Godspell (1973)

Merrell Jackson: Merrell

Photos 

Quotes 

• Lynne : Master...

  [Lynne climbs down from a stage and rushes to Jesus. Gilmer, Robin, Joanne, Jeffrey, Merrell, Jerry and Katie follow] 

  Lynne : Master! Blessed are the poor in Spirit...

  Jesus : For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

  Gilmer : Blessed are they who mourn...

  Jesus : For they shall be comforted.

  Robin : Blessed are the meek...

  Jesus : For they shall inherit the Earth.

  Joanne : Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice...

  Jesus : For they shall be filled.

  Jeffrey : Blessed are the merciful...

  Jesus : For they shall have mercy.

  Merrell : Blessed are the pure in heart...

  Jesus : For they shall see God.

  Jerry : Blessed are the peace-makers...

  Jesus : For they shall be called the children of God.

  Katie : Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake...

  Jesus : For theirs is the Kingdom of *heaven*!

  [the others applaud] 

  Judas : [shouting from the distant stage]  Blessed are ye... When men shall persecute you and revile you... and say all manner of evil against you...

  [pauses then calms down] 

  Judas : falsely.

• Merrell : There once was a king...

  Everyone : Yeah, yeah.

  Merrell : ...who decided to settle accounts with the men who served him.

  Everyone : Yeah, yeah, yeah.

  Merrell : Well, at the outset, there appeared before the master a man whose debt ran into the millions!

  Everyone : What?

  Merrell : I said the millions!

  Everyone : Whoa!

  Merrell : Since the man had no means of paying the money, the master ordered him to be sold to meet the debt with his wife.

  Everyone : Whoa!

  Merrell : And his child.

  Everyone : Whoa!

  Merrell : And everything he had. Well, the man threw himself down at the master's feet and went...

  Everyone : Doo bop a loom boom!

  Jeffrey : Oh, be patient with me.

  Merrell : He said.

  Jeffrey : And I shall pay you full.

  Merrell : And so moved with pity was the master, that he decided to free the man and remit the debt! And let's hear it for the master!

  Everyone : [imitating cheerleaders]  Give me an M, give me an A-S-T-E-R. Yay, master!

  Judas : Wait a minute. But no sooner had the man been released, then he met a fellow servant who owed him a few dollars. Well, he gripped him by the throat and said...

  Jeffrey : Pay me! I says pay me what you owes me!

  Judas : Whoa, the man fell at his fellow servant's feet and begged him, saying...

  Jerry : Please, please. Be patient with me. I shall pay you.

  Lynne : But he refused, saying...

  Jeffrey : Look!

  Jerry : What?

  Lynne : And had him jailed until he should pay the debt.

  Gilmer : [in a southern accent]  Well, the other servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened. Are you sitting down? They ran and told their master the whole story, mm-hmm.

  Robin : DAAAAH!

  Gilmer : Accordingly he sent for the man.

  Robin : You scoundrel!

  Gilmer : He said to him!

  Robin : I remitted the whole of your debt when you appealed unto me. Were you not bound to show your fellow servant the same pity I showed to you?

  Jerry : And so angry was the master that he condemned the man to torture, until he could pay the debt in full.

  [everyone pretends to torture Jefferey] 

  Jesus : And that is how my Heavenly Father will deal with you, unless you forgive your brothers from you hearts.

• Jesus : When you do some act of charity, don't announce it with a flourish of trumpets as the heathen do in synagogues and in the streets. I tell you, they do it just to win admiration from men. No, when you do some act of charity, don't let your right hand know what your left hand is doing. Your good deed must be done in secret.

  [everybody huddles together] 

  Merrell : [to the camera]  It's a secret.

  Judas : Now what the Good Master is telling us all right now is that up in Heaven, there's about a hundred million little tiny angels about yea-by-yea, and they all take shorthand. And every time you do something silly, they write it in...

  Jesus : No, no, no.

  Judas : That's not what the Good Master is telling us?

  Jesus : Your Heavenly Father, who sees what is done in secret, He will what?

  Everyone : Reward you!

  [fireworks explode out of Judas' wagon]