Whether it’s watching the church kids put on bathrobes for the Christmas play or a multi-million dollar interplay of sight and sound re-creating the Passion of Jesus Christ, the origins of our dramas go all the way back to the ancient Greeks. Long ago at their festivals, choruses sang songs that retold the story of a people. Some genius dressed up one singer who interacted with the chorus, creating dialog, tension and drama! The world hasn’t been the same since.

            The theaters of the ancient Greek world were nothing short of astounding. They carved amphitheaters out of the hillsides with absolutely perfect acoustics. Even today, tourists can sit amid the ruins and listen with amazement as a tour guide crumbles a piece of paper a hundred yards away, and is perfectly heard.

            Seeing the show was a different matter. Because thousands came to these performances, the actors might stand far away from the spectators. As a result, the actors would wear tall masks that clearly showed the emotions of the characters they played. This may have led to the Greek word for actor — hypocrite — which, depending on which expert you believe, might have denoted that an actor’s job meant interpreting and presenting a character through a mask.

            In this context, hypocrite was not a negative word. Acting was an honorable profession. Actors brought to life the already ancient stories of the people, drawing out emotions for the spectators, so that the stories they inherited became part of their lives. Then as now, audiences willingly suspended their disb

...approximately 1,126 words remaining. You are not logged in. Please see options at the top of this page to view complete sermon.