“In the beginning – that is where this story begins. After all the beginning is the most appropriate place for a story to start. It is much more exciting than any “Once upon a time” could ever be. And it is even more creative than “a galaxy far far away.”
This story is a tale of expectation, expectation of great promises and wonderful outcomes. It is a story of patience in the most unlikely circumstances. This story is characterized by hope, wrapped in love, expressed through joy, all coming together to bring about a result of peace. It is a story unlike any other and, more importantly, it is our story.”
That was the opening narration from “Expectation: A Moment in Time”, the Christmas Eve drama that Tappy wrote for his position as Worship Arts Pastor at Troy Church of the Nazarene. He spent many weeks studying different authors’ work and studying different portions of Scripture and spent several days in his office planning out the details and bringing the characters to life. His biggest influences for the script were Ann Voskamp’s “Unwrapping The Greatest Gift,” and Max Lucado’s “In The Manger”.
The drama was told from the perspective of a woman reading a version of the Christmas story to her daughter in their living room. As she worked through the story the characters came to life and the audience’s attention was drawn from the “living room” stage to the main platform in the Worship Center. The drama was also mixed with familiar carols and each family was asked to bring forth a candle and light it as a representation of their family and the true light that Christ brings into the world.
The storyline was crafted around the expectation of the Advent season and each character personified an element of the candles from the four weeks leading up to the birth of Christ.
HOPE: The first biblical character was Abraham. He shared about the Hope that God gave to him and his wife through the promise of a child. The promise was exemplified with the visual of stars and the vastness of the cosmos. (Gen. 15:5)
LOVE: Next the story led to the prophet Isaiah who was called to share the ultimate plan of love to those who would not fully understand the meaning until its fulfillment several hundred years later. (Isaiah 9:6)
JOY: We were then led into the Gospel accounts as we heard from Elizabeth, wife of Zachariah and cousin to Mary, and what happened to her husband in the temple and the importance of listening to The Lord and being grateful for all that He has given. (Luke 1:13)
PEACE: Finally we heard from a Shepherd, a witness of the manger and the true presence of Majesty. He shared the importance of Christ’s coming for both the elite and the ordinary. (Luke 2:14)…Tap played the role of the Shepherd, as well as sang and played piano for the service.
In one moment, for that is all it takes to change the world, God broke into humanity and brought Hope to the hopeless, Love to the broken, Joy to weary, and Peace to the restless. One moment, that is all it took to change the lives of these characters, and that is all it took to grasp the attention of those present.
Ethan & Emilie 