Hebrew Scripture Reading—Genesis 8: 6-11
Staging Notes: Two high school students sit on different sides of the stage. Each sits in front of a table with a lap top computer on it. The teenager played by Brooks is at a church where he is part of a youth sleepover. The teenager played by Cory is at home. The two are sending each other messages back and forth via their computers.
Brooks: Dude, you there?
Cory: Yep, just drank my fifth bottle of Mountain Dew. Been up all night.
B: Dude, you’re a caffeine addict.
C: I know, but I am still in denial.
B: Dude, a drop of water just fell on me.
C: How’d that happen?
B: Dude, our church has a serious leak.
C: You’re in church?
B: Yeah, our youth group is doing a lock-in tonight.
C: Really??? You’re not a Jesus freak are you? I always thought you were a bit strange.
B: Awe, man, I wonder what Jesus would say to that. He’d be like, “Dude, stop the hate and start the love.”
C: Sweet, what church do you go to?
B: Dude, it’s that church on the hill.
C: Dude, I know that church. Isn’t that the church that looks like an ark?
B: Yeah dude, that’s it. It was supposed to look like a dove, but that never really caught on.
C: No, it’s definitely an ark. Trust me. I know my arks.
B: Yeah, well, we need help with ours. Know anyone who can repair leaky arks. The cheaper the better.
C: Dude, I’ve got just two words for you: duct tape. Seriously man, duct tape will fix anything.
B: That’s not a bad idea. I’ll tell our pastor we need to order the heavy-duty kind. I wonder if Noah had duct tape.
C: Dude, how could he not? I bet he had a whole storage closet of that.
B: No, no, man, he couldn’t have had duct tape. He lived too long ago. Back then, they didn’t have Wal-Mart. Before duct tape, they probably had some kind of leaf. Yeah, dude, they put leaves everywhere to patch things up.
C: You know I think you might be right. That was a long time ago. I think my dad once told me that he had to use leaves when he was a kid.
B: Sad isn’t it. Thank God for modern technology.
C: Come to think of it. That olive leaf that the dove brought to the ark was probably what Noah used for duct tape. He probably had run out.
B: Yeah dude, all this time people thought the leaf was a sign of peace. It was really just duct tape.
C: Still, that dove must have been the stud of the day after he rescued them. If only the Titanic had had a dove…
B: No, kidding, that dove must have been the most popular dude on the boat. I am sure he didn’t have any trouble dating the ladies.
C: “Yeah, ladies, I am the one who brought back the olive leaf.”
B: “Oh my, was it dangerous?”
C: “Others might have thought so. I just knew I had to keep flying. Everybody was depending on me.”
B: “Noah must think you’re wonderful.”
C: “Yeah, I am pretty close to the humans now. They think doves will bring peace to the whole world.”
B: Dude, that dove was living every dove’s fantasy.
C: You know he was probably like the little guy at the end of the bench in basketball.
B: I bet the raven was like the star, the big stud flying the skies.
C: That’s funny how the raven didn’t want to go back to the boat after Noah let him out. I guess he had had enough of everyone else.
B: Little did he know the dove would become popular with the ladies.
C: He was probably a lonely man after he ditched the ark.
B: Dude, everyone needs an ark.
C: Yeah, but think about being around all those smelly animals?
B: Dude, that’s the beauty of an ark. Everyone accepts you, regardless of race, class, or smell.
C: Uh, are you saying you smell?
B: No, dude, but if I did, they would still accept me.
C: Do people in your church take showers Sunday morning before they come?
B: Dude, didn’t you learn about metaphors in English? “Smell” is just a metaphor for saying God loves us no matter what.
C: If I were your church, I would search for a better metaphor. I don’t think “smell” has a lot of marketing potential.
B: Awe man, I just got hit by another drop.
C: Dude, your church is going to need a serious metaphor if that duct tape doesn’t work.
B: I know dude. Our pastor says to fix this it’s going to take like a million dollars.
C: I know what your church needs.
B: Dude, what’s that?
C: A bunch doves.
B: Huh?
C: Doves with olive branches.
B: Dude, what does that have to do with our church?
C: It’s a metaphor stupid.
B: Dude, what are you talking about?
C: Your church is an ark, right?
B: Yep.
C: It’s going through a storm now right?
B: Yep.
C: Well, at some point, you need to be rescued like Noah was rescued.
B: Yep
C: Except it sounds like you are going to need a whole bunch of doves to help out. You are going to need a whole lot of people to bring olive branches and save the day. That’s when you’ll know that the floodwaters are finally going back and that you will eventually reach dry land.
B: Dude, I like it. I like it, especially since I am like the small guy on the boat. I can’t give a whole lot, but I can still bring whatever olive branch I can find.
C: You got it man.
B: Dude, that’s not a bad metaphor.
C: You can thank the Mountain Dew. It makes me more creative.
B: Dude, you’re an addict.
C: I know, but I am still in denial.
B: Hey, I think it has stopped raining. I can see the light starting to shine through the window.
C: There you go. Tell people your church is about light. That’s much better than smell.
B: Yeah, dude, you’re right. God’s light shines on everyone who enters our ark. Amen.
C: Amen.