Ament and Cytus

By Peter Reed, if you use this play, please let him know at Thereeds@characterlink.net

Narrator: The setting is first century Rome. Two Egyptians, Ament and Cytus are walking outside the Roman Coliseum. They have just seen the burning of a Christian within this Coliseum and are discussing this group of people.

Cytus: I wonder what is so great about the God of these people that they would be burned for him?

Ament: Aye. We Egyptians are more likely to be burnt by our God, than for him.

Cytus: That is, before the Romans came. (Sigh) What I'd do to be able to live for the Pharaoh once again.

Ament: Be quiet. We are in Rome you know.

Cytus: Ah yes. True enough Ament. But these Romans bother me.

Ament: Don't they everybody? But I know what you mean. Why would they burn people just because they don't worship the same god?

Cytus: And these Christian people, do you know were they live?

Ament: So you want to talk to them too, aye?

Cytus: Aye, ye have guessed my intentions. Although I'm sure we could never find them.

Ament: There is one chance.

Cytus: what do you mean?

Ament: I overheard in the coliseum Cytus, that the Christians send someone to collect the remains of their dead.

Cytus: Really? (Pause) There's still little chance we could ever catch them. The Romans would get them first.

Ament: Maybe, but we could try.

Cytus: But they will only come at night.

Ament: Then we have a choice to make.

Narrator: It is late that night; Cytus and Ament are sneaking quietly around the Coliseum, hopeful of meeting the Christians.

QUIETLY

Cytus: You, you think we will see them?

Ament: Shhh, I don't know.

Cytus: Look, look there's someone, is it a soldier?

Ament: it must be -- Who else is out at this hour? (Urgently) We must run!

Woman (to herself): Ha! I have found them Christians, and now I will get the reward. They're running away! Well I am not a slave for nothing, I can still move.

Ament: hurry, the guard is chasing us!

Woman: come back you two!

Cytus (out of breadth, and with relief): It's only a woman.

Woman: (PAUSE) Are you two Christians?

Ament: Nay, we are Egyptians, also looking for the Christians

Woman (with suspicion): Oh! Will you tell me if you find them? Nay, I will just come with you

Cytus: Look, Look, there!

Ament (excited yet still trying to be quiet): Ah yes, those must be them, who else but Roman soldiers are about at this hour?

Cytus: Greetings.

Mother (Frightened, yet firm): What do want?

Ament: peace, we come in peace.

Woman (In disbelief): What?

Grandmother: who are you then?

Cytus: We are Egyptians, and are here on business for our country.

Daughter (frightened, said quickly): Why must you bother us?

Ament: Today we saw the burning, and want to know why he died.

Woman: What are you talking about?

Mother (ignoring woman): he had no choice.

Daughter: The Romans just took him

Mother +daughter: (Sob)

Grandmother: I believe they mean why was he willing to die.

Cytus: Yes, Yes

Daughter (Still shaky but getting firmer.): He died for our God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grandmother: All of us are willing to die for him.

Woman: That may be why you two were looking. I on the other hand, am on the side of the law.

Grandmother: Won't you stay and listen, while we explain our beliefs to these men?

Woman: While you devise plans of escape? Certainly not, I plan on finding a guard and turning you all in.

Mother: Very well then, but if I were you I wouldn't.

Woman: Why wouldn't I take advantage of a chance to buy my freedom? I am not risking my life for nothing. (Pause) Wait! You would all leave the moment I left. Well, I'll be within sight so don't go running off.

Grandmother: Very well then. (To anxious men) We know where to go if she finds a guard.

Ament (relieved and interested): Tell us more about your God.

Daughter: He came to earth about six score years ago.

Mother: He came to save us

Ament: from the Romans?

Cytus: If he came to do that, than he must have failed.

Daughter: no, no. He came to save our souls.

Mother (Sad, but steady): That is why the man who died today was willing to die.

Daughter: Since he had accepted Christ, he knew that Christ would accept him into heaven.

