The terrible meek

The terrible meek by Charles Rann Kennedy is a one-act stage play written in the early 20th century. Performed in darkness by three voices, it is a poetic passion drama that confronts the meaning of the Crucifixion and challenges militarism, blind obedience, and empire, pointing toward a realm where “the meek shall inherit the earth.” On a wind-swept hill after an execution, a peasant mother mourns her son while an army captain and a common soldier keep watch. In the dark they argue about “duty,” tracing the chain from priests to magistrate to soldiers, and the captain’s certainty crumbles into guilt as he realizes they have murdered an innocent man. The woman pours out a searing lament, recalling her son’s birth, his compassion for outcasts, and the hopes that he would be a king; her grief turns to recognition that he is God’s Son. The captain declares that this death has founded an undying kingdom of the meek and imagines a new courage that serves life, not death. As light returns, the hilltop reveals three crosses and grazing sheep; the captain refuses new orders, choosing disobedience to the empire and allegiance to the new kingdom, and the mother forgives him.

The terrible meek, by Charles Rann Kennedy. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #78768.