Here’s a dramatic presentation of 1 Samuel 3:1-20, the suggested Old Testament reading for the second Sunday after Epiphany (January 8, 2012). It was written by Carolyn Brown (based on the NRSV), and posted on her excellent Worshipping with Children website.
She suggests, “Samuel could be read by a young boy and Eli by a white haired man. The Narrator might be the usual worship leader or another man in the congregation. The readers could stand in place or move around as they read following the action of the story.”
Dramatic Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-20
Narrator: Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; (Eli takes place at one side of area) the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord (Samuel lies down in front of the central table) where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and Samuel said,
Samuel: “Here I am!” (sitting up)
Narrator: and ran to Eli,
Samuel: “Here I am, for you called me.”
Eli: “I did not call; lie down again.”
Narrator: So he went and lay down. The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli,
Samuel: “Here I am, for you called me.”
Eli: “I did not call, my son; lie down again.”
Narrator: Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli,
Samuel: “Here I am, for you called me.”
Narrator: Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel,
Eli: “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ”
Narrator: So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said,
Samuel: “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
Narrator: Then the Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.” (Samuel lies down.)
Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. (Samuel might rise and push open imaginary doors, then move off to the side away from Eli) Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But Eli called Samuel and said,
Eli: “Samuel, my son.”
Samuel: “Here I am.”
Eli: “What was it that God told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.”
Narrator: So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then Eli said,
Eli: “It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.”
Narrator: As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.
— Carolyn Brown, on Worshipping with Children.
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