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Sarah
"...to proclaim a dancing God..."
from
Is This Your Idea of a Good Time, God?
by Ralph Milton
Wood Lake Books, 1995
To order this book
A poem
At first it was a cough;
then a stifled gasp;
then a watering of nose and eyes--
a rasping, wheezing, rattling noise
that might have been a full-blown case of asthma.
Or a stroke.
But it was laughter.
It was laughter!
From arthritic toes to gray and thinning hair,
it was a laughter from despair to hope--
laughter from the tomb to resurrection.
The old crone pulled the tent flap tight across her toothless mouth
to hide her laughter;
Hide it from her sniggering, impotent mate--
Hide the laughter from the bright-eyed strangers
who came
announcing new and ancient promises
a child of hope
for Sarah's ancient, arid womb--
for Abraham's ancient, arid land.
But hide it from the future, she could not.
Sarah birthed a promise,
in a child named Laughter,
And so proclaimed a dancing God
into the ages.
NOTE: The above is written in the style of “Reader’s Theatre,” a very simple but effective way of presenting the biblical story that can be done in any church, large or small. For more information about how to do Reader’s Theatre, click on this link.
Note: You have permission to use this in any worship service. No credit line is required, though it would be nice if you put in something like, “A Readers’ Theatre presentation of the Story-Lectionary.com project.”
Ralph's list of readings and stories |
