Here’s a
readers’ theatre setting of James 3:1-12, the epistle reading for Proper 19 B
(Ordinary 24 B) – the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost. It is set for two readers.
Readers’ Theatre:
James 3:1-12
One: Dear brothers and sisters,
not many of you should become
teachers in the church,
for we who teach will be judged more
strictly.
Two: Indeed, we all make many mistakes.
For if we could control our tongues,
we would be perfect and could also
control ourselves in every other way.
One: We
can make a large horse go wherever we want
by
means of a small bit in its mouth.
Two: And
a small rudder makes a huge ship turn
wherever
the pilot chooses to go,
even
though the winds are strong.
One: In
the same way,
the
tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
But
a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.
And
the tongue is a flame of fire.
Two: It
is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body.
It
can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
One: People
can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish,
but
no one can tame the tongue.
It
is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.
Two: Sometimes
it praises our Lord and Father,
and
sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God.
And
so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth.
One: Surely,
my brothers and sisters, this is not right!
Does
a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water?
Does
a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs?
Two: No,
and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.
