I was living in Clearwater, Florida when this was first produced by staff at Harborside Christian Church. I never went to see it, but family did, bought the CD, and we'd listen to it regularly at home. My, how it's grown:
...Presenting the story of the Gospels from the perspective of Peter is perhaps the greatest strength of The Rock & The Rabbi. Peter -- or Simon, to use his given name -- is one figure in the Bible with whom most people can identify.
Simon was a working-class fellow, a fisherman laboring on a small body of water called the Sea of Galilee with his brother and two friends. He's an impetuous man, the sort of guy who's liable to act first and think later. But then he gets introduced to the Rabbi -- that's the only way he's identified in this show -- and his life changes. The change starts with his name. "You're Simon, son of John," the Rabbi says the moment he sees him. "From now on, I'll call you Peter." Simon is naturally taken a little aback by this. "No 'Good to meet ya, Simon,' " he says. "No, 'Heard a lot about you, Simon.' "
But soon he doesn't mind being called Peter, because he comes to realize that there is something very different about this teacher -- the way his touch can instantly heal, how with a word he could still a storm, how the words he said were freighted with an authority unlike anything Peter had heard before. Peter will still do impetuous, foolish things -- stepping out of a boat in the middle of a raging sea, babbling in wonder at the sight of the Rabbi transformed into a figure of light, even taking up a weapon in the defense of his teacher.
But the Rabbi's actions and teachings will ultimately make Peter realize a truth he can't help but blurt out when the Rabbi asks, "Who do you say that I am?"...
by staff at Harborside Christian Church. I never went to see it, but family did, bought the CD
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