Cast-"Moreover thou hast taken thy Sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, that thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through fire for them? And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood." -Ezekiel 16:20-22
Setting- A three cushion couch sits center stage. To the right and behind a little is a pulpit, angled toward the couch and the audience. Left rear is a small sturdy table. All three are lit with the rest dim.
Time- Night.
Preacher:
Tonight�s sermon will be from Genesis twenty-two. (Begins reading.)[The sound of a door slamming]
"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am."
"And he said, Take now thy Son, thine only Son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of."
Father (offstage):
Where the Hell do you think you�re going?! Get your worthless ass into the living room! Now![The Son enters from the right. He has a hollow haunted look to him. His clothes are drab, except for new white bandages around both wrists. He walks slowly to center stage, not lifting his gaze from the floor.]
Father (entering right):
You think you can pull this shit with me?! Is that what you think? Sit your ass down on the couch! (The Son sits mechanically.) You make me sick. Look at me! Look at me when I�m talking to you, you little shit. I�m your Father! Look at me! (The Son looks up blankly.)Preacher (reading):
You think I�m going to feel sorry for your dumb ass, pulling this shit? Putting me through this shit? (The Son looks down. This scene freezes.)
"And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his Son; (Abraham and Isaac enter from behind the pulpit. Isaac is carrying firewood, and Abraham a bowl with embers and a knife.) and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together." (Abraham and Isaac cross towards the table, silently acting out the reading.)Father:
"And Isaac spake unto Abraham his Father, and said, My Father: and he said, Here am I, my Son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
"And Abraham said, My Son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together." (Abraham and Isaac reach the table and the scene freezes.)
That was real fucking smart, taking a bath with a razor blade. You think I�m impressed? Is that what you fucking think?! If you think at all. Huh? Did you think I�d be happy to haul your ass out of there, and take you to the Emergency Room? What a fucking mess! And you�re going to be the one to clean it, right after I get done talking to you. Then you can see how smart it was!Preacher (reading):
You think I�m being mean? Huh? You think I�m being cruel? Well, I�m sure as hell not going to let you pull this bullshit on me. Think you can scare me with this bullshit? Think you can control me by faking suicide? Bullshit! Bullshit!
If you really wanted to die you�d have slit your wrists lengthwise. If you�d have done that you�d be dead now. But you didn�t did you? You wanted me to rescue your sorry ass, and feel sorry for you. Well, I�m sorry. (coldly) I�m sorry you�re such a worthless piece of shit. (The scene freezes.)
"And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, (Abraham takes the wood from Isaac and spreads it under the table, then takes Isaac�s hands in his own, holds them together and wraps a cord around them.) and bound Isaac his Son, (Abraham pushes Isaac back onto the table.) and laid him on the altar upon the wood."Father:
"And Abraham stretched forth his hand, (Abraham covers Isaac�s eyes with his left hand, and raises the knife in his right) and took the knife to slay his Son." (The scene freezes.)
(The Preacher looks up from his reading.) Now this seems like a harsh thing that the Lord asks of Abraham - to sacrifice his only Son, whom God Himself had given him after so many years of being childless with his wife. But you must remember that God doesn�t ask anything of Abraham that He Himself was not willing to do. For it is written in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever beleiveth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." God sacrificed His own Son for us, for our salvation. So is it too much to ask of Abraham to sacrifice his?
You think I�m being cruel to you? You think I�m not being understanding, when I understand too well what you�re up to? If I�d have pulled that shit with my Dad, he wouldn�t have let me off with a talking-to, he�d have beat some sense into me.Preacher(crossing to Abraham):
(Pauses, then sits on the right side of the couch.) You think I�m mean, you dumbshit! You haven�t felt my belt on your ass since you were a kid. My Dad, he had a cane in the umbrella stand next to the front door, it wasn�t because he had a limp, he only used it for one thing. And none of the shit I pulled was as bad as this bullshit you did tonight. Is that what I need to do? Huh? Do I need to beat some sense into you? Huh?
Well I won�t, provided this shit ends tonight. (Stands up, getting an idea.) You see, we both know you don�t really want to kill yourself, and I�m going to prove it to you. (Crosses to pulpit, picks up revolver. Checks to make sure that it is loaded.)
Well, here you go! This is the way a man kills himself. (Goes through a demonstration.) Put it to your temple, or in your mouth, and pull the trigger. Bang! You�re dead. (Tosses the gun onto the left cushion of the couch.)
Well, there you go. It�s loaded. It�s ready. (The Son looks at the gun.) See, you�re too big of a coward to do it.
Well, this is your last chance, and you�re not going to take it are you? So I don�t want to hear about any of this bullshit again! Do you hear me! This bullshit ends now!
"And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here I am."[The light go off, as a shot rings out.]
(Taking hold of the arm poised with the knife and lowering it to Abraham�s side. Otherwise, Abraham stays frozen.) "And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing to him: (Helping Isaac up off the altar, and unwrapping his hands.) for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy Son, thine only Son from me."
(With his hand on Isaac�s shoulder they slowly back away from the altar a few steps. Abraham begins to move.) "And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, (Abraham looks around and sees the Son, who is still staring fixedly at the revolver.) and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: (Abraham crosses to the Son.) and Abraham went and took the ram, (Abraham leads the Son back to the altar, pushes him back on it, and raises his knife.) and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his Son."
End of play.
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