The Bethlehem Star
The Bethlehem Star is a 50-page e-magazine of historical fiction for the month of Jesus’ birth, a one-time-only publication of Scripture on Stage of Livonia, Michigan, with fictional 1st century Jewish reporters covering all the various Nativity stories from the Infancy Narratives of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, with a bunch of extra stories, sports, weather, letters to our readers, etc. to enhance the experience of immersion in the events and people of this time. It is written by John Dzwonkowski, M.A. Theology, former 9-year (college & grad school) seminarian with The Maryknoll Fathers of New York, retired Director of Religious Education for his own St. Priscilla Catholic Parish, and current Master Catechist with the Archdiocese of Detroit. John is also a Catholic playwright, having written, produced, and directed 25+ plays, primarily exploring the great variety of emotions, challenges, struggles, conflicts, and joys surrounding the ministry of Jesus, but especially the events of his birth, and then of his passion, death, and resurrection. John is also the co-founder of St. Priscilla's Movie & Drama Ministry; as well as his own theatrical venture of 30 years so far, Scripture on Stage; through which he performs live 60 and 90-minute theatrical productions of An Evening with Simon Peter, An Evening with St. Joseph, and Peter & Magdalen ...on Jesus, all for solely a Free Will Offering to various parishes throughout the Detroit Archdiocese, complete with myriad emotion-charged music, stage lighting, multiple props, and even a 14' tall Roman crucifix that is used by Peter to demonstrate how this was done by the Romans. John has also published through his Scripture on Stage a comparable fictional e-mag of 58 pages, The Jerusalem Star, supposedly published in Jerusalem of the 1st century on the Sunday evening of Jesus' resurrection. Here we again have a variety of fictional 1st century Jewish reporters covering the various events of Jesus' passion, death, and resurrection, but from their close-up point of view.
The Bethlehem Star is a 50-page e-magazine of historical fiction for the month of Jesus’ birth, a one-time-only publication of Scripture on Stage of Livonia, Michigan, with fictional 1st century Jewish reporters covering all the various Nativity stories from the Infancy Narratives of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, with a bunch of extra stories, sports, weather, letters to our readers, etc. to enhance the experience of immersion in the events and people of this time.
It is written by John Dzwonkowski, M.A. Theology, former 9-year (college & grad school) seminarian with The Maryknoll Fathers of New York, retired Director of Religious Education for his own St. Priscilla Catholic Parish, and current Master Catechist with the Archdiocese of Detroit. John is also a Catholic playwright, having written, produced, and directed 25+ plays, primarily exploring the great variety of emotions, challenges, struggles, conflicts, and joys surrounding the ministry of Jesus, but especially the events of his birth, and then of his passion, death, and resurrection.
John is also the co-founder of St. Priscilla's Movie & Drama Ministry; as well as his own theatrical venture of 30 years so far, Scripture on Stage; through which he performs live 60 and 90-minute theatrical productions of An Evening with Simon Peter, An Evening with St. Joseph, and Peter & Magdalen ...on Jesus, all for solely a Free Will Offering to various parishes throughout the Detroit Archdiocese, complete with myriad emotion-charged music, stage lighting, multiple props, and even a 14' tall Roman crucifix that is used by Peter to demonstrate how this was done by the Romans.
John has also published through his Scripture on Stage a comparable fictional e-mag of 58 pages, The Jerusalem Star, supposedly published in Jerusalem of the 1st century on the Sunday evening of Jesus' resurrection. Here we again have a variety of fictional 1st century Jewish reporters covering the various events of Jesus' passion, death, and resurrection, but from their close-up point of view.
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
The Bethlehem Star
Pg. XLVII
I felt so privileged; I was just a young boy;
Yet my heart was filled, fully bursting with joy.
A more beautiful night I could never recall;
And Papa, he hugged me. I remember it all.
And now as they sang, all around us, it seemed,
My heart started thumping, my face it just beamed.
We rose to our feet, for, though it seems odd,
We knew somehow we were right there with God.
Then the first of them spoke—Gabriel, by name;
His voice spoke so gently; his eyes much the same.
“Be not afraid. We bring news of great joy!
A child is born; a new baby boy.
In the City of David, a Mother gives birth;
The Messiah has finally arrived on this Earth.
He’ll be in a manger in swaddling clothes,
And soon He’ll bring peace wherever He goes.”
I thought, “Could this be true?” We’ve waited so long.
For a Messiah to come; who had to be strong,
To lead us back—back home with our God,
Then Gabriel smiled at me; gave me a nod.
Then their voices burst forth with a song of great praise,
And bells started ringing as on festival days!
“Glory to God in the highest!” they sang;
And “Peace on the Earth,” and the bells, how they rang.
Their song was of majesty, peace to us all.
I felt I was standing...at least ten feet tall.
This joy, this love, this peace cannot hide!
This must be, I thought, what God feels like inside.
Well, swift as they came, they passed out of sight.
And we sat there in awe...in the still of the night.
Then Papa said, “Let’s go find this new boy.”
So we hiked into town, and we carried our joy.
And we followed that star ‘til it shone its bright light,
On a broken down stable; they must have been right.
We knocked very gently. “Come in,” we were told.
“...and stay for the night to get out of the cold.”
The young man was Joseph, and Mary, his wife;
And there, wrapped in swaddlings, a new little life.
“Can you tell us,” I asked,
“what you’re calling him, please?”
And when Mary said, “Jesus,” ...we ...fell to our knees.
And prayed for this boy, and His mother and dad;
That they might be blessed through the good and the bad
Of all that lie ahead of them now
Then Papa stood and offered a bow...
And returned to the flock to bring back our best sheep;
For Joseph and Mary and their baby to keep.
Then we offered a song, and I pulled out my drum;
And I smiled and I played for Him
— rum-pum-pum-pum.
Change language