Mystery Stories and Life

I like mystery stories, which, for me, are stories where something has happened (perhaps a crime) and someone discovers who did it, how it was done, and why. Among my favorite characters are Gabriel Allon, art restorer and sometime spy (created by Daniel Silva), Temperance Brennan, forensic archaeologist (created by Kathy Reichs), Lincoln Rhyme, quadriplegic forensic expert, and Amelia Sachs, his assistant and policewoman (the creations of Jeffery Deaver), and Kay Scarpetta, a chief medical examiner (the creation of Patricia Cornwell). There are many others--both characters and authors--I could name, but above all, it's the basic mystery story plot that appeals to me.

Eugene Peterson, a former pastor himself, once wrote about ministers and their love of mystery stories. As he explained it, "I think one reason [ministers like mysteries] may be that right and wrong, so often obscured in the ambiguities of everyday living are cleanly delineated in the mystery story. The story gives us moral and intellectual breathing room when we are about to be suffocated in the hot air and heavy panting of relativism and subjectivism."

The Meaninglessness of Much of Modern Life. Even though I fell in love with mysteries early in my life through the stories about the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, as a mostly retired minister I can relate to Peterson's statement. Perhaps you can, too. Life as it is experienced and explained today is very open-ended. Nihilism, which rejects moral principles, says, basically, that life is meaningless. Deconstructionism is the theory that it doesn't matter what an author of a book or article intended to say, the piece of work means what you want it to mean. The only exception is the writing of deconstructionists themselves. Their work is to be taken at face value and believed as written. Relativism says there are no absolute statements except, of course, the statement that there are no absolute statements. Subjectivism, a cousin of deconstructionism, says that what matters is how I see things. Then there is the idea that everything that happens is the result of random events. There is no purpose in the universe.

The "Unfinishedness" of Our Work. Added to that cluster of intellectual confusion is the work that some of us have chosen. As a minister, my work never seemed to be done. There were small closures-a sermon, for example, was finished on Friday or Saturday, then preached on Sunday. That ending on Sunday, however, was the beginning of another cycle, culminating with another sermon to be prepared for the next Sunday. Overall, there was nothing I could point to that said I had accomplished a big goal and was finished. Even when I left the pastorate and went into teaching at a Christian school, there were things I left behind at the church for someone else to take up and finish. Perhaps that's how you see your work, too.

Mystery Stories Have A Logical Structure. Mystery stories provide the kind of structure a lot of us need in our lives. In a world of randomness and relativism, the mystery story has clues and a logical progression. It arrives at a conclusion that makes sense. You can follow the trail to the solution and, not only does it make sense, it also fits. It's a logical development from start to finish. You may not understand how Sherlock Holmes arrives at his conclusions, but when he explains the process, it makes perfect sense. As a minister, I'm in the "business" of helping people discover clues as to where and how God is at work in their lives. It's not an easy task and there are very few certain answers. After a hard day of dealing with tough questions, often with very little more to offer than cliches like, "Well, we have to believe that God is in control," or "We have to have faith," or, "All things work together for good," it's great to pick up a mystery novel and know that there will be answers. I'm not putting down the minister's vocation; I'm just saying that there are days when it feels really good to be able to walk by sight and not by faith, even if only in small ways.

Mystery Stories Give Moral Satisfaction. In most mystery stories, our desire for justice to prevail, for right to win over wrong, is there. The good people capture the bad people, and there's a happy ending. Isn't that what we want out of life? It's discouraging to see the cheats come out on top, to see evil people achieve the goals that we can only dream about. Of course, if you're a Christian believer with the hope and promise of an afterlife, you have one more chance to see the ultimate triumph of good. For much of the world, a life after this life is only a pipe dream. They believe they will die and that will be it. Mysteries give satisfaction when nothing else seems to. For me, the Bible has the ultimate answers, but there are times I appreciate the clarity and completeness of a well-written mystery that I can read, enjoy, and put aside as finished. Day to day life usually does not provide that.

Mysteries Provide A Special Place. In that atmosphere of hopelessness, the mystery story carves out a refuge for us, a special place where we can escape what is and enter into what may never be. I have a hope of an afterlife, but I still love the feeling as I approach the final chapters of a mystery. I know that there are some good things ahead. I know that my questions will be answered. I know that I will be satisfied. I may have guessed wrong about the villain, but that's all right. The surprise is part of the delight. I may even feel some sympathy for the villain, because I suspect that in other circumstances, that villain could be me.

Mystery stories may not be for everyone, but for those of us who love them, there will never be anything to totally replace them.

Source of Eugene Peterson quote:

Eugene H. Peterson, Take and Read (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1952), page 73.