486 - The Time It Is: A Play about Jesus

The Time It Is:
A Play about Jesus
By Dan Otto Via
Washington, D.C., University Press of America, 1982
106 pp. $17.75 (cloth) $6.25 (paper).

Materials from the Gospels, interwoven with creative dialogue and events, make up this story of Jesus, in the form of a three-act play. Here Jesus' parables come from his own life experiences: he has been, for example, a "prodigal son"; he has been a laborer in a vineyard paid only a denarius for a full day's work. When he speaks of "love," it is no abstraction; it is something he has felt toward a young woman. He is a very human Jesus, complex and multifaceted. Some may find him and his disciples a little too human. The "water to wine" miracle is reduced to Jesus' sending out for a couple of jars from the local vintner. And some vulgar language may appear gratuitous in the attempt to portray human characters. But this Jesus is an interesting person. And it's easy to identify with one who in the midst of his ministry says, "I'm still finding out who I am myself."

For most churches, this will be (unfortunately) far too sophisticated and complicated to use as a play (with its 36 characters and rapid and multiple major scene changes). Nevertheless, it could be valuable for reading and discussion, as one stimulating study of the life of Jesus.

G. Robert Jacks
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton, N.J.