on him and a party held in his honor. S92 The older son, who had stayed and worked the farm all this time, became very angry when he heard how his younger brother was being treated. S93 He complained bitterly to his father that he had never been given a special robe or a party. S94 His father said that they had to celebrate because the younger brother was dead and had come to life, that he was lost and had been found. S95 This is a powerful story about God s love and forgiveness. S96 We re arriving at the farm now. I think I see the brothers in the distance. Let s listen in. ELDER BROTHER SINGS (in classic recitative style) (The Prodigal Son is a 60s hippy type. His walk and speech are slow and casual, and he is definitely the coolest dude in town.) (A slow blues ramp from D7 to G7 accompanies the dialogue) S97 (Prodigal) Heeeey Pop!! This place is kind of a drag man. I mean, the farm just doesn t do it any more y know? So I thought that ah since you got the place covered with Elder Brother over here, you could maybe just give me my share of the bread and let me split. I mean, I got places to go, people to see, y dig, Pop? (Blues Pattern Continues) S98 You know the story. The father gave him his money and he went to a far off land and wasted it on frivolous living and wild women (at wild women everyone gasps and a crash chord is played on the piano. The blues pattern continues) S99 It was not long before he had lost everything and was feeling very sorry for all that he had done. THE PRODIGAL SON BLUES 10
S100 The father was very forgiving of his son and ordered the fatted calf to be killed so that he could have a big party. S101 However, the Elder Brother was not very happy. ELDER BROTHER SECOND SONG FATHER S SONG OF LOVE AND FORGIVENESS BLESSING SONG THEME SONG 11
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