Psalm 127

Scene 1

(Gabriel sits in his office, watching a movie on his desktop. Raphael rolls in. Gabriel looks up.)

Raphael: Working hard?

Gabriel: Hardly working. Watching a movie Azrael gave me.

Raphael: Oh? What movie?

Gabriel: Jesus Camp. (He shakes his head.) It’s disturbing.

Raphael: What’s it about?

(Gabriel pauses the movie and turns to Raphael. Gabriel looks disturbed.)

Gabriel: It’s about a camp for young children who are taught an extremely radical view of Christianity. I’m talking the “if you’re not with God, you’re with Satan and everyone in America is godless” view.

Raphael: How young are these kids?

Gabriel: I don’t know. Not teenagers. Probably from 5 to 12, I would guess.

Raphael: And they’re being taught that it’s God or Satan with no moral grey area?

Gabriel: They invoke the phrase “army of God” more than once. (He shakes his head.) It’s like their version of Christianity is so far removed from what the authors of the New Testament wrote that I can barely watch it anymore without wanting to be sick.

Raphael: I’m surprised you can stomach it at all. (He laughs.) Do they claim to have the absolute truth about God?

Gabriel: Yeah.

(Raphael grins.)

Raphael: Imagine if they found out what really happens up here, eh?

Gabriel: They wouldn’t believe it.

Raphael: Of course not. (He smiles slightly.) Although I sure as hell bet they believe in psalm 127.

Gabriel: Hmm?

Raphael: Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Verses 3 and 4.

(Gabriel laughs and smiles at his brother.)

Gabriel: Probably their favourite passage.

Raphael: Anyway, the real reason I stopped by was to see if you wanted to grab dinner with me and catch up.

Gabriel: Sure. I’ll meet you at the hospital. What time?

Raphael: Seven o’clock. See you then.

(Raphael rolls out of the room. Gabriel returns to his film.)

Fin.