Birth: Joseph Awaits the Birth of Jesus

Joseph:
(enters preoccupied, crossed to DC, paces mumbles, after several seconds notices audience, stops pacing) (recommend hillbilly accent)

Oh, hello, I didn't see you there. I hope I'm not intruding. (points offstage with thumb) They didn't want me in there. My wife is having a baby. I... I'm a little nervous.

(looks to audience, offstage, to audience, offstage, to audience)

Oh, I suppose you're wondering why my baby is going to be born in a stable. Well, it has to do with the Roman census. See, I'm from the tribe of Judah and the family of King David. And this is King David's home town. See, Roman census requires us to go back to our home town so they can count noses by tribe. But I suppose you knew that. Everybody here in Bethlehem probably came here for the census. So, I guess you're from the family of King David too, huh?

(paces without waiting for an answer)

You'll have to forgive me. I'm a little preoccupied right now. This is my first.... baby, I mean. This is my first baby... Our first baby. And I'm real nervous about it.

(stops pacing)

I'm sorry. I started to tell you why my wife is having a baby in a stable. See, we're not from around here. You probably already figured that out from my accent. We're from way out in Galilee, from a small town called Nazareth, which is just about as far from Bethlehem as you can be and still be in Israel. Anyway, by the time we walked here all the way from Nazareth, all the hotel rooms were filled to capacity because of the census. And there was nowhere for us to stay. So, (points offstage) here we are having a baby in a stable.

(paces)

Boy! I never thought I would be this nervous! Mind you I'm not nervous because the delivery or anything. I mean, women have been having babies for thousands of years. I'm nervous because I'm not sure how I'm going to pull this off. See, this is not your average baby.

(stops pacing)

I suppose you hear that all the time. You're probably not going to believe this but...

(paces)

On second thought, I KNOW you're not going to believe this, so I don't think I'll even tell you. See, I'm not worried about being a Dad. I'll probably be a good Dad. My father Jacob taught me all about being a good Dad. He taught me a trade -- I'm a carpenter -- and I'll probably just teach my trade to my son.

(stops pacing)

See, I already know it's going to be a boy. His name will be Jesus. You probably think I'm a little nuts if I think I already know it's going to be a boy. All dads want their first child to be a boy. But, this... this is more than just a hunch. You're not going to believe this... Well, maybe I shouldn't tell you. You're not going to believe any of this.

(paces)

How do you treat a boy like this? How do you explain him to your friends? I was even considering just keeping a secret until he's all grown up, but people always find out.

(stops pacing)

Alright, I'll tell you. You're all Jews, right? You know your scriptures? Remember the prophecy of the Prophet Isaiah? He said the messiah will be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace"? Remember the Prophet Micah said that our messiah will be born here in Bethlehem? Well, believe it or not, all that prophecy is being fulfilled tonight, (points offstage) right here in this stable. Isn't that something?! MY son is Mighty God, Everlasting Father! God is coming to earth as a baby. MY baby!

(paces)

I can see by the look on your face you don't believe a word I say. But if you do your math, you'll see that the messiah HAS to be born now.

(stops pacing)

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that there is no prophecy that predicts the date of the BIRTH of our messiah. BUT, the prophet Daniel predicted that the messiah will ride into Jerusalem thirty-three years from now.

(paces)

Okay, so try to follow me on this. In addition to being our king, our messiah will be our priest, our intermediary between God and man. According to the Law, a man can't be a priest until he's thirty years old, right? But you can bet that when the messiah turns thirty, people are not going to just swarm to him and crown him king of Israel. He'll have to spend a few years proving to people that he who he says he is. He'll have to do some miracles. And since the scriptures tell us that the number associated with deliverance is three. I think the messiah will do miracles for three years before everybody knows he's the one. If you add the age of the priesthood to the number of deliverance, that makes a thirty three years. And if you subtract that from the prediction of the prophet Daniel, that brings us here.... today.

(stops pacing)

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking how do I know that it's Jesus and not some other baby born in Bethlehem this year? This is the part that a little hard to believe. So, I'll just come out and tell you. An angel of the Lord appeared to my wife Mary and told her. He even told her what to name the baby. Then that same angel appeared to me. Mary and I compared notes. It was the same angel! There is no doubt in our minds that our baby Jesus is the long awaited messiah of Israel.

(starts pacing)

Now you know why I'm so nervous. How can I measure up to the task of being the father of Immanuel, God with us?! I can't handle this! I'm just a carpenter!

(optional sound cue: baby cries) (stops pacing, looks offstage)

Oh, oh. That's him. My baby is here. Jesus is born. I'm... (exits running) I'm a dad!

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