Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Mysterium Tremendum
by The Rev. Leah D. Schade
Reformation Lutheran Church, Media, PA
Holy Trinity Sunday, June 3, 2007

Characters:
Sherlock Holmes (begins in sacristy, wearing hat and overcoat, holding pipe, magnifying glass in pocket)
James Watson (seated, writing in notebook, wearing overcoat)
Kevin, Confirmation Student (hiding behind piano in the back, holding box of white powdered sugar donuts)

Prop List:

Sherlock Holmes:  hat, overcoat, pipe, magnifying glass

Watson:  overcoat, English hat?, 1 letter and envelope, calculator, lunch bag with 2 apples, 2 hardboiled eggs, 1 bottle water

Kevin:  one box white powdered sugar donuts

Narrator (liturgist):  On this Sunday of the Holy Trinity, we present to you:  Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Mysterium Tremendum.

Watson (sitting at desk, writing):  It was a dark and stormy night.  (looks out window, scratches out).  It was a [weather] Sunday morning (nods head).  Sherlock Holmes, London’s greatest detective, whom I chanced to call friend, had just emerged from his study, smoking his pipe, no doubt contemplating the intricacies of some molecular structure that would be used in some future crime solving adventure, when a knock was heard at the door.

[Kevin knocks loudly from backstage. Watson walks to organ, picks up envelope.]

I went to answer it, but found no one -- only a letter at my feet.  I picked it up and took it to Holmes, who handled it with the greatest of care.

Holmes: [sniffs envelope, holds it up to the light, shakes it and listens, holds to tongue and tastes]

Watson:  I say, Holmes, whatever are you doing?

Holmes:  My dear Watson, every hidden thing reveals its true nature, even when the obscurer wishes it not so.  We must examine everything, even the most seemingly innocuous white envelope, to draw out its secrets.

Watson:  And what is this envelope revealing to you, Holmes?

Holmes:  All in good time, dear Watson, all in good time.  [carefully opens envelope, clears throat] The note reads:  Dear Sirs, Who is God?  If you can solve this mystery, you will be richly rewarded.  You have until [15 minutes from the current time].  Write your answer on the back of this paper and leave it on the church altar.  Your reward will be waiting for you.

Watson:  That’s it?  No signature?

Holmes:  I’m afraid not.  But the sender did reveal his identity.

Watson:  Who is it, then?

Holmes:  All in good time, my dear Watson, all in good time.  But as I am feeling particularly adventurous this morning, I will attempt to solve this mystery.

Watson:  But, Holmes, “Who is God”?  That is one of the greatest religious mysteries known to man.  How to you intend to solve it?     

Holmes: My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people do not know.

Watson:  Too true, my friend, too true.  Where shall we begin?

Holmes:  We must look for clues for the true identity of God.

Watson:  But Holmes, I haven’t the foggiest notion where to find such clues. 

Holmes:  Well, we are in a church, Watson.  If we can locate a bible, we should be able to discern some clues.

Watson:  Brilliant, Holmes!  I hadn’t thought of that.

Holmes:  That’s why I am the world’s greatest detective, while you are only the lowly assistant.

Watson:  Too true, old chap, too true!  Now, shall we search for this illusive bible?

Holmes:  Yes, let’s.  [Both begin searching, but come up empty handed.]

Watson:  I say, Holmes, I’m having a right difficult time finding a bible.

Holmes:  Remember, Watson - this is a Lutheran Church.

Watson:  Ah, yes, they don’t read their bibles in church, do they, Holmes?

Holmes:  No, but they do have these convenient little pamphlets they call bulletins.  [takes one from acolyte]  Would you be so kind?  Thank you.  Now, look here, Watson.  [holds magnifying glass to the page] They begin their services with this greeting:  “The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

Watson:  Most intriguing, Holmes.  This would seem to indicate that there are three aspects to God.

Holmes:  Very good, Watson.

Watson:  And that God is a man.

Holmes:  Hold on there, old chap.  It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has all the data.  Look further at their first lesson from Proverbs.

Watson:  [reading] Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice.  [gasps]  Heavens, Holmes.  This would seem to indicate that there is a feminine aspect to God!

Holmes:  Too true, Watson, too true!  From this we can deduce that God is neither male nor female.  And at the same time, both male and female.  Neither and both - quite a paradox. 

Watson:  Yes, a pair of ducks -- like the yin and the yang.  Like the salt and the pepper.  Like the peanut butter and the jelly.  Like the . . .

Holmes:  Yes, yes, Watson, I think we’ve got the point.  Now onto this God in three persons.

Watson:  [paging through the bulletin]  Why, it’s all over their bulletin, Holmes.  It’s in their lesson from Romans.  It’s in this incredibly long Athanasian Creed.  It’s in their Benediction.

Holmes:  I believe this is what they refer to as the Holy Trinity.

Watson:  You mean, they believe in three gods?

Holmes:  No, no, Watson.  God is three-in-one.  God in three persons.  One God, three aspects to that God -- Father, Son, Holy Spirit; the Creator, the Redeemer, the Sustainer.

Watson:  [pulling out calculator]  But according to my calculations, Holmes.  One plus one, plus one, equals three. 

Holmes:  Try the multiplication key, dear Watson.  One times one, times one, still equals one.

Watson:  Brilliant, Holmes!

Holmes:  Elementary, my dear Watson.

Watson:  And yet, I’m still having difficulty understanding how one God could have three parts.