Ament: Heaven?

Mother: you are getting ahead of the story dear.

Daughter: Sorry mother.

Grandmother: Once Jesus came to earth He began preaching in public, and healing the sick.

Daughter: Many people were amazed, He had received no training!

Mother: Yes, all he was trained for was carpentry.

Grandmother: However, when he spoke many people gathered.

Mother: they all wanted to hear him talk.

Grandmother: Unfortunately, the Jewish leaders thought that the savior would free them from Rome.

Ament: wouldn't that be a relief.

Grandmother: However that was not his purpose in coming.

Daughter: Jesus taught us to love the Romans, and thank God for them.

Cytus: Why would he want you to love them?

Mother: Jesus loves all people, he wished for everyone's soul to be saved.

Ament: Even the Romans?

Woman: Don't any one of you move! (Victorious) You'll all die now!

Cytus (frightened): That woman's found a guard!

Ament (with urgent despair): what will we do? I don't want to die.

Mother: quickly, come this way.

Daughter: We must hurry! They have seen us go!

Grandmother (muttering to herself): I'm certainly not getting any younger.

Narrator: Later concealed from the Romans they resume their conversation.

Ament: how did you know of this place? It's ingenious.

Daughter: it's not the first time we've had to hide from the Romans.

Mother: The Romans are always on the look out for us.

Cytus: I appreciate you hiding us too… Could you tell us more about this Jesus?

Grandmother: Gladly! The climax of his earthly ministry, or at least the point of the most popularity, came one Passover when he entered Jerusalem.

Mother: People wanted to crown him king! And have them lead them against the Romans!

Ament (puzzled): but he didn't come for that?

Daughter: No he didn't. I guess many that followed him were confused too.

Grandmother: My grandmother was there that day, she said that the Jewish leaders tried to stop the people, but there were too many of them.

Mother: Who would have thought that they would want him killed in but a few days.

Cytus: But he didn't die did he?

Grandmother: I'm afraid he did.

Cytus +Ament (surprised and alarmed): what?

Daughter (laughing): It was all part of God's plan.

Ament: to die?

Grandmother: Yes. The Jewish leaders managed to turn the people against Jesus.

Daughter: I guess many of them were following him only because everyone else was.

Mother: He was killed on a cross not long after that.

Cytus: so the Roman's killed him. I could have figured on that.

Grandmother: this too, was part of God's plan, foretold in the Holy law of God.

Ament: What a sad ending.

Cytus: But how can you give your life for someone whose dead?

Daughter: He only died so that he could save us from our sins.

Mother: so that we could be with him for eternity.

Grandmother: Besides three days later he arose from the grave.

Cytus: but, but… how is that possible?

Grandmother: Our God is that powerful, he has power over life and death.

Daughter: Besides Many people saw him afterwards, alive.

Woman: Aha! I have found you now! (Remembering) But the guard has left me; I'll never talk him into coming now! Well maybe I'll just listen to you folks ramble on. I can't go back to my master now anyway, he'd kill me!

Grandmother: Then won't you please listen?

Woman (falsely grudgingly): I guess.

Ament (excited): where is this Jesus now?

Cytus (also excited): have the Romans caught him again?

Woman: He disappeared.

Mother: No, no… Later when he was with three of his followers, he ascended into the air, and told them that they would join him in heaven.

Grandmother: Christ told them that he would send his Holy Spirit to them, and that they were to wait in Jerusalem. The day they received this spirit one of Jesus disciples, Peter, preached to a crowd early that day.

Mother: People of many different countries were in Jerusalem that day, and as they listened to Peter, each heard him in their own language! The crowds were amazed, who were these people?

Daughter: Peter's sermon was powerful that day. Three thousand came to Christ that day. Just think, In one sermon three thousand were saved, and those three thousand went back to their countries, and likely many more came to Christ!

Woman: Didn't do me any good.

Cytus: Pardon me for interrupting, but where is heaven?

