I will follow you

Monologue Based on Luke 9:51-62

'I will follow you'
Monologue – the voice of an (imaginary) Samaritan who encounters Jesus on the road to Jerusalem – based on Luke 9:51-62.
Originally delivered in a soft Yorkshire accent, but would work with any regional accent.
The accompanying prologue and epilogue could be said by another voice – they attempt to put this kind of imaginative 'narrative preaching' in context.
Prologue
'Narrative preaching' – talking in the voice of a character in a Bible situation so as to imagine what their life was like as they encountered...Jesus, or the work of God..
The character – one of the anonymous villagers of Samaria, who saw Jesus as he passed through the territory on the way to Jerusalem –
We know nothing about any such people from Scripture; that's 1 criticism of a narrative approach; there's a danger of making it up;
Much of the Protestant tradition has always been very wary of saying anything at all that isn't explicitly stated in the Scripture,
But then we can't read any Scripture without using imagination; narrative means we must wholeheartedly use our imaginations, bounded by historical knowledge & theological understanding -

So to the narrative – 'a day in the life', of one of the villagers who was among those who (Luke 9:51-62) 'did not receive' Jesus, because his face was set towards Jerusalem –
The short story comes as the atmosphere around Jesus gets darker
He has predicted his own death; he has warned his followers about what will happen if they follow him; opposition is building at every turn,
this ministry which had once been so popular and 'successful' is coming up against the realities of a difficult world, in which people remain unrepentant; in which there is division and enmity, in which even healings that cause amazement don't change the underlying attitude towards Jesus –

Continues...