Holmes:  Indeed.  Perhaps we need to search for more clues. [both begin searching.  Watson finds lunch bag and comes to front.]  Watson, did you find a clue?

Watson:  No, but I did find someone’s lunch.  And, I say, Holmes, I’ve worked up quite an appetite.  [pulls out an apple and hard boiled egg, hands Holmes the egg. Watson begins eating apple].  Quite tasty, I must say, Holmes.

Holmes:  Indeed.  [suddenly pulls apple from Watson’s hand, just as he’s about to bite down] Great Scots!  We’re eating our clues, Watson!

Watson:  [trying to take a bite out of the apple as Holmes carries it around.]  I say, Holmes, are you sure?  Looks like just a nice juicy apple to me.

Holmes:  There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.  Think of it, Watson.  An apple has three parts:  the peel, the fruit, and the core with the seeds.  Three parts, but one apple.  And this egg:  the shell, the white and the yolk.  Three parts, but one egg.

Watson:  Delicious bit of reasoning, Holmes.  But I still fail to understand how this Trinitarian notion works.

Holmes:  [Sighs as Watson pulls out a water bottle with ice].  You see, but you do not observe, my friend.  Think of a triangle, Watson.  Three sides, but one triangle.  And [pulls bottle from Watson’s hand, just as he’s about to drink]  By Jove, I think I’ve got it.

Watson:  Yes, and I want it back!  I’m thirsty, Holmes!

Holmes:  Just one moment, old friend.  Think of this water.  When it freezes, what does it become?

Watson:  Ice.

Holmes:  And when it is heated to the boiling point, what does it become?

Watson:  Steam.  [gasp] Oh, I think I understand.  God is like the water.  When God became human in Jesus, it was like water in the form of ice.  And the Holy Spirit is like the steam, ephemeral, yet powerful!

Holmes:  Precisely!  Three different forms, but the same substance.  And it goes even deeper, Watson.  Remember the phrase, “thought, word, and deed?”

Watson:  Yes.

Holmes:  God the Creator is the thought; Jesus the Redeemer is the word; the Holy Spirit, the Sustainer, is the deed.  The mystery of God encompasses the very reality by which we perceive, speak about, and act in the world.

Watson:  Ingenious!

Holmes:  Some have even described the Trinity in terms of relationship.  There is God and there is Jesus, and the relationship between the two is the Spirit - two “me’s” and one “we”.

Watson:  Quite abstract, Holmes.  It is like a mystery wrapped in a riddle, enshrouded in a conundrum, enfolded in a puzzle, inserted in a  . . .

Holmes:  Quite right, Watson, quite right.  It appears that, while our search has given us insights into the nature of God and has helped us understand many things, the mystery of God remains.  It is what the great theologians have called the “Mysterium Tremendum.”

Watson:  The overwhelming mystery.  I say, Holmes, do you think God is simply beyond our comprehension?

Holmes:  When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.  Yes, God is beyond our ability to understand.  but I daresay, God is also within our knowing.  The mystery remains a fascinating and necessary aspect in the life of faith.  And it appears that this a mystery we will not be able to solve.  At least, not in this current habitation on earth.  But you know, dear Watson, education never ends. It is a series of lessons, with the greatest for the last.

Watson:  Too true, Holmes, too true.  And yet, old friend, I feel that I have drawn closer to God even as we searched for these clues.  Perhaps the process of inquiry is more important than solving the mystery itself.

Holmes:  By Jove, I think you’ve got it!

Watson:  Why thank you, Holmes!  And yet, I must ask about our other mystery - who was the writer of this note?

Holmes:  Ah, yes.  Our mysterious inquirer.  [pulls out envelope and letter].  The first clue is the handwriting.  A young male, probably around 12 years of age.

Watson:  How can you tell? 

Holmes:  When you’ve read as many sermon outlines as I have, Watson, you begin to notice traits in writing.  He scribbles hastily, scarcely concerned with legibility.  His handwriting is fairly reflective of the state of his mind and the neatness of his bedroom, I would say.

Watson:  You mentioned sermon outlines.  Do you mean to say that . . .

Holmes:  Yes, Watson, the writer of this note is a Confirmation student.

Watson:  What was the clue?  Fingerprints?  Gunpowder?  Blood? 

Holmes:  [tastes the envelope again] Powdered sugar!  I happen to know that they served powdered sugar donuts in Confirmation class this day.  When we find the young man with powdered sugar on his fingers, we will have found the culprit!  (follows sugar trail with maginfying glass along the floor, sneaks behind the organ and pulls out Kevin, eating powdered sugar donuts.)

Watson:  (gasps)  Holmes, however did you find him? 

Holmes:  I observed the powdered sugar on the carpet, Watson, and it led directly to our culprit.

Kevin:  Curses! Foiled again!  If you had answered that question, Holmes, I could have finished my Confirmation exam without having to lift a finger.

Watson:  And yet, we still have received our reward (takes box of donuts and begins eating).

Holmes:  Young man, the inquiry into the nature of God can be done only by each person himself.  You will do well to undertake the adventure on your own.  Read your bible.  Attend worship services.  Go to Confirmation class.  Talk with other Christians about their journey.  And pray.  These are the tools for discovering the nature of God.

Watson:  And so, another mystery is solved by the great Sherlock Holmes.  But the greatest mystery of all  - the mysterium tremendum - is left for you.  Amen.