Grandmother: It's where we go when we die.

Mother: Jesus promised that it is a wonderful place.

Grandmother: We believe that all that originally existed was heaven, God, and his angels. According to God's Holy law, God created the whole world, and can command it out of existence any time he wanted to. But God loves what he had made, and wishes that we would repent from our sin, and worship him, so that we could spend eternity with God.

Mother: That is why that man was willing to die. This life is almost nothing, compared to the time we will spend in eternity. However God is unwilling to let man sin without asking forgiveness and still live eternally in heaven.

Daughter: We will all spend eternity somewhere, in heaven, which is wonderful beyond imagination. Or go to hell, the alternative to heaven.

Ament: Now I understand why you Christians and that man we saw today are willing to die for your God.

Cytus: You are going out of this oppression, to where this Jesus rules.

Daughter (delighted): Exactly. We will be there forever.

Woman: Wouldn't that be wonderful.

Cytus: that is, till the Romans get there.

Grandmother: The Romans will never conquer heaven. God is all-powerful, and could get rid of the Romans in a moment. However, God wishes to see everyone, even the Romans come to Jesus

Ament: I Wish I could get rid of the Romans.

Woman: How can you say your God is loving when the world is so cruel?

Daughter: How do you know that it's cruel? God must have told us what was right first. Man makes wrong choices only because God lets people make decisions.

Mother: We are all equally sinful before God. " All have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

Cytus: How can you say that? We saw only today that they hate you, and want to kill you!

Woman: Yes, the Romans can't stand you! (Pause) Not that they think so highly of me.

Grandmother: If you accept Christ and live for him, then you too will realize that everyone is sinful. We all have failed perfection.

Ament: You mean that God will forgive my sins to?

Daughter: All you must do is ask him to forgive your sins, and tell him you will live for him forever.

Woman: But he wouldn't forgive a slave, maybe Egyptians, but never a slave.

Grandmother: Yes he will! God loves all people, and doesn't care whether they are Romans, Egyptians, Jews, or slaves, he wants us all to ask his forgiveness.

Woman (disappointed): But I could never get there, to heaven I mean.

Cytus (also disappointed): Yeah you have to die first.

Ament (demanding): How did you tell him? You weren't alive when he came were you?

Mother: All we have to do is tell him wherever we are, and he can hear us. Our God is not a statue, and is not a human; we can worship him anywhere.

Daughter: God knows everything we think, say and do.

Cytus: Wow! I want to ask him to forgive me.

Ament: This does sound incredible…. I think I need to ask him too.

Woman: If you really think your God would accept a slave, than I want his forgiveness also.

Grandmother: Then I will tell you the prayer Jesus taught us to pray. You repeat after me.

Grandmother: Our father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Cytus + Ament + woman (fading away): Our father which art in heaven, hallowed it be…

Narrator: And so on through this well-known prayer…

Ament: I feel like a new person!

Mother: yes, once we accept Christ, we are new people.

Daughter: We are a new creation in Christ. Washed by his blood on the cross.

Grandmother: How anyone could bear to live without this reassurance I do not know.

Cytus: But do you think I would still be willing to die like that man today?

Mother: With God all things are possible.

Daughter: The Lord shall renew their strength…

Mother: He will strengthen you too.

Grandmother: You should come with us, and meet the other believers.

Daughter: Yes, it is nearly sunrise.

Mother: first let us pray that God will renew our strength, so that we can mount up with wings like eagles, that we may run, and not be weary, and walk, and not faint.

Daughter: Yes, let us pray.

PAUSE

Narrator: Ament, Cytus, and the slave in this story represent innumerable thousands that came to Christ because of the persecution of the early church. That which man meant for evil, God meant for good.

Daughter: God used the early church's willingness to die for him, as a catalyst that brought many to Christ.

Mother: God can use you in the same way. (PAUSE)

Narrator (slowly): What does living for Christ mean to you?

Thank you to Peter Reed for sharing this play.
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