The Tame Lepra

Being thankful for salvation . A Samaritan leper comes to believe that Jesus has the power to heal his leprosy and grant salvation because of his (the Samaritans) faith. A monologue of thanksgiving to be used at any time of the year.

No special lighting, sound or sets are required. Actor should be dressed in a tattered period costume, the lower portion of his face covered.

Sample of script:

We were standing there by the Gate, waiting as we always did, hoping that someone would toss a little food, perhaps there may even be someone so generous as to throw a small coin. Amos and Phillip, they, being the biggest and the most aggressive, found the best spots, as near to the gate as they dared go. The rest of us, ten in all, jockeyed for position.

We looked a forlorn lot, and that indeed we were. Dressed in torn clothing, our hair unkempt, the lower part of our faces obscured, whenever someone came in sight, crying out, "tame', tame"', (pronounced taw-may), "Unclean, unclean"! Our look and the cry was as required by the law handed down to Moses and Aaron by Yahweh for those of us judged unclean. Tame'! How that word generated terror in the very hearts of those who spoke the word! Unclean! Even little children, when they heard the word spoken knew instinctively that we, the lepra, (pronounced lep-rah), must be avoided. We were the lepers, the defiled, we must live alone; we must live outside the camp, outside the walls of the city.

As for me, I was doubly afflicted. I, Shemer, the Samaritan, was a foreigner in this land. Having contracted this disease while working here, I was now without a home, unable to return to Samaria where, as a lepra, I was no longer welcome.
Shemer! Some name, some heritage! It was my ancestor of the same name who was the original owner of the hill on which the city of Samaria was built! Shemer! The name meant “preserved"! Preserved indeed! To what? For what? Neither name, nor position, nor wealth meant anything now. As a tame' lepra, an unclean leper, I would live my life as an outcast, a man without reason to live.

Some were worse than I. Ezra's disease was in an advanced state, his hands a mass of whitened flesh, reminiscent of the winter frost on my beloved Samaritan hillsides. Others, like Paul, had little more than boils and a rash, still he was an outcast, as much as Ezra. Poor Paul! A doctor by trade, he tried without success to argue his case with the priests, adamant that his was only a disease of the blood. No matter, tame' lepra is what we were, and all that we would be. Then, one day, news came that a Galilean, a prophet, was visiting our town. Paul laughed at the news, "A prophet", said he, "what is a prophet to us? Will he tell us of our remaining days? Heal us perhaps? Not likely!"

But Phillip told that this prophet, name of Jesus, had healed a leper some time back. When we pressed Phillip for details he admitted that information was sketchy. But apparently, a lepra came to the prophet, and on his knees stated with confidence, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." And this Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Jesus warned the man, "Don't tell anyone about this! Go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded." Instead the man began to talk freely, and as a result, Jesus became so much in demand for cleansing that He could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places.

"Stories, that's all", Paul reasoned. "No prophet would ask that a cleansed man not speak of a miracle! The first wish of the prophet is to boost his own standing and fortune!"

"But what if it is true?" It was I who spoke these words, yet I scarcely recognized my own voice, so deep in thought was I.

And then, coming up to the gate was a group of travelers, about fifty in number, both men and women. Could this be, . . . He?

The complete script, plus all 1,600+ other DramaShare scripts, are available at no charge to DramaShare members, non-members may purchase the individual script.

Being thankful for salvation . A Samaritan leper comes to believe that Jesus has the power to heal his leprosy and grant salvation because of his (the Samaritans) faith. A monologue of thanksgiving to be used at any time of the year.

No special lighting, sound or sets are required. Actor should be dressed in a tattered period costume, the lower portion of his face covered.

Sample of script:

We were standing there by the Gate, waiting as we always did, hoping that someone would toss a little food, perhaps there may even be someone so generous as to throw a small coin. Amos and Phillip, they, being the biggest and the most aggressive, found the best spots, as near to the gate as they dared go. The rest of us, ten in all, jockeyed for position.

We looked a forlorn lot, and that indeed we were. Dressed in torn clothing, our hair unkempt, the lower part of our faces obscured, whenever someone came in sight, crying out, "tame', tame"', (pronounced taw-may), "Unclean, unclean"! Our look and the cry was as required by the law handed down to Moses and Aaron by Yahweh for those of us judged unclean. Tame'! How that word generated terror in the very hearts of those who spoke the word! Unclean! Even little children, when they heard the word spoken knew instinctively that we, the lepra, (pronounced lep-rah), must be avoided. We were the lepers, the defiled, we must live alone; we must live outside the camp, outside the walls of the city.

As for me, I was doubly afflicted. I, Shemer, the Samaritan, was a foreigner in this land. Having contracted this disease while working here, I was now without a home, unable to return to Samaria where, as a lepra, I was no longer welcome.
Shemer! Some name, some heritage! It was my ancestor of the same name who was the original owner of the hill on which the city of Samaria was built! Shemer! The name meant “preserved"! Preserved indeed! To what? For what? Neither name, nor position, nor wealth meant anything now. As a tame' lepra, an unclean leper, I would live my life as an outcast, a man without reason to live.

Some were worse than I. Ezra's disease was in an advanced state, his hands a mass of whitened flesh, reminiscent of the winter frost on my beloved Samaritan hillsides. Others, like Paul, had little more than boils and a rash, still he was an outcast, as much as Ezra. Poor Paul! A doctor by trade, he tried without success to argue his case with the priests, adamant that his was only a disease of the blood. No matter, tame' lepra is what we were, and all that we would be. Then, one day, news came that a Galilean, a prophet, was visiting our town. Paul laughed at the news, "A prophet", said he, "what is a prophet to us? Will he tell us of our remaining days? Heal us perhaps? Not likely!"

But Phillip told that this prophet, name of Jesus, had healed a leper some time back. When we pressed Phillip for details he admitted that information was sketchy. But apparently, a lepra came to the prophet, and on his knees stated with confidence, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." And this Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Jesus warned the man, "Don't tell anyone about this! Go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded." Instead the man began to talk freely, and as a result, Jesus became so much in demand for cleansing that He could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places.

"Stories, that's all", Paul reasoned. "No prophet would ask that a cleansed man not speak of a miracle! The first wish of the prophet is to boost his own standing and fortune!"

"But what if it is true?" It was I who spoke these words, yet I scarcely recognized my own voice, so deep in thought was I.

And then, coming up to the gate was a group of travelers, about fifty in number, both men and women. Could this be, . . . He?

The complete script, plus all 1,600+ other DramaShare scripts, are available at no charge to DramaShare members, non-members may purchase the individual script.