Pod the Alien Sketch : ‘Christmas –  Baby born with a spirit’

Standard entrance (Compere responds to banging on the door) That must be Pod. (Spaceman enters)

Hello BCC!
Hello, Pod. It’s been a while since we’ve seen you.
Yes. Well when you live on another planet its not like living down the road you know. They move about! And at the moment it’s an especially long way for me.
We do appreciate you taking the trouble to visit us.
It’s a good job too, because I know all about Christmas. I’m not the only one who came a long way to visit at Christmas, am I?
No, in fact lots of us have visitors at this time of year. And if we’re lucky we get presents!
That may be true young fella, but what I was thinking about was the very first Christmas.
Oh I see. Yes, I guess Jesus did come a long way to visit us. But He came from heaven, not from outer space.
But there was a star involved as I remember?
That’s right. It was a really big deal, not just for this planet, but for the whole universe.
Which brings me to my question…
OK Pod, fire away.
Now it was hard work getting here today, you know. Space travel isn’t as easy as ‘next right’, ‘second left’ or ‘at the end of the road take the ferry’ you know. There are lots of big gaps in space. That’s why it’s called ‘space’. It’s very easy to get lost; even now I have a Sat Nav.
Alright, but what’s your question.
If it’s hard for me to get here, (and I’m quite grown up) how did Jesus find his way here when he was just a little baby?
But he didn’t have to find his way. He was born here. Just like the rest of us.
Born! But I thought that Jesus was the Son of God, and that he existed before the foundation of the world! How could He be all that and then be born just like all the rest of you? It’s doesn’t make sense, does it?
It’s a very mysterious thing, that’s for sure. But Jesus needed to be born as one of us so that he could put right the mess that the first son of God got us into.
‘First son of God!’ Who do you mean?
Adam. He’s the ancestor of us all. The father of mankind. And like all fathers he passed something on to us.
Yes, my dad passed me on an electric screwdriver. It was very useful. Anyway, I’ve heard of Adam but I don’t see what he has to do with Christmas. Aren’t you getting away from the point here?
No. Adam has as much to do with Christmas as Jesus does. If it hadn’t been for Adam’s attitude problem we wouldn’t have needed a Christmas. Look it’s a long story, but in a nutshell, he goofed up big-time and as result all of us are born with an abnormality.
You mean there is something wrong with all of these people!
Every one of them, or at least they all started out with something wrong with them; every person who has ever been born; except  for Jesus.
Whoa, slow down there Rudolf! You haven’t even explained the problem, never mind how Jesus was different.
OK Pod. I’ll show you in a diagram. (display slide 1) This will be familiar to some people here. Do you know what it is?
Ah yes. I know this one. Don’t tell me. It’s … a fat man in a Mexican hat (as seen from above).
(pause) No.
A fat man down a well.
(pause) No.
A Mexican down a well.
No.
A fried egg on a plate.
No.
A donut on a plate.
You don’t know do you?
A rambutan
It could be, but it actually shows what makes up a person.
Ah!
(using laser pointer!) On the outside is the body, all the bits you can x-ray. And the body contains the soul. That’s the personality, where we do all our feeling, thinking and choosing. And lastly right at the centre is the spirit, that’s the bit that determines who we really are. It’s the bit that’s supposed to link us up to God.
I see. Well that seems straightforward enough. So what’s the problem?
The problem is that ever since Adam, people have been born with this bit in the centre; dead. They have no connection to God.
No! That’s awful. How do they survive with out a spirit?
As best they can, Pod. Everyone inherits this problem from their father. It’s like a genetic defect. That’s why Jesus was born to a virgin. Because he had no earthly father he didn’t inherit the defected spirit.
No, no, no. That’s where you are wrong young fella. Everyone knows that Jesus’ father was Joseph.
Yes, but Joseph was actually Jesus’ adopted father. He was never physically involved. The bible is very clear about it.
Now I’m really confused. I don’t understand this at all.
I see. You probably don’t understand the way that us human-beings reproduce, Pod.
Ur, I’m not sure I’m comfortable with this now.
You see when a man loves a lady he sometimes gives her a special present from himself…
(with hands up) La, La, La-la, La. Not listening
And if she accepts it then …
No, no, no. That’s quite enough. I do know how babies are made and I must say that I don’t think it’s necessary to go into the details at your Christmas service. Let’s get back to baby Jesus, please. I take it that he wasn’t born like that.
No Pod, God did something amazing and Jesus was made without a human father being involved. So he was born perfect and complete. He always had a spirit that was alive to God. That’s why he never sinned, because He never broke relationship with his Heavenly father like Adam had.
Wow, that’s amazing. What must have been like to always know that God was there with you?
And because of what Jesus did later, He gives that ability to anyone who asks for it. So because Jesus was complete; now we can be too.
Wow. You know I’m starting to see what made the baby Jesus so very special. So he was an extraordinary little baby and nobody knew the secret.
You’re right Pod. It was a secret. But some knew about it.
Ah yes the angels! They couldn’t keep a secret could they?
No Pod, they knew and they couldn’t keep quiet about it. They  were so exited, that God had launched his rescue mission that they blabbed it to some shepherds and filled the sky, singing in their hundreds.
And the shepherds went to see for themselves didn’t they? They must have felt so special being the first to know.
And then came the Magi, the King-makers of the ancient world. They came to worship Jesus as a royal baby.
They followed the star didn’t they? It must have been very bright. (sadly) But then they lost it. I wonder why that was.
Maybe it just got cloudy? It happens you know.
Yes, and so because they were looking for a King they decided to ask the nearest King they could find, where to look. That wasn’t a good idea was it?
No, but we all make mistakes. King Herod was so jealous that there might be another king that he tried to kill the baby Jesus. And because he didn’t know which baby was Jesus, he killed them all!
No! That’s just awful. Did he kill Jesus?
Think about it, Pod. If he had, that would have been the end of the story. No Jesus, no cross, no good news…
No reason to celebrate Christmas?
That’s right. It could have all been very different. But God protected the baby and told Mary and Joseph to take him to Egypt and wait until God called him out. Just as he called the Israelite people out of Egypt hundreds of years before.
So even though Jesus was the King he didn’t get an easy ride did he?
Not at all. But he lived a perfect life, never falling out  with his father. So that he could offer that same relationship with God, as a gift to us: Happy Christmas!
And a Happy Christmas to you too. You know I’ve learnt something really important on this visit…that Jesus was born to a human mother but had God as a Father so that He could be the first whole and perfect person. And that He offers his perfect relationship with his Father to each of you, just because he loves you. Now that’s amazing and something worth celebrating. So happy Christmas to everyone. Have a wonderful time. I’ll drop in again the next time I’m passing.
Good bye Pod. Happy Christmas!

Standard Exit (Compere helps Pod out – The door closes – Power point takeoff sequence is played)

© M Day 12-Dec-2008