LOGLINE
Three ships come sailing in on Christmas Day in the morning!
PITCH
On the first Christmas morning, three ships come sailing into the Land of Judea. On one ship, the Holy Family with baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph sail with a donkey. From that ship, Mary can see another ship full of astrologers with great treasure and a third ship full of criminals. When sailing into the harbor, the ship with criminals crashes into the stone jetty, and the astrologers give Mary their treasure to help her escape the dangerous men. She leaves the gold, frankincense, and myrrh on the beach as a distraction for the criminals, and she slips into the cheering crowd with her family to journey to Bethlehem.
SYNOPSIS
One cold winter morning, three ships sail into the Land of Judea. As the sun rises over the horizon, the sound of a baby crying comes from one of the ships. A young mother named Mary, and her newborn child Jesus, huddle in blankets on the side of the deck. She feels tired and cold after spending the night giving birth to her son. A donkey snuggles up next to Mary on the ship. Joseph, her husband, holds her hand. He often kneels in prayer beside Mary and the child. Waves crash against the boat, and the wind blows harder than expected for a clear morning. Every time Mary feels afraid, she sings, “I saw three ships come sailing in on Christmas day in the morning.” After all, this is what the angel Gabriel told Mary would happen. Gabriel told her she would conceive and give birth to a son, and he would be the Son of God, and she was to call him Jesus.
Looking from her ship, Mary can see two other ships sailing next to her. On one of the ships are three wise, old men who have chests of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The men have looking glasses used to watch the stars at night. She thinks they must have been trying to receive messages from God. They sing about finding “Our Savior, Christ, and His Lady on Christmas day in the morning.” Listening to their song, Mary thinks the astrologers must have heard about the coming of Jesus, her son, similar to the way the angel Gabriel visited her. On the other ship, she sees thieves and murderers that were chained to the hull of the boat. Unlike the astrologers, the criminals do not raise their voices in song.
As the three ships dock on the coast of the Land of Judea, miles from Bethlehem, a crowd of people sing on the shore. All of a sudden, a gust of wind blows the ships to shore. When she looks up, the prison ship crashes into the stone jetty. She covers her ears at the crunching sound of the boat hitting the hard stone. Surely, this will allow the prisoners to escape. As Mary and Jesus disembark from the ship, the young mother and her child look tired and rugged. The father leads the donkey by a cord while carrying two knapsacks on his own back. Mary sees the astrologers from the one ship talking amongst themselves and looking at her. Then, a wise astrologer stuffs Joseph’s bags with treasure, and the astrologers run as fast as they can from the disembarking prisoner ship in fear. When she sees the third ship emptying, she thinks that she must give the astrologer’s treasure to the prisoners to keep them at bay. Joseph dumps the treasure from his bag on the beach. Then, the family hurries into the cheering crowd to Bethlehem. Mary kisses her son on the forehead, aware of the man that Jesus will one day become.
Copyright 2025 Jennifer Waters
