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PERSIST  5'2m0f The parable of the persistent friend

ED --   And now, sit down, put your feet up, relax and listen
to another edition of... Parables on Parade. Tonight's
parable comes from Matthew chapter 11. After Jesus
gave his disciples what is sometimes call the Lord's
prayer, he told this parable in verse 5.

Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a
friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says,
'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a
friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have
nothing to set before him.' Then the one inside
answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked,
and my children are with me in bed. I can't get
up and give you anything.' I tell you, though he will
not get up and give him the bread because he is his
friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get
up and give him as much as he needs...

FRED -- Ha! Not me. I'd never give in.

ED --   You don't understand. The Lord said says, "Ask and you
will receive..."

FRED -- Not at midnight. Not in my house.

ED --   Well, the LORD will give...

FRED -- Not a chance. Somebody wakes me up in the middle of the 
night, I don't care who he is, he'll go away empty handed. I 
guarantee it.

ED --   This parable isn't talking about you...

FRED -- Oh, I'd be nice about it and everything, but no way a
guy wakes me up and gets a single loaf of bread.

ED --   Can we get back to the parable?

FRED -- I tell you what. I'll step into his storage room here 
and close the door. You knock on the door and ask me for three 
loaves of bread.

ED --   I don't know, I was...

FRED -- Come on! This will be fun try it! 

ED --   Just once I'd like to get through a parable
uninterrupted. 

FRED -- Come on! It won't take a minute. The listeners will
love it. Go ahead knock.

ED --   Alright, knock, knock.

FRED -- No, no. We're on the air now, right?

ED --   Yeah, so?

FRED -- So, make it authentic. Knock on the door.

ED --   Alright! Let's get this over with.

FRED -- This is going to be so good! (door close) (afar) This
is me snoring. (snores, knock, knock) Who's there!

ED --   It's me, your good friend.

FRED -- Yeah, what do you want?

ED --   A guest from out of town just came to visit and I
don't have anything to feed him. May I borrow three
loaves of bread from you?

FRED -- We're all tucked into bed. Come back in the morning.

ED --   My guest is really hungry. I need to feed him now.

FRED -- I hurt my foot today. I can't get up and walk on it.

ED --   Wake up your wife or your kids and have them get the
bread for you.

FRED -- (cough, cough) We're all sick. (cough, cough)

ED --   Aw, come on.

FRED -- (cough, cough) We all have a very infectious disease. 
(cough, cough) But, maybe we'll feel better in the morning.

ED --   I just saw you before bed time. You weren't sick then.

FRED -- (cough, cough) Well, we're all sick now. And, do you 
know how we all got sick? 

ED --   No. I'm dying to hear.

FRED -- Ah, we were all delivering our last five loaves of bread 
to the orphanage. Yeah, that's it. We all caught an infectious 
disease at the orphanage and now we're all out of bread. (cough, 
cough)

ED --   I'm looking through your kitchen window and I can see
five fresh loaves of bread cooling on the table. 

FRED -- Ah, no you don't.

ED --   Yes, I do.

FRED -- Ah, that's not bread. It looks like bread but it's not 
bread. That's actually, ah, five dead rats. Yeah, that's it. We 
have a terrible rodent problem and if we open the door now, 
we'll unleash a rat plague on the whole town. Come back in the 
morning, I'm sure that all the rats will be dead and gone by 
then.

ED --   No, I'm shining light from my oil lamp in the window and 
I can see them real clearly. You have five loaves of bread on 
the table.

FRED -- Oh, those loaves of bread! Yeah, aren't they real 
looking? I made them out of clay as ... ah... decoys for the 
geese. 

ED --    The geese?

FRED -- Yeah that's it, they're decoys for the geese. The geese 
will eat the clay and they'll be so heavy that they won't be 
able to fly. Then we bop them on the head and have them for 
dinner. By the way, you and your guest are welcome to join us 
for dinner tomorrow. We're serving goose.

ED --   I don't know how to tell you this, but I was here 
tonight, when your wife pulled six loaves of bread out of the 
oven. We ate one loaf just before you went to bed and left the 
other five loaves to cool on the table. Remember?

FRED -- Oh, those loaves of bread! Oh, we couldn't possible
give away those loaves of bread. 

ED --   Why not?

FRED -- Why not? Well, ah, because, ah, the king is sending his 
messenger in an hour to pick up all our bread and bring it back 
to the palace. We wouldn't want to disappoint the king would we?

ED --   And you're going to get up when he gets here and open
the door and give him the bread?

FRED -- In about an hour from now. Sorry.

ED --   What about your infectious cough? What about your rat
infestation? 

FRED -- (afar) Well, ah, I, ah... (open door) (up close) 
Alright! You can have your silly loaves of bread. Brother! Are 
you persistent.

ED --   Just like the man in the parable.

FRED -- The parable. Oh, yes, the parable!

ED --   Tune in next time for another edition of Parables on
Parade.

FRED -- (afar) Don't look at me in that tone of voice.

ED --   (afar) Dead rats?


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