5th Day of Advent Skit-A-Day Week

THE BETHLEHEM CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Characters:
Board Chairperson
Board Secretary
Board Member
Marcus Annoyingus
Inn Keeper
Inn Keeper’s Wife
Neighbor 1
Neighbor 2


Chairperson: The Bethlehem City Council Meeting is now called to order. Secretary, could you please read the minutes of our last meeting.

Secretary: Minutes for the meeting of March 24th, 1 BC. There was discussion of renaming the main well in honor of our city’s founder, King David. An objection was raised about alleged business fraud at Levi’s Used Camel Lot. And there was discussion of the then upcoming Roman Census. The Chairperson at that time referred to the Romans as low-down, power-mad, thieving…

Chairperson: That’s enough of the minutes. We would like to welcome our special guest, graciously monitoring this meeting on behalf of our glorious ruler, Caesar Augustus, the good centurion Marcus Annoyingus.

Marcus: I’m sure that the spirit of respect and fear of the empire will continue throughout this meeting. That is, if you wish to continue meeting.

Chairperson: Do we have any new business? Yes, you there!

Neighbor 1: Thank you, Chairperson. I would like to bring before the council some problems that came up during the recent census.

(Marcus coughs)

Neighbor 1: Not that any of the problems were the fault of the empire. But you see, I live next to the Bethlehem Inn. And I have reason to believe there may have been a variety of zoning violations.

Innkeeper: We’ve done no such thing.

Chairperson: That is a serious accusation.

Neighbor 1: And a true one. According to the zoning ordinances, the inn can only use their stable for animals, and during the census they allowed people to stay there.

Innkeeper’s Wife: It was a man with his pregnant wife. They had no where else to go!

Neighbor 2: But it wasn’t just the woman giving birth in that stall. It was all those visitors in the middle of the night! I’m sure they were violating the noise ordinances!

Neighbor 1: Those shepherds! I think they were violating the smell ordinances.

Board Member: We have no smell ordinances.

Neighbor 1: Well, we should.

Innkeeper: That man and woman had no choice but to come to Bethlehem for the census on Caesar’s command. I would have given them a room, but we were full.

Innkeeper’s Wife: So we let them use the stable. And then something amazing happened. The shepherds came to our door and asked if we knew where they could find a baby in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Innkeeper: They told us they had been told about the baby by a host of angels that appeared on the hill top. They had told us that this baby is the Christ who had come to bring the world joy and peace.

Neighbor 2: I know. They went knocking on all the doors spreading the news.

Marcus: Only the empire brings peace.

Chairperson: But not much joy.

Marcus: What was that?

Chairperson: I said, “A baby boy?”

Innkeeper’s Wife: Yes, a baby boy. I believe grow to be the Messiah.

Neighbor 1: But they weren’t respecting the city ordinances.

Neighbor 2: Or the neighborhood’s peace and quiet.

Marcus: Or the empire!

Chairperson: Absolutely. From now on, when someone comes to your inn in need, you must consider what is really important.

Innkeeper: It was that night that I learned what is really important.

Chairperson: That will be all, meeting adjourned.