Torch, Spring 1997

\ Ii up and ready to graduate. This is a commercial about fried potatoes, but my husband-an intelligent, rational man with three daughters of his own-couldn't watch it without tears coming to his eyes. Our goal for the church is, of course, profoundly more important than capturing a comer in the fast-food industry. Drama's capacity to engage the emotions is a potential bridge to life-changing truth. My pastor, drawing on Aristotle's definition of drama as "truth accurately portrayed," refers to drama this way: "It is a truth tool in our arsenal. Our great tools are Word (truth) and spirit. Drama becomes our ally to present truth. People living in our visual age relate to it. Drama is a complement to preaching and a way to build experience around the preaching event that accents the theme." For example, one Sunday the message focused on the effect our inheritance in Christ should make in our daily lives. A brief drama portrayed an elderly woman living in abject poverty while meticulously filing her uncashed inheritance checks in a box. In conjunction with a Sunday school series on stewardship, we used a scene in which a young couple quibbled over finances and negotiated how little they could give the church and still feel spiritual. The couple was, of course, a version of Ananias and Sapphira. The goal of both of these scenes was to encourage people to see themselves in the story and to evaluate how they use the resources God has given them. Issues take on a different dimension our compassion. when truth is coupled with a human face. For example, while we denounce the crime of abortion, witnessing a drama in which a young girl portrays reliving the emotional pain of taking her baby's life should increase Emotion alone is not enough, however; we need to use our minds. The Word of God asks us to reason together, and drama can be a powerful agent for engendering such careful thought. By its very nature, drama balances human involvement with objectivity. Textbooks refer to this dynamic process as "temporary suspension of disbelief." The congregation accepts the story for a moment, but knows that it isn't absolute reality. They watch and think. This is particularly important in scenes portraying harmful behavior. Consider the emotional reaction people would have if they witnessed someone being rude or abusive to someone in real life. But in a dramatic sketch, the emotional response is tempered by the knowledge that this isn't "for real," thereby freeing the mind to think about the negative consequences of such behavior. Far from abdicating the truth, drama encourages objective evaluation that is almost impossible when our emotions alone are involved. We need to feel and think. Drama acts as a symbol in which abstract truth is made concrete. Scripture is replete with examples of such symbolism. Old Testament scholars point to the vivid imagery of temple worship, to the significance of such events as Passover, and even to the "truth acted out" by the prophets. Jesus taught with stories and parables, recorded in the New Testament. The most incredible event in history– the incarnation-is also certainly the most dramatic. God Himself, coming to earth and taking on the form of man; Jesus dwelling among us so that we might know the Father. Is it any wonder that this is also our favorite drama? Can anyone ever grow accustomed to the wonder of the Christmas story? When the moment comes and we see young Mary and Joseph, clutching a baby doll, surrounded by shepherds and continued on page